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THE 


HISTORY    OF    IRELAND, 


FROM    THE    FIRST     COLONIZATION     OF     THE     COUNTRY,     DOWN     TO    THE     PERIOD    OF 

THE  ENGLISH  INVASION,  COMPREHENDING  THE  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  THE  SCENES 

OF     BATTLES,    AND     MEMORABLE     EVENTS,    AS     WELL    AS     A     REVIEW 

OF    THE     RISE     AND     PROGRESS     OF     IRISH     LITERATURE 

AND    THE    FINE    ARTS. 


IN  ONE  VOLUME. 


BY    GEORGE    PEPPER. 


"  PRAETERITORUM,    MEMORIA    EVENTORUM." 

"  Whate'er  may  be  our  humble  lot, 

By  foes  denounc'd — by  friends  forgot — 

Thine  is  our  soul — our  sigh,  our  smile — 

Gem  of  the  Ocean  !  Lovely  Emerald  Isle  ! " 

Phillips. 


BOSTON: 

DEVEREUX   &  DONAHOE,  PRINTERS. 
1835. 


TO 
DANIEL    0'CONNEL.L    ESQ.    M.    P. 

THE    VIRTUOUS,    ELOQUENT,    AND    INCORRUPTIBLE 
PATRIOT,       ■ 
WHOSE     ILLUSTRIOUS     AND     MATCHLESS     SERVICES,     IN    THE    CAUSE    OF 

IRELAND, 

HAVE    IMMEASURABLY    SURPASSED    THE    GREATEST    EFFORTS    OF    HIS 

PREDECESSORS,    OR    CONTEMPORARIES  : 

AND    WHOSE     SUBLIME    AND    ROMAN-LIKE    INTEGRITY   AND  DEVOTION  TO 

HIS    BELOVED    COUNTRY,    SPURNED    OFFERED    HONORS    AND 

EMOLUMENTS,    THIS    VOLUME    OF 

THE    HISTORY   OF   IRELAND, 

IS    RESPECTFULLY    DEDICATED, 
BY   HIS    GRATEFUL,    AND    ADMIRING    COUNTRYJIAN, 

GEORGE   PEPPER. 
Boston,  June  1,  1835. 


INTRODUCTION. 


It  has  often  been  asked  by  foreigners,  why  a  country  justly  boasting 
of  lier  poets  and  orators,  has  not  produced  an  able  historian,  who 
can  be  classed  with  a  Voltaire,  a  Gibbon,  or  a  Robertson  ;  and  why 
the  learning  of  an  Usher,  or  the  genius  of  a  Swift,  has  left  no  his- 
torical monument  to  perpetuate  the  ancient  glories  of  a  nation,  that 
in  remote  ages  was  styled,  ihe  ^'^  Isle  of  learning,  and  the  school  of 
the  iccst  ?"  We  confess  our  inability  to  answer  the  question  satis- 
factorily. 

Perliiips  the  primary  cause  of  the  desideratum,  in  our  ancient 
history,  may  be  principally  ascribed  to  the  zeal  of  St.  Patrick,  who, 
to  the  eternal  loss  of  Irish  literature,  caused  more  than  500  volumes 
of  our  records  to  be  committed  to  the  flames  at  Tara.  McDermott, 
Lynch,  and  Flanagan,  are  of  opinion  that  Ossian's  autographs  blazed 
in  the  conflagration  kindled  by  the  Christian  Missionary.  Another 
cause  of  the  scantiness  of  historical  materials,  may  be  fairly  traced 
to  the  vile  assiduity  of  Danish  and  English  invaders,  to  annihilate  all 
memorials  of  our  ancient  greatness,  power,  and  grandeur. 

Still  it  must  be  confessed,  that  the  ancient  chronology  of  all 
countries,  as  well  as  that  of  Ireland,  is  extremely  erroneous  and 
uncertain.  What  is  the  boasted  alleged  origin  of  the  Greeks  from 
the  gods,  but  the  creation  of  poetical  fancy,  the  chimerical  mythology 
of  Hesiod,  Homer,  and  other  Grecian  fabulists  ? 

Even  in  holy  writ,  t!)ere  are  the  most  irreconcileable  anachronisms. 
The  Septuagint  and  many  of  the  fathers  of  the  church,  fix  the  period 
intervening  the  creation,  and  the  vocation  of  Abraham,  at  3513  years, 
whilst  the  Hebrews  and  many  Christian  ecclesiastics  compute  it  but 
2023!  Varro,  the  Roman  historian,  finding  it  impossible  to  grope  his 
way  through  the  dark  mazes  of  chronology,  declared  that  the  dates 
and  epochs  of  all  the  events,  said  to  have  occurred  before  the  first 
Olympiad,  (i.  e.  the  year  after  the  creation,  3232,)  were  but  the 
imaginary  computations  of  fiction.  We  find  that  the  Greeks  began 
io  reckon  their  historical  eras  by  the  Olympiads,  and  the  Romans 


1782i 


•■) 


distinguished  theirs  by  the  period  tliat  elapsed  from  the  foundation  of 
the  "  ETERNAL  CITY."  Hence  wc  are  not  to  wonder  at  the  discre- 
pancy in  the  chronological  order  of  ancient  Irish  events,  particularly 
those  that  took  place  before  the  coming  of  our  Melesian  ancestors. 
The  authenticity  of  tlie  events  enumerated  in  our  annals,  is  at 
least  as  well  established  as  that  of  the  history  of  England,  and  the 
united  testimony  of  foreign  and  native  writers  lias  fortified  our  pre- 
tension to  remote  antiquity,  with  evidence  and  arguments  that  cannot 
be  impeached  or  subverted.  The  historic  pillars  that  support  the 
proud  edifice  of  our  illustrious  origin,  like  those  of  Hercules,  cannot 
be  destroyed ;  they,  (thanks  to  our  ancient  Monks,)  escaped  the 
rage  of  the  Danes,  the  fury  of  the  Henries,  and  the  Richards;  the 
rapacity  and  perfidy  of  the  myrmidons  of  the  sanguinary  Elizabeth, 
and  the  ruthless  and  diabolical  fanaticism  of  Oliver  Cromwell. 
Some  English  and  Scottish  writers,  actuated  by  rancorous  prejudice, 
regard  the  whole  of  our  traditional,  and  even  our  written  records  of 
early  times,  with  a  fastidious  degree  of  incredulity.  Tiiis  unwar- 
rantable scepticism,  with  which  these  writers  are  so  incurably  infected, 
may  be  justly  imputed  to  their  ignorance  of  the  Irish  language,  and 
the  consequent  derision  with  which  they  treat  of  our  historical  events 
and  circumstances ;  and  the  impotent  attempt,  which  they  make  to 
give  them  a  fabulous  aspect.  But  some  of  their  own  historians 
have  denominated  Ireland,  "  the  venerable  mother  of  Britain  and 
Albany.''''  These  sceptical  writers  seem  to  have  adopted  the  maxim 
of  Voltaire,  in  their  opinions  of  Irish  history — "  that  incredulity  is 
the  source  of  wisdom."  The  philosophic  Lord  Bolingbroke  has 
indeed  asserted,  that  it  is  an  egregious  folly  to  endeavor  to  establish 
universal  pyrrhonism,  in  matters  of  historical  investigation,  because 
there  are  no  histories  without  a  mixture  of  facts  and  fictions.  Wc 
think,  however,  that  there  is  more  truth  in  the  opinion  of  the  splendid 
moralist,  Dr.  Johnson,  who  steadily  maintained  that  all  the  coloring 
of  history  was  imparted  by  the  pencil  of  fancy.  How,  then,  can  it 
excite  surprise,  if  there  are  defects  in  the  chronological  arrangements 
of  Irish  history,  when  even  in  the  present  age  of  literature  and 
philosophic  light,  we  cannot  find  any  two  accounts  of  the  same  event 
perfectly  in  accordance,  in  the  detail  of  their  minute  circumstances 
and  leading  features  1  There  is  an  anecdote  related  in  the  life  of 
Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  which  tlirows  a  blaze  of  illustration  on  the 
subject.  One  morning,  after  his  confinement  in  the  Tower  of 
London,  by  the  order  of  the  fanatic  pedant,  James  I.  while  deeply 
engaged  in  reconciling  the  jarring  and  contrary  accounts  of  various 


historians,  respecting  some  noted  transactions  that  had  occurred  in 
the  earlj  ages  of  the  worhl,  he  was  annoyed  and  disturhed  by  a  fray 
which  happened  in  the  courtyard  exactly  under  his  window.  He 
was  not  able  to  see  the  transactions  with  his  own  eyes,  so  that  he 
was  anxious  to  obtain  a  narrative  of  it,  from  the  first  person  that 
came  into  his  apartment,  who  gave  a  circumstantial  account  of  it, 
which  he  asserted  to  be  correct,  as  he  had  seen,  he  said,  the  entire 
affair.  In  a  few  minutes  after  he  had  given  his  detail  of  the  occur- 
rence, another  friend,  Paul  Pry-like,  dropped  in,  who  gave  a  different 
version  of  the  disturbance,  and  just  as  his  relation  was  finished,  a 
third  person  entered,  who  asserted  he  was  an  eye-witness  of  the 
fracas,  and  his  recital  of  it  was  as  opposite  and  as  contradistinguished 
as  light  and  darkness,  from  the  narratives  of  the  two  preceding 
observers.  Sir  Walter,  astonished  at  the  amazing  discrepancy  in 
their  stories,  exclaimed, — "  Good  God  !  how  is  it  possible  I  can 
pretend  to  arrive  at  certainty,  respecting  events  which  happened 
3000  years  ago,  when  I  cannot  obtain  a  correct  account  of  what 
happened  under  my  window,  only  three  hours  since." — Every 
province  in  Ireland  had  its  historian,  who  kept  its  records,  and  every 
chief  had  his  laureate  and  antiquarian  ;  for  so  late  as  the  usurpation 
of  Cromwell,  we  find  that  the  famous  Poet,  McDairy,  was  the  Bard 
of  the  Earl  of  Thomond.  In  a  country  where  there  was  much 
competition  among  poets  and  historians,  we  must  be  so  candid  as  to 
admit,  that  it  is  probable  that,  in  order  to  swell  the  panegyric  of 
their  chieftains  and  patrons,  they  often  decked  their  fame  and  ex- 
ploits in  the  tinsel  drapery  of  poetic  imagination.  "As  a  question 
becomes  more  complicated  and  involved,"  says  the  discriminating 
Doctor  Hawkesworth,  "  and  extends  to  a  greater  number  of 
relations,  disagreement  of  opinion  will  always  be  multiplied,  not 
because  we  are  irrational,  but  because  we  are  finite  beings, 
furnished  with  different  kinds  of  knowledge,  exerting  different 
degrees  of  attention."  But  though  a  portion  of  fable  has  been 
infused  into  our  early  history,  yet  the  credit  that  attaches  to  the 
events  connected  with  the  landing  of  the  Milesian  colony  in  A.  M. 
2736,  and  the  transactions  and  circumstances  of  the  subsequent  ages, 
which  intervened  from  that  epoch,  until  the  invasion  of  Henry  II. 
are  authenticated  by  historical  evidence  which  cannot  be  impeached.* 
The  first  materials  of  history  must  have  been  collected  from 
national  traditions,  public  inscriptions,  and  other  authorities  of  a 
similar  complexion ;  and  though  the  accounts  delivered  through  the 
*  Vide  Bede,  Warner,  Whitaker,  Laing,  Lloyde,  Smith,  Camden,  Valiancy,  Sic. 


medium  of  popular  legends,  should  even  escape  the  tinge  and  alloy 
of  hyperbolical  exaggeration,  yet  the  person  who  first  recorded  them, 
flattered  with  the  novelty  of  being  the  original  historian  of  his 
country,  is  naturally  induced  to  exalt  their  character  by  the  embel- 
lishments of  style,  and  the  coloring  of  poetry,  in  order  to  cover  the 
barren  field  of  incident  with  the  verdure  of  imagination,  and  people 
it  with  heroes  and  heroines  that  never  had  existence.  Succeeding 
historians,  finding  it  difficult  to  separate  fiction  from  fact,  or  perhaps 
in  some  instances,  rather  obeying  the  impulse  of  their  desires  than 
the  approbation  of  their  judgment,  recorded  all  the  fabricated 
accounts  which  they  received  with  historical  fidelity. 

Though  the  ancient  annals  of  Rome  are  replete  with  fiction,  the 
Roman  historians  have  drawn  no  line  of  distinction  between  the  true 
and  the  fabulous  part.  Livy,  the  ablest  and  most  candid  of  their 
historical  writers,  has  admitted  that  it  would  be  a  kind  of  heresy 
against  the  dignity  of  a  nation,  to  question  the  authenticity  of  its 
original  records  :  he,  therefore,  omitted  no  fact,  which  he  found  sanc- 
tioned by  antiquity.  He  seemed  to  be  aware  that  truth  was  so 
blended  and  interwoven  with  invention,  that  it  would  be  an  endless, 
perhaps  an  insuperable  task,  to  separate  them  : — but  let  us  give  his 
opinion  in  his  own  words — "  Quce  ante  condUam  condendamvc  urhcm 
poeticis  magisdtcoi-a  fabulis,  quam  incorruptis  rcrum  gestanim  monu- 
mentis  traduntur,  ea  nee  affirmare  nee  refellere  ;  in  animo  est.^^  *  The 
Milesians  commenced  their  own  immediate  history  with  Phaenius, 
their  great  progenitor,  and  continued  it  with  wonderful  accuracy  and 
fidelity,  through  the  ages  that  elapsed  from  his  time,  until  his  remote 
descendants,  Heber  and  lieremon,  after  the  expiration  of  twenty- 
three  generations,  invaded  Ireland,  A.  M.  273G.  But  we  are  not,  in 
this  introduction,  to  elucidate  the  inaccuracies  of  our  chronology, 
nor  could  we,  if  we  were  inclined,  light  a  torch,  like  our  great  and 
gifted  country-woman,  Lady  Morgan,  to  show  the  reader  the  remains 
of  our  ancient  I'enown  and  glory,  mouldering  in  the  catacombs  of 
the  Irish  annals.  There  is  not  now  in  existence,  and  we  say  it  un- 
hesitatingly, any  person  who  could  write  a  better  history  of  that 
country,  of  which  she  is  the  pride  and  the  ornament,  than  her  Lady- 
ship. The  profundity  of  her  research — the  flowery  luxuriance  of 
her  style — the  fervour  of  her  patriotism — the  philosophy  of  her 
investigations — and,  above  all,  the  intimate  acquaintance  which  she 

"  It  is  not  my  intention  to  maintain,  nor  3-ct  to  deny  those  accounts  that  ]iavc 
been  transmitted  to  us.  prior  to  the  foundation  and  building  of  tiie  city,  as  they 
may  probably  be  vested  in  the  drapery  of  poetic  invention,  rather  than  founded 
by  truth  on  the  basis  of  uncorrupted  history,  or  arrayed  in  the  modest  garb  of  fact. 


lias  with  the  language  i.i  wliicli  Ossiau  sung,  and  Brian  Boroihme 
bade  defiance  to  his  foes,  would  enable  her  to  reflect  the  concentrated 
rays  of  these  brilliant  combinations,  on  a  History  of  Ireland,  that 
would  wither  the  laurel  wreaths,  with  which  the  historic  Muse 
entwined  the  brows  of  a  Gibbon,  a  Hume,  and  a  Henry. 

It  must  surely  have  excited  surprise  in  the  minds  of  the  inquisitive 
readers,  that  while  we  have  numberless  histories  of  England  and 
Scotland,  adapted  to  popular  use,  no  successful  attempt  has  been 
made,  since  the  days  of  the  Irish  Livy,  O'Halloran,  to  famiiiarize 
the  reading  world  with  the  events  of  Irish  history,  by  presenting  its 
records  in  a  commodious  and  economical  form.  Yet  it  will  not  be 
denied,  that  the  occurrences  which  took  place  in  Ireland,  during  the 
last  two  centuries,  and  especially  since  the  accession  of  George  III. 
to  the  present  time,  demand  the  attention  of  the  philosopher  and 
the  historian — furnishing,  as  they  do,  moral  lessons,  from  which  not 
only  they,  but  the  statesmen  of  the  world,  might  derive  wisdom, 
experience,  and  instruction  ;  for  to  form  a  just  and  impartial  esti- 
mate of  her  present  character,  they  must  know  something  of  her 
past  greatness,  and  present  degradation  ; — her  wrongs,  persecutions, 
and  injuries,  which  may  be  pronounced  as  flagitious,  as  ever  the 
most  wicked  and  tyrannic  oppressors  inflicted  on  a  nation,  to  depress 
her  spirit,  sap  her  moral  energies,  and  deteriorate  her  inherent  and 
indigenous  virtues.  The  picture  presented  by  such  mercenary  Irish 
apostates,  as  Dr.  Thomas  Leland,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Gordon,  Sir  Richard 
Musgrave,  Barlow,  Taylor,  and  the  late  renegade.  Dr.  O'Connor,* 
(the, degenerate  grand-son  of  the  celebrated  and  patriotic  author  of 
the  ^^Dissertations  on  Irish  History,'''')  who,  like  a  parricide  of  his 
country's  fame,  sold  all  the  manuscripts  of  his  venerable  grand- 
father, to  the  Duke  of  Buckingham,  in  whose  sepulchral  library,  at 
Stowe,  "  they  rot  in  state,"  is  distorted  in  its  outline  by  venality,. 
and  heightened  in  its  coloring  by  exaggeration,  so  that  it  bears  no 
resemblance  to  the  original.  While,  however,  we  denounce  these 
hired  traducers  of  their  native  land,  let  us  not  withhold  merited 
praise  from  the  venerable  Keating,  the  learned  O'Halloran,  the 
impartial  Dr.  Warner,  (an  Englishman)  the  acute  O'Flaherty,  the 
erudite  Bishop  Usher,  the  sympathetic  and  intelligent  Curry,  the 
eloquent  Lawless,  the  zealous  Taaffe,  the  accomplished  McDermott» 
the  classic  Dalton,  and  "  though  last  not  least,"  the  elegant  and 
efficient  vindicator  of  the  aspersed  Irish,  Mr.  Plowden,  whose  history 

"  See  Plowden's  lustorical  letter  to  Columbanus,  and  McDermott  of  Coolovin's 
statement  in  relation  to  tliesc  manuscripts. 


of  Irelaiul,  in  all  the  great  historical  essentials,  is  superior  to  any 
similar  production  extant.  All  these  historians  have  contributed 
materially  to  illuminate  the  antique  darkness  of  our  annals  ;  but  their 
works  do  not  embrace  those  to[)ics,  which  the  ample  materials  in  our 
hands  will  enable  us  to  introduce  in  our  History. 

The  American  readers,  Avho  may  honor  this  history  with  a  perusal, 
will  be  astonished  at  tlie  record  of  our  discords  and  civil  warfare  in 
feudal  times.  But  we  must  inform  them  that  martial  glory  was  the 
goal  of  the  ancient  Irish  warrior'^s  ambition  : — for  him  the  sweets  of 
peace  and  domestic  happiness,  had  no  charms  or  allurements.  The 
inspiring  songs  of  the  bards,  and  the  siren  voice  of  anticipated 
military  fame,  hurried  him  to  the  field  of  combat,  where  distinction 
and  renown  could  only  be  obtained,  and  the  laurels  of  celebrity 
gathered.  The  chieftain  was  sure  of  being  branded  with  degrada- 
tion, who  would  loiter  in  the  soft  lap  of  luxury  and  inglorious 
pleasure.  To  be  generously  brave,  is  surely  no  proof  of  savage 
barbarity  :  and  that  such  was  the  chivalric  bravery  of  the  Milesian 
Irish,  will  appear  evident,  when  history  assures  us,  that  none  of  our 
monarchs  ever  survived  the  misfortune  of  a  defeat  in  battle,  except 
Malachy  II.  who  fled  from  the  glorious  conflict  of  Clontarfe.  Let 
us  peruse  the  history  of  the  Romans,  and  it  will  exhibit  a  scene  of 
eternal  warfare,  in  which  dissension  and  civil  broils  are  perpetually 
mingled  with  foreign  conquests.  The  Grecian  states  carried  the 
glory  of  arms  to  the  highest  pitch  of  ambition,  at  the  same  time  that 
they  termed  all  other  nations  barbarians.  Athens  and  Sparta  wasted 
their  strength  in  destroying  each  other,  and  yet  they  were  considered 
the  most  elegant  and  polished  people  in  the  Grecian  Republics  ; 
nor  was  the  soul-moving  Demosthenes  deemed  a  barbarian,  when 
he,  by  his   animating  harangues,  excited  his  countrymen   to  arms, 

and  with — 

" Resistless  eloquence, 

Wielded,  at  will,  the  fierce  democracy  ; 

Shook  the  arsenal,  and  fulminated  over  Greece — 

To  Macedon — and  Artaxerxes'  throne  !  " 

It  is,  therefore,  evident,  that  wars  and  civil  commotions  are  no 
proofs  of  a  deficiency  of  refinement  of  manners,  or  enlightenment  of 
civilization,  and  however  derogatory  they  may  be  to  the  precepts  of 
relio'ion,  and  the  injunctions  of  morality,  they  still  exhibit  a  theatre 
where  all  the  higher  powers  of  the  mind  are  called  into  action — 
where  the  victor  is  disarmed  of  his  enmity,  by  the  pleadings  of 
compassion,  and  the  fortunate  conquerer  laments  over  the  fallen  foe. 

But  perhaps  we  have  already  extended  this  introductiou  to  pro- 


lixity  ;  but  we  must  of  necessity  carry  it  a  little  farther  in  order  to 
define  our  plan.  We  are  aware  of  the  important  task  we  have 
assigned  ourself,  and  of  the  difficulty  that  will  attend  tlie  writing 
of  a  comprehensive  History  of  Ireland.  We  have  indeed  an 
abundance  of  materials,  which  we  hope  by  industry  and  assiduity, 
to  arrange  with  historical  skill,  and  to  combine  information  and 
instruction  in  our  work,  which  will  furnish  a  succinct  narrative  of 
all  the  memorable  events  that  occurred  in  Ireland  from  the  arrival 
of  Partholanus,  down  to  the  present  year.  Nothing  shall  be  omitted 
that  deserves  to  be  remembered.  In  relating  the  merits  and  de- 
merits of  memorable  actions,  we  shall  endeavor  to  trace  them  to  the 
motives  from  which  they  originated — to  elevate  such  as  were  conse- 
crated by  laudable  intention,  to  their  just  eminence  of  moral 
celebrity,  and  to  stamp  such  as  sprang  from  the  source  of  turpitude, 
with  the  stigma  of  reprobation.  We  will  bring  the  cotemporary 
authority  of  English  and  Scottish  writers  to  our  aid,  in  dissipating 
the  mists  of  prejudice,  in  which  some  of  their  countrymen  obscured 
our  fair  fame  and  character.  We  shall  let  Americans  see  what 
Erin  once  2vas,  for  what  she  is,  alas  !  is  known  to  the  world.  She 
has  been  the  victim  of  English  calumny,  and  it  is  generally  in  that 
deceitful  mirror  of  misrepresentation,  that  she  is  even  new  reflected 
in  America.  We  shall  do  all  we  can  to  subvert  the  baseless  system 
of  English  and  Scottish  defamation — and  to  defend  the  ancient 
historic  structure  of  Ireland,  which  we  contemplate  with  the  inalien- 
able sympathies  of  hereditary  aftection,  from  the  assaults  of  prejudice 
and  incredulity. 

We  will  give  a  fair,  and  we  ho^je,  an  impartial  history  of  Ireland; 
though  candor  obliges .  us  to  confess,  that  when  we  come  to  detail 
the  wrongs  and  persecutions  of  our  native  land,  we  cannot  help 
speaking  with  warmth  ;  for  he  that  would  merit  the  title  of  quite  an 
impartial  historian,  should,  like  Imlac's  Poet,  divest  himself  of  all 
the  passions,  feelings,  and  prejudices  of  his  age  and  country. 

In  our  history  we  shall  give  a  luminous  review  of  the  literature, 
manners,  and  customs  of  the  Irish  people,  embracing  an  inquiry 
into  the  merits  of  their  genius,  eloquence,  valor,  and  characteristics, 
as  well  as  specimens  of  the  forensic  and  senatorial  displays  of  Grat- 
tan,  Curran,  Burke,  Sheridan,  Burgh,  Flood,  O'Connell,  Plunket, 
Sheil  and  Phillips. 
2 


CHAPTER  I. 

Jin  Inqulrij  into  the  causes  from  whence  Ireland  derived  the  various  names  hy  which 
she  has  liccn  distinguished  in  ancient  times  ;  the  reason  to  ichich  she  oiccs  the 
origin  of  her  present  appellation.  The  arrival  of  the  first  Colomj  in  Ireland, 
•under  the  command  of  Partiiola  sus.  of  Migdonia,  in  Greece.  The  Rivers  and 
Lakes  found  in  the  Island,  by  this  Hcythiun  Colony,  with  reviarks  on  them. 

Name.  In  proceedings  to  give  a  History  of  Ireland,  we  think  that 
we  cannot  take  a  prehniinary  step  in  our  arduous  undertaking-,  more 
conducive  to  facilitate  our  progress,  than  to  give  a  compendious 
relation  of  the  various  names  by  which  Ireland  was  distinguished  in 
our  ancient  annals,  and  in  the  writings  of  Grecian  and  Roman  poets 
and  historians. 

The  noblest  j)urpose  to  which  history  can  be  applied,  is  to  extend 
our  acquaintance  with  the  human  character,  and  to  give  free  exer- 
cise to  our  judgment  on  human  affairs.  In  deducing  the  History  of 
Ireland  from  its  first  colonization,  and  tracing  the  foundation  of  our 
nation  back  to  its  remote  origin,  it  is  necessary  that  we  should  adduce 
every  historical  e\idence  that  can  strengthen  the  basis  on  which  the 
proud  edifice  of  our  high  pretension  to  illustrious  antiquity  rears  its 
elevated  towers.  There  are  ^ew,  in  this  age  of  light  and  literature, 
who  will  conform  to  David  Hume's  favorite  doctrine,  "  that  nations 
should  not  push  their  researches  too  far  into  the  exploits  and  adven- 
tures of  their  ancestors,"  which  he  thinks,  "  should  be  suftered  to 
remain  in  oblivion." 

Convinced,  as  we  are,  that  the  early  period  of  our  history  presents 
traits  of  character,  examjtles  of  valor  and  virtue,  and  monuments 
of  genius,  which  the  annals  of  Greece  or  Rome,  in  the  most  refined 
and  enlightened  ages  of  their  trium])li,  can  scarcely  parallel,  we 
shall  expatiate  with  unwearied  pleasure  on  the  glory  and  grandeur 
that  distinguished  Ireland  under  her  illustrious  JNIonarchs,  during 
those  centuries  of  her  greatness  and  renown,  that  preceded  the 
disastrous  epoch,  which  stands  accursed  in  Erin's  calendar,  the 
INVASION  of  Henry  II.,  in  1172. 

But  let  us  proceed  to  enumerate  the  different  names  by  which  the 
land  of  Bards  and  Orators  was  known  in  the  "  olden  time."  The 
first  name,  according  to  Bishop  Hutchinson  and  Raymond,  bestowed 
u|)on  Ireland,  was  " Inis  Ealga,'^  in  honor  of  Ealga,  the  wife  of 
Partiiolan,  the  great  founder  of  our  nation.  This  was  the  appellation 
of  Ireland  until  tiie  country  was  invaded  by  the  Tuatha  dc  Dcinnns, 
whose  chief  called  it  Eire,  after  his  lady  ;  lience  Erin.  The 
descendant-s  of  this  colony,  in  process  of  time,  changed  the  name  of 
the  country  to  Innisfail,  from  an  enchanted  stone,  said  to  be  part  of 
.Jacob's  pillar,  which  they  brought  to  Ireland.  This  continued  to  be 
the  name  of  the  nation  until  the  Milesians  subverted  the  dominion 
of  the  Danans,  and  gave  Ireland  the  nomenclature  of  the  Queen  of 
Milesius — "  Scotia."  A  great  discrepancy  of  opinion  prevails 
amongst  our  most  learned  writers,  on  the  etymology  of  Hiuernia. 
Bishop  Usher  and  Raymond  agree  in  deriving  this  name  from  the 


12 

river  Iheriiis,  in  Spain,  whence  the  Milesians  came  to  Ireland; 
wiiile  Ledwich  and  ITarris  contend  that  the  term  is  borrowed  from 
a  Greek  componnd  word,  wliicJi  signities  a  uiestcrn  country.  Doctor 
Keatinjf  seems  inclined  to  impute  tlie  ori<fin  of  the  title  Jlibernia, 
to  Ileher,  the  son  of  Milesius,  one  of  the  first  of  our  Milesian 
monarchs. 

The  learned  Bochart's  conjecture  on  this  disputed  question  as- 
sumes a  great  air  of  probability  :  "  Hibcrnia,^^says  he,  plainly  seems 
Phoenician  ;  for  this  term,  by  some  called  Icrne,  is  no  more  than 
Ibernaj,  or,  the  furtherest  habitation  westward."  Sir  James  Ware 
concurs  in  this  hypothesis.  Ca3sar,  Pliny,  and  Tacitus  called  Ire- 
land by  the  name  of  Hibornia,  "which  means,"  says  Camden,  "the 
most  remote  country  of  Europe,  westward."  Strabo  talks  of  Hi- 
bernia,  as  a  woody  country  in  the  Atlantic  Ocean. 

But  let  us  inquire  whence  the  derivative  of  the  present  name  of 
our  country — Ireland.  Camden  cites  Orpheus,  the  poet  of  Thrace, 
as  an  author  who  gives  the  most  ancient  and  decisive  testimony  of  the 
name  of  Ireland;  he  says,  the  son  of  Apollo  calls  it  Icrna,  and  our 
learned  countryman.  Bishop  Usher,  exultingly  (jbserves,  that,  "the 
Roman  people  were  not  able  to  produce  so  ancient  a  witness  of  their 
name."  We  think,  with  Dr.  Keating,  that  the  etymological  origin 
of  the  term  Ireland,  may  be  traced  back  to  Ir,  one  of  the  sons  of 
Milesius,  who  was  buried  at  Colp,  near  Droglieda  :  the  place  of  his 
sepulture  was  called  the  land  of  Ir,  from  which,  in  process  of  time, 
the  whole  Island  received  the  general  name  of  Irlandia,  signifying, 
in  the  Irish  language,  the  country  of  Ire's  grave.  Sir  William 
Temple  is  of  opinion,  that  the  name  Ireland  is  derived  from  the 
r'lSGY  Icrne.  Plutarch  calls  Ireland  Ogygia,  which  signifies  "Me 
most  ancient  Isle.'"  Some  of  our  ancient  historians  have  marshalled 
a  host  of  arguments,  tending  to  prove  that  Ireland  was  the  Isle  of 
Calypso.  Eminent  Roman  writers  have  called  Ireland,  Juverna. 
But  it  is  time  that  we  should  conduct  our  readers  out  of  the  barren 
field  of  etymology  and  conjecture,  into  the  spacious  region  of  his- 
torical narrative. 

Arrival  of  Partholanus.  Although  creditable  annalists  have 
asserted,  that  Ireland  was  first  peopled  by  the  nephews  of  Noah, 
immediately  after  the  flood,  our  learned  antiquarians  discard  the 
story  as  the  fiction  of  the  Bards.  But  all  our  historians  have 
impressed  the  seal  of  antlienticity  on  the  following  record  of  the 
first  colonization  of  Ireland. 

According  to  the  concurrent  testimony  of  the  annals  of  Erin, 
Partholanus,  the  son  of  Seara,  the  son  of  Sru,  the  son  of  Easru,  the 
son  of  Framant,  the  son  of  Fathocda,  the  son  of  Magog,  the  son  of 
Japhet,  the  son  of  Noah,  was  compelled  to  fly  from  his  country, 
Migdonia,  in  Greece,  to  evade  the  punishment  with  which  justice 
threatened  to  visit  him,  for  the  murder  of  his  parents,  and  his  attempt 
to  assassinate  his  brother,  in  order  that  he  might  reach  the  goal  of 
his  ambition,  the  supreme  command.  In  his  flight  to  the  coast, 
where  ships  were  pre])ared  by  his  adherents,  to  transport  him  from 
the  scenes  of  his  guilt,  he  was  accompanied  by  his  wife  yl/^«  or  Elga, 
his  three  sons,  Rughraidhe,  Slaigne,  and  Laughline,  with  their  three 


13 


wives,  together  with  one  thousand  soldiers,  who  vohintcered  to  share 
in  his  fortunes.  Having  been  fortunate  enough  to  sunnnunt  the 
perils  of  a  long  and  tedious  voyage,  he  at  length  readied  the  coasts 
of  Ireland,  wafted  thither,  more  probably,  by  the  caprice  of  winds, 
<ir  the  sport  of  tempests,  than  by  any  previous  knowledge  which  he 
liad  of  tlie  geographical  situation  of  the  Island,  or  the  skill  of  his 
mariners  in  navigation.  Our  annals  tell  us,  that  he  effected  a  land- 
ing in  Derry,  which  he  and  his  followers  then  called  Inbkcr  Sceine. 
This  memorable  event,  according  to  the  ''Book  of  Invasions" 
occurred  in  the  year  of  the  world  1956,  three  hundred  years  after 
the  flood.  Mr.  O'Flaherty,  in  his  Ogygia,  fixes,  on  the  authority  of 
Clitan  Mac  Noisk,  the  date  of  the  arrival  of  Partholanus,  in  19G9,  a 
difference,  however,  of  little  consequence  in  matters  of  such  remote 
antiquity.  The  most  incredible  story  recorded  I)y  the  Partholanians, 
is,  that  on  their  arrival  there  were  but  three  lakes  and  nine  rivers  in 
Ireland;  but  that  before  the  death  of  Partholanus,  a  period  of  thirty 
years  after  his  arrival,  seven  more  new  lakes  bursted  forth,  and 
three  rivers  guslied  from  the  mountains  of  Ulster.*  Doctor  O'Hal- 
loran  conjectures  that  the  lakes  and  rivers  discovered  by  Partholanus, 
were  those  in  that  part  of  the  country  first  occupied  by  the  colony; 
but  as  the  woods  were  cut  down,  and  cultivation  extended,  the  new 
lakes  and  rivers,  which  the  people  discovered  in  the  forests,  were 
recorded  in  the  national  annals  at  the  precise  time  of  their  discovery. 
Be  this  as  it  may,  the  accuracy  with  which  they  are  mentioned, 
sufliciently  evinces  the  scrupulous  regard  that  our  early  writers  paid 
to  those  minute  circumstances  which  composed  the  detail  of  their 
simple  story.  There  is  no  history  extant,  should  be  less  alloyed 
with  the  dross  of  fiction  than  that  of  Ireland  ;  because  it  is  a  fact 
attested  by  writers  of  unquestionable  veracity,  that  the  national 
annals  were  always  preserved  in  the  archives  of  the  state.  O'Fla- 
herty, Lynch,  and  Colgan,  agree  in  stating  that  the  government 
employed  the  chief  Bards  of  the  nation,  to  correct  the  national 
records  before  the  assembled  states,  at  Tara,  so  that  the  stream  of 
genuine  history  might  run  down  pure  and  pellucid  to  posterity. 
"  The  productions  of  the  annalists,"  says  the  acute  and  erudite 
Warner,  "were  to  undergo  the  solemn  test  and  sanction  of  the 
great  council  of  the  nation,  in  a  triennial  parliament  or  convention, 
where   such  accounts   only  as  were  deemed   worthy  of  credit,  were 


*    The    following    are    the    principal 
Lakes  in  Ireland. 

Killarney,     county  of 
Allen,  " 


Allua,  '• 

Arrow,  ' 

Conn,  ' 

Corrib,  ' 

Derg,  ' 

Erne,  « 

Derg,  " 

Esk,  " 

Foyle,  " 

Gara&Gill,  ' 
Gougenabarrji, 


Kerry. 

Leitrim. 

Cork. 

Sligo. 

Mayo. 

Gal  way. 

Donegal. 

Fermanagh. 

Tipperary. 

Donegal. 

Derry. 

Sligo. 

Cork. 


Gule,        county  of 

Inchiquin,  " 

Inny,  " 

Kay, 

Lane,  " 

Laughline,        " 

Macknean,        " 

Mask, 

Neagh, 

Ramor, 

Salt,  " 

Scuddy  &  Shillin 

Shoaling  &  Carr, 

Strangford,       " 

Swilly,  " 


Antrim. 
Clare. 

Westmeath. 
Leitrim. 
Westmeath . 
Westmeatli. 
Cavan. 
Armagh  &  Down. 
Derry  &.  Antrim. 
Cavan. 
Donegal. 
Westmeath. 
Meath. 
Down. 
Donegal, 


14 

approved,  and  a  memorial  of  them  entered  into  tlie  register  of  that 
high  court.  If  any  authors  were  found  perverting  the  truth  or 
imprudently  prostituting  it,  in  order  to  serve  the  jjurposes  of  a  party  ; 
misrepresenting  unfortunate  or  defeated  virtue,  contracting  or 
concealing  undoubted  facts,  with  the  same  perverse  intention  of 
prejudicing  fallen  patriots,  who  liad  no  otiier  than  historical  evidence 
for  their  vindication,  in  such  cases  the  authors  were  degraded,  and 
made  liable  to  the  penalties  inflicted  by  a  law  against  occasional  and 
incendiary  historians.  Surely  this  ordinance  of  the  ancient  Irish 
legislatures,  gives  a  great  idea  of  the  wisdom  of  this  people,  and  an 
authenticity  to  their  history,  which  is  to  be  given,  I  believe,  to  no 
other  nation  under  the  sun."  That  all  the  volumes  of  our  ancient 
history,  which  St.  Patrick,  in  the  enthusiasm  of  his  zeal  for  Chris- 
tianity, committed  to  the  flames  at  Tara,  A.  I).  440,  were  the  pure 
and  unmixed  essence  of  Truth,  there  can  be  no  question. 

But  it  is  time  to  return  from  this  digression,  to  the  Lakes  of  the 
Parthoianians.  Doctor  Hutchinson,  late  Bishop  of  Down  and  Con- 
nor, in  his  defence  of  Irish  historians,  has  taken  much  pains  to 
defend  this  part  of  our  history,  and  maintains  with  a  strong  bulwark 
of  argument  and  ingenious  reasoning,  the  probable  truth  of  the 
accounis  transmitted  to  us  of  these  lakes  and  rivers,  "whicliare," 
he  says,  "  so  far  from  discrediting  the  authenticity  of  our  annals, 
that  they  not  only  afford  strong  proofs  of  the  reality  of  the  facts, 
but  that  those  who  recorded  theni  were  wise  men,  who  wrote  them  for 
the  intruction  of  posterity,  that  they  might  know  which  way  nature 
moved.  The  most  eminent  Geogra[)hers  tell  us  of  more  and  greater 
new  lakes  than  these,  which  have  covered  the  low  lands  in  many 
other  countries."  The  Doctor  confirms  this  observation  by  many 
instances;  and  indeed  it  does  not  seem  difficult  to  conceive  that  if 
even  in  our  own  times,  the  harmony  of  nature  is  often  disturbed, 
and  her  laws  interrupted,  and  this  harmony  must  have  been  much 
more  liable  to  tumultuary  emotions,  at  so  early  a  period  after  the 
flood,  when  the  earth  was  convulsed  to  its  very  centre,  and  the 
equipoise  of  the  Globe  consequently  vacillating. 

Partholanus,  we  are  told,  suspected  the  fidelity  of  his  wife,  who 
is  represented,  by  some  writers,  to  have  been  a  woman  of  extreme 
beauty,  wliich  led  him  to  confine  her  supposed  gallant,  (one  of  his 
officers,)  in  a  cave.  The  reign  of  Partholanus  is  not  represented 
to  us  marked  by  any  memorable  events.  This  is  what  might  natu- 
rally l)c  expected  from  the  settlement  of  a  few  adventurers;  and  if 
our  annals  have  thrown  a  shade  of  importance  over  it,  they  would 
have  been  more  liable  to  suspicion.  Indeed  we  find  an  account,  not 
at  all  authenticated,  in  M'Dermott's  history  of  Ireland,  which  states 
that,  "  An  African  Colony  resided  in  the  Island,  previous  to  the 
arrival  of  Partholanus,  who  lived  by  fishing  and  hunting.  They 
were  under  the  command  of  Ciocal,  the  son  of  Nin,  the  son  of  Garl)h, 
the  son  of  Nadhmoiar.  A  desperate  and  decisive  engagement  is 
stated  to  have  taken  place  between  them  and  Partholanus,  soon  after 
his  arrival,  at  a  place  called  ]\fuii{h  Jotha,  where  Ciocal,  the  son  of 
Nin,  and  the  greater  part  of  his  followers  were  destroyed.  Doctor 
Warner  and  OTIalloran  regard  the  story  of  the  African  Colony  as 


15 

the  dream  of  poetic  fiction.  The  Partholanians  cut  down  all  the 
woods,  and  extended  tillage  and  pasturage  over  the  whole  Island. 

Partholanus  reigned  thirty  years,  and  at  his  death  left  his  kingdom 
to  four  son?,  who  were  born  in  Ireland,  Er  or  Ire,  Orba,  Fearn,  and 
Fergna;  the  three  sons  whom  he  brought  from  Greece  having  died 
since  his  arrival.  Slainge  died  in  the  thirteenth  year  of  his  reign, 
and  was  interred  in  the  side  of  a  mountain,  in  th.e  county  of  Down, 
from  him  denominated  Sliabh  Slainge,  or  the  mountain  of  Slaingp. 
Two  years  after,  Laughline  died,  and  from  the  circumstance  of  liis 
being  buried  in  the  vicinity  of  a  Ijake  in  AVest  INIeath  it  received 
the  name  of  Loch-Laughline.  In  the  2.>th  year  of  his  reign,  Rngh- 
raidhe  was  drowned  in  a  lake,  in  the  County  of  Sligo.  The  scru- 
pulous attention  which  our  annals  have  paid  to  the  names  of  places, 
is  a  strong  and  conclusive  testimony  of  their  truth. 

The  simplicity  of  such  statements  can  never  be  reconciled  to  the 
spirit  of  romance  and  fiction.  To  describe  so  many  men,  observes 
"NVarner,  "to  point  out  their  manners,  to  paint  their  persons,  to 
relate  their  adventures,  and  make  a  circumstantial  recital  of  their 
families,  seems  beyond  the  power  of  fiction."  In  the  hyperbolical 
narrative  of  the  imagination,  nothing  but  the  marvellous  can  please: 
nothing  but  great  and  perilous  disasters,  the  revolutions  of  power, 
the  ruin  of  empires  ;  the  rapid  strides  of  conquest  ;  the  feats  of 
chivalry,  and  the  brilliant  execution  of  the  steel  clad  warrior; 
in  a  word,  nothing  but  what  is  glorious  in  its  design,  and  grand  in 
its  progress,  like  the  splendid  career  of  a  Napoleon,  can  be  admitted 
into  the  fanciful  creation  of  the  legendary  romancer.  In  all  the 
statements  respecting  the  colony  of  Partholanus  we  perceive  nothing 
but  what  is  suited  to  real  life,  and  to  the  origin  of  an  infant  Colony, 
totally  unacquainted  with  civil  and  political  transactions.  There 
are  no  reports  whatever,  in  these  early  records,  that  are  belied  by 
the  circumstances  of  time  and  place.  Human  nature  appears  in 
her  native  dress,  or  more  properly  without  any  dress,  such  as  she 
appears  in  countries  secluded  from  the  polish  and  adventitious 
modification  of  artificial  society  ;  and  yet  an  Innis,  a  Hume,  a  Mac 
Plierson,  and  our  own  apostate  Lechvich,  have  had  the  unblushing 
efi"rontery  to  assert,  that  the  accounts  of  Partholanus  have  been 
invented  by  our  Bards  and  Monks,  to  gratify  the  ^^ pride  of  ancestry 
and  national  honor.''''  Our  history  furnishes  a  "  plain  unvarnished 
tale,"  unadorned  by  that  affectation  oi  ^'' national  vanity  and  high 
horn  ancestry,''''  to  which  Innis,  in  his  "  critical  essay,  on  the  ancient 
Inhabitants  of  North  Britain,"  ascribes  our  high  pretensions  to 
*'  illustrious  antiquity."  But  when  we  carry  this  history  to  the  age 
of  Ossian,  we  will  endeavor  to  answer  the  objections  of  cavilling 
critics.  The  INIonks,  who  are  supposed  to  have  fabricated  our  annals, 
would  have  found  it  extremely  easy  to  exalt  the  character  of  Partho- 
lanus, the  Romulus  of  Ireland,  by  uniting  in  his  person  all  those 
conspicuous  and  ennobling  qualities  that  emanate  from  heroism — 
from  bravery,  magnanimity,  and  God-like  virtue  ;  all  the  varied 
excellencies  of  the  son  of  Venus  and  Anchises  might  have  been  easily 
conferred  upon  him,  and  the  national  pride  thus  flattered  by  the 
high   endowments  of  an  imaginary  hero.     But  instead  of  this  we 


16 

find  him  described  as  an  infamous  parricide,  a  wretch,  who  not 
content  with  spilUng  the  blood  of  his  parents,  attempted  to  deepen 
tlie  enormity  of  liis  remorseless  turpitude,  by  sacrificing  his  brother's 
life  on  the  diabolical  altar  of  Fratricide.  Surely  if  the  Monks 
coined  this  story,  in  the  mint  of  invention,  we  are  sorry,  for  the 
honor  of  our  early  ancestors,  that  it  has  obtained  such  historical 
currency. 

The  sovereignty,  as  we  have  already  observed,  was  transmitted, 
at  the  death  of  Partholanus,  to  his  four  sons — Ire  ruled  over  the 
north  east  ]iart  of  the  kingdom  ;  his  southern  limits  extended  to 
Dublin.  Orba's  dominion  comprehended  the  country  from  Dublin 
to  the  Isle  of  Barrymore  in  Munster  ;  Fearn  had  sway  from  Barry- 
more  to  Gahvay  ;  and  Feargus'  possessions  included  the  range  of 
territory  that  lies  from  thence  to  the  northern  extremity  of  Ulster. 
Partholanus  had,  also,  ten  legitimate  daughters,  to  whom,  on  their 
marriage  with  distinguished  chiefs,  lands  were  appropriated.  AVe 
had  almost  omitted  to  mention,  that  when  Partholanus  landed  in 
Ireland,  he  had,  in  his  retinue,  four  learned  men,  one  Poet  Laureate, 
two  Druids,  and  a  sculptor.  The  Partholanians  governed  Ireland 
for  three  hundred  years,  at  the  end  of  which  period  a  dreadful 
plague  broke  out  which  proved  fatal  to  almost  the  entire  of  the 
colony.  The  Psalter  of  Cashel  says  that  the  contagion  was  pecu- 
liarly destructive  at  Ben-heder,  (now  Ilowth,)  near  Dublin,  so  much 
so  that  Howth  was  the  burial  place  of  some  thousands  of  the  Par- 
tholanians, who  perished  by  the  sweeping  mortality,  from  which 
circumstance,  says  the  book  of  conquests,  it  was  ever  after  called 
Tahnhleacht  Muintcr  Phartliolan,  oy  the  cemetery  of  the  race  of 
Partholan.  In  the  sixth  century,  St.  Fenton  erected  a  church  in 
Howth,  dedicated  to  St.  Mary,  which  was  in  good  preservation  until 
the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  when  it  was  plundered  and  destroyed,  by 
her  sacrilegious  and  sanguinary  myrmidons.  Howth,  though  now 
stripped  of  trees,  was,  we  are  informed  by  history,  formerly  covered 
with  venerable  oaks,  which  shaded  aDruidical  temple,  as  the  remains 
of  such  an  edifice  are  still  to  be  seen  in  one  of  its  sequestered 
valleys. 

Before  closing  this  chapter  we  should,  perhaps  observe,  that  some 
antiquarians  have  gravely  asserted,  that  the  Partholanians  were  not 
the  first  who  discovered  Ireland.  This  honor  they  gave  to  Adhna, 
the  son  of  Beatha,  a  messenger  sent  by  Nion  the  son  of  Pelus,  to 
ascertain  the  quality  of  the  Irish  soil.  On  reaching  the  Island,  he 
found  it  clothed  with  the  most  luxuriant  verdure,  and  brought  back 
to  his  master  a  bunch  of  the  rank  grass,  wiiich  he  had  plucked,  as  a 
proof  of  its  fertility. 


CHAPTER  ir. 

Thn  arrival  of  a  second  colony  from  Greece,  under  the  command  of  Nemedius,  in 
Ireland.  The  <ifricans  and,  infant  Colony  contend  in  several  battles,  for  the 
dominion  of  the  coiintry  ;  the  JVemedians  arc  finally  defeated,  and  compelled  to 
retire  to  Greece. 

A.  M.  2286.  REATrNG  and  O'Flaherty  concur  in  relating  that 
all  the  Partholanians  were  annihilated  hy  the  destructive  phiijue 
whicli  we  mentioned  in  the  h'lst  chapter,  and  that  in  consequence, 
the  country  lay  waste  and  desolate  for  thirty  years,  until  it  was 
visited  by  a  horde  of  African  pirates,  who  took  up  their  residence  in 
it,  and  erected  fortifications  along  the  coast  to  protect  them  from  the 
descent  of  other  [)redatory  rovers. 

Nemedius,  who,  we  are  told,  was  descended  from  Adiila,  an  infant 
son,  whom  Partholanus  left  after  him  in  Greece,  prepared  in  the 
Euxine  sea,  a  fleet  with  which  he  determined  to  follow  the  fortunes 
of  his  ancestors  in  Ireland.  The  motive  that  induced  him  to  quit 
his  native  land,  and  fit  out  this  expedition,  is  not  recorded  in  our 
annals.  This  armament  was  very  f(jrnudable;  it  consisted  of  thirty- 
four  ships,  each  of  which  was  manned  by  thirty  marines.  He 
landed  on  the  coast  of  Ulster,  (but  where,  we  are  not  informed,) 
without  opposition  from  the  Africans.  Besides  his  wife  Macha,  he 
brought  to  Ireland  his  four  sons,  Starn,  larbhanel,  the  prophet 
Feargus,  and  Ainnin. 

Having  established  himself  in  the  country  without  molestation 
from  his  African  rivals,  he  selected  a  beautiful  valley,  where  the  city 
of  Armagh  now  stands,  in  which  he  prepared  to  build  two  palaces* 
for  himself  and  his  retinue.  Four  African  architects,  who  it  seems 
had  made  a  greater  progress  in  the  arts  than  his  Grecian  followers, 
were  employed  in  the  erection  of  these  palaces,  which  they  finished 
with  such  exquisite  skill  and  elegance  as  excited  the  admiration  of 
Nemedius  ;  but  whether  from  ignoble  feelings  of  envy,  caused  by 
those  artists  having  surpassed  the  Grecians,  in  genius  and  execution, 
or  from  the  apprehension  that  these  accomplished  architects  might 
raise  other  edifices,  exceeding  his  in  magnificence  and  style,  he  had 
the  baseness  to  order  them  to  be  assassinated. 

Soon  after  the  Court  of  Nemedius  was  removed  to  the  new 
palaces,  Macha,  the  wife  of  this  Chief,  died,  and  from  the  mound  of 
earth  that  was  raised,  as  a  monument  over  her  grave,  Armagh 
derives  its  name  ;  Ardmacha,  signifying  in  Irish,  Macho's  eminence. 
Nemedius,  winle  at  peace  with  the  Africans,  made  great  improve- 
ments in  Ireland  ;  several  wilds  were  cultivated,  and  twelve  forests 
were  cut  down.     At  this  jimcture,  if  we   can   credit  Keating,  four 

*  These  Palaces  were,  General  Valiancy  supposes,  the  first  structures  of  stone 
erected  in  Ireland.  The  Palace  of  Tara  was  built  by  Heremon,  the  first  of  our 
Milesian  Kings,  in  A.  M.  2737.  Its  order  of  architecture  was  Ionic,  and  the 
marble  of  its  colonnade  was  brought  from  Italy.  The  Palace  of  Emania,  in  the 
county  of  Arniatrh,  the  hereditary  seat  of  the  illustrious  O'Neils,  was  the  next 
structure  in  magnificence  and  beauty,  to  Tara.  It  was  erected  by  Crombkaoth 
O'Neil,  monarch  of  Ireland,  A.  M.  353!). 

3 


IS 

large  lakes  sprung  up  suddenly,  and  overflowed  a  great  extent 
of  the  country.  The  Africans  looked  with  a  jealous  eye  on  the 
progress  of  the  Nemedians,  in  their  rapid  acquisition  of  territory. 
A  pretext  for  coming  to  an  open  rupture  was  soon  seized  upon  by 
both  paries.  Hostilities  were  quickly  commenced  between  them, 
and  they  engaged  fiercely  in  three  successive  battles,  in  which  the 
Africans  were  vanquished,  and  three  of  their  principal  leaders  slain. 
The  Nemedians,  flushed  witli  victory,  resolved  to  drive  the  whole 
African  race  out  of  the  Island.  The  Africans,  aware  of  the  reso- 
lution of  their  enemies,  bravely  determined  to  contend  for  the  game  of 
empire  with  desperate  valour.  Intrenching  themselves  in  an  advan- 
tageous position,  tliey  waited  the  attack  of  the  Nemedians,  to  which 
they  opposed  a  gallant  resistance,  that  dismayed  and  deterred  their 
assailants.  Nemedius,  exasperated  at  this  formidable  front,  put 
himself  at  the  head  of  his  best  troops,  made  an  impetuous  assault 
on  the  enemy's  centre,  but  without  effect ;  the  Africans  now  rushed 
forward  on  their  foes,  who  begau  to  give  ground,  and  the  conflict 
became  general ;  the  engagement  lasted  many  hours,  both  parties 
fighting  with  desperation,  but  at  length  fortune  favored  the  Africans. 
Nemedius  was  totally  defeated,  and  his  army  almost  annihilated. 
Two  of  his  sons,  Starn  and  Ainnin,  fell  in  the  sanguinary  battle. 
The  fatal  result  of  this  conflict  broke  the  spirit  and  blasted  the 
hopes  of  Nemedius,  nor  did  he  long  survive  the  disaster,  for 
exhausted  with  grief  and  disappointment,  he  died  at  Arda  Neimhid, 
now  the  Isle  of  Barrymore,  in  the  county  of  Cork. 

The  Africans  determined  to  avenge  the  different  losses  which  they 
bad  sustained,  on  the  shattered  remains  of  the  Nemedians,  imposed 
a  heavy  tax  on  them,  which  was  to  be  paid  on  the  first  of  November, 
at  a  place  called  Blag  Gceidnc  or  the  plain  of  violence.  But  the 
chief  of  the  Nemedians  rendered  indignant  by  the  enormity  of  this 
exaction,  conspired  with  others,  to  shake  off"  the  odious  yoke  of 
despotism,  and  make  one  bold  and  vigorous  effort  to  regain  liberty 
and  independence. 

The  Chieftains  of  the  Nemedians  at  this  time,  were  Fathach,  the 
son  of  Nemedius,  his  brother  Feargus,  and  Beothach,  their  nephew, 
noble  spirits,  of  daring,  fortitude,  and  chivalric  bravery.  They  soon 
marshalled  a  force,  with  whicli  they  attacked  their  oppressors,  and 
the  success  tliat  crowned  their  arms  was  such  as  might  be  expected 
from  the  union  of  resolution  and  courage,  animating  men  that  fought 
for  victory  or  death.  In  this  irresistible  assault,  Conning,  the 
African  General,  two  of  his  sons,  and  the  greater  part  of  his  army 
fell  by  the  edge  of  the  sword,  and  many  of  his  fortified  garrisons 
surrendered  to  the  conquerors.  But  scarcely  had  the  Nemedians 
enjoyed  a  momentary  triumph  under  the  laurels  of  victory,  ere  new 
dangers  darkened  the  transient  brightness  of  their  exultation. 
More,  the  son  of  Dal,  a  powerful  naval  commander,  who  was  abroad 
on  an  expedition  for  some  time,  returned  with  his  fleet,  at  the 
moment  his  countrymen  were  preparing  to  evacuate  Ireland. 

When  the  Africans  perceived  tlie  approach  of  the  fleet,  hope 
banished  despair,  while  the  Nemedians  hastened  to  the  shore  of  Tor 
Inis,  to  oppose  the  landing  of  More   and  his  forces,  conscious  that 


19 

if  they  failed  in  obstructins;  the  landing  of  this  chief  and  his  hosts, 
their  dominion  in  Ireland  was  lost.  JMore's  sliips  not  heins:  able  to 
come  near  enough  to  the  shore  of  Donegal,  he  caused  his  soldiers  to 
descend  into  the  waves  in  order  to  encounter  the  Nemedians,  who 
boldly  advanced  through  the  water  to  attack  their  foes.  The  eno-aoe- 
ment  was  so  fierce  and  obstinate,  so  prolonged  and  terrible,  that  both 
armies  were  unconscious  of  the  swelling  tide,  that  raised  its  waves 
to  their  middle,  till  they  were  borne  away  by  the  current,  so  that 
those  who  escaped  the  sword  were  drowned. 

In  this  conflict  the  entire  army  of  the  Nemedians,  except  thirty 
officers  and  three  commanders,  perished.  The  African  chief,  with 
a  few  soldiers  regained  his  shipping,  and  then  with  the  wreck  of  his 
forces,  took  possession  of  the  country. 

The  forlorn  remains  of  the  Nemedians  were  now  reduced  to  the 
necessity  of  submitting  to  whatever  terms  their  African  masters 
thought  proper  to  dictate,  or  to  seek  their  fortune  in  other  climes  ; 
to  the  latter  alternative  they  almost  unanimously  inclined.  They 
prepared  a  fleet  as  soon  as  possible,  and  under  the  command  of 
Simon  Breac,  the  grand  son  of  Nemedius,  set  sail  for  Greece,  the 
country  of  their  fathers,  where,  on  their  arrival,  they  met  but  a  cold 
and  unkind  reception  from  their  relatives,  who,  instead  of  alleviating 
their  misfortunes,  spurned  them  with  contempt  and  scorn.  Another 
grandson  of  Nemedius',  Briotan  Maol,  with  his  followers,  landed  in 
the  north  of  Scotland,  and  there  settled,  and  his  posterity,  for  many 
ages,  were  possessors  of  the  country,  as  well  as  England,  as  far  as 
Bristol.  The  Psalter  of  Cashel  confers  upon  this  Nemedian  chief, 
the  honor  of  giving  name  to  Britain,  which  before  was  called  the 
"  Great  Island." 

This  etymology  is  sanctioned  by  a  great  number  of  our  antiqua- 
rians, and  is  certainly  entitled  to  more  credit  than  the  fable  of 
Geoffrey  of  Monmouth,  who  wished  to  derive  the  term  Britain  from 
Brutus,  the  Trojan,  a  claim  so  uufounded  as  to  be  rejected  even  by 
his  own  countrymen. 

The  few  Nemedians  who  remained  in  Ireland,  were  subjected  to 
every  hardship  and  privation,  by  their  cruel  task  masters,  the  Africans, 
until  the  Fir-bolgs  invaded  the  Island.  The  period  of  time  that 
elapsed,  according  to  Keating  and  Lynch,  from  the  colonization  of 
Nemedius  to  the  landing  of  the  Belgae,  was  217  years,  though 
O'Flaherty,  through  mistake,  assigns  a  rule  of  216  years  to  the 
Nemedians,  in  Ireland.  Dr.  OTIalloran,  with  his  usual  penetration, 
satisfactorily  proves  the  anachronism  of  the  author  of  Ogygia. 


CHAPTER  II  r. 

Arrival  of  the  Bclgae  or  Fir-bolgs  in  Ireland.  The  reason  why  they  jcere  called 
by  that  appellation  eoplaincd.  Division  of  Ireland  heticixt  the  five  chiefs  of  the 
invaders. 

A.  M.  2503.  In  the  conclusion  of  the  last  chapter,  we  stated  that 
the  fugitive  Neniedians,  under  Simeon  Brcac,  were  treated  as  aliens 
by  their  relatives,  in  Greece,  who  subjected  tliem  to  the  most  intole- 
rable hardships,  conipelliiig  tiiem,  like  tlie  captive  Israelites,  in 
Ej^jpt,  to  liew  wood  and  draw  water.  Their  task  masters  exhausted 
ingenuity  to  devise  the  most  toilsome  and  operose  occupations  for 
the  strangers  ;  for  they  were  obliged  to  sink  j)its,  and  carry  clay 
from  the  valleys,  in  leathern  bags,  to  the  summits  of  rocks  and 
mountains  to  form  an  artificial  soil.  From  this  circumstance  they 
derived  the  name  of  ^^  Fir-bolgs,^^  or  bagmen.  We  should  mention, 
however,  that  two  of  our  antiquarians,  Raymond  and  Smith, 
ascribe  the  appellation  to  a  difl'erent  etymology  ;  these  writers  say, 
that  after  the  invasion  of  Ireland  by  the  Fir-bolgs,  they  took  up  their 
residence  in  caves,  with  which  they  Lvrroired  the  whole  country  ; 
hence  these  Troglodytes  were  called  Firl-bogs,  or  creeping  men.* 

*  Among  tlie  innumerable  Caves  in  Ireland,  the  following  are  celebrated  for 
their  structure  and  extent : — 

Bride  Cave,  about  six  miles  from  Cork,  is  remarkable  for  its  structure,  and 
various  compartments.  One  chamber,  in  which  are  the  remains  of  a  Druidical 
altar,  is  very  spacious.  Its  arched  roof  is  supported  by  massy  lime-stone  pillars, 
so  highly  polished  that  tliey  seem  the  work  of  art,  though  Grose  and  Ware  allege 
that  they  are  the  formation  of  nature.  In  some  places  the  entrance  is  very  low, 
but  after  you  descend,  the  arch  suddenly  rises  to  an  elevation  often  feet,  the  con- 
cave of  which  is  as  smooth  as  if  it  had  been  the  work  of  art. 

Con-a-Glour,  near  Cappoquin,  in  the  county  of  Waterford,  is  a  large  open  cave, 
into  which  you  descend  by  stairs  formed  by  the  shelving  declivities  of  rocks.  The 
first  chamber  you  enter  is  about  thirty  feet  square,  through  whicii  a  subterraneous 
rivulet  is  seen  running  in  a  natural  aqueduct,  through  the  solid  rock.  This  Irish 
Arethusa  sinks  under  ground  at  Ballynacourty,  and  proceeding  for  a  mile  through 
this  cave,  rises  again  in  a  gushing  fountain,  at  a  place  called  Knockane.  In  some 
of  the  chambers  the  stalactical  matter,  descending  from  the  roof,  presents  a  variety 
of  forms,  both  fantastic  and  picturesque. 

Bally  Cassidy.  This  famous  cavern  is  near  Enniskillen,  in  the  county  of 
Fermanagh.  The  dome,  covering  the  pillared  portico  of  this  cave,  rises  to  the  ele- 
vation of  twenty-five  feet;  and  the  different  chambers  of  the  interior  are  spacious, 
and  adorned  with  Tuscan  colunms  of  lime-stone. 

DuNLucE.  This  cave  is  situated  under  the  Castle  of  Dunluce,  near  Bushmills, 
in  the  county  of  Antrim,  of  which  we  will  speak  in  the  course  of  our  topography. 

DuNMOKE,  near  the  city  of  Kilkenny,  is  a  cavern  that  is  daily  visited  by  travel- 
lers. The  passage  into  it,  is  down  a  square  aperture,  or  rather  j)recipice,  upwards 
of  sixty  feet  deep,  by  twelve  feet  wide  ;  at  the  bottom  thereof  is  the  mouth  of  the 
cave,  which  is  but  low,  arched  with  rocks,  seemingly  dropping  on  the  head,  when 
from  a  number  of  petrifactions,  like  icicles,  there  falls  a  vast  quantity  of  limpid 
drops  of  crystal.  After  yo^l  wander  through  this  cavern  for  a  quarter  of  a  mile, 
you  hear  the  hoarse  murnniring  of  a  subterraneous  river  which  rolling  over  pon- 
derous stones,  and  falling  down  ledges  of  rocks,  produces  a  strange  kind  of  noise 
in  the  hollow  cavities. 

Grange.  This  cavern  which  is  in  the  vicinity  of  Drogheda,  has  been  celebrated 
in  the  writings  of  several  travellers.  It  is  a  vaulted  cave  in  the  form  of  a  cross, 
with  a  gallery  leading  to  it,  eight  feet  long.     On  the  first  discovery  of  this  cave  in 


21 

In  an  edition  of  Dr.  Francis  IMolloy's  ^ri^ll  Grammar,  pnblislicd  in 
167G,  which  lias  just  been  put  into  our  hand,  we  find  tliat  Kayuiond 
and  Smith  have  borrowed  their  ideas  of  the  Fir-holgs  from  the 
illustrations  of  that  learned  divine,  on  the  ogwii  of  the  Brehons. 
But  we  will  not  pursue  any  further,  an  inquiry  which  cannot  lead  to 
a  result  of  any  material  ini|)()rtance. 

The  Nemedians,  <(roanin;2f  under  the  pressure  of  jjersecution  and 
injustice,  fornied,  after  the  lapse  of  years  of  sufferin*^  and  cruelty, 
the  resolution  of  burstinj^  the  bonds  of  their  slavery  in  Greece,  and  of 
quitting  a  country  where  they  never  were  to  enjoy  the  charms  of  ease 
or  happiness.  So  well  did  they  manage  their  conspiracy,  that  they 
collected  5000  followers,  with  whom  they  embarked  on  board  of  a 
large  Grecian  fleet,  which  they  had  seized,  before  their  oppressors 
had  the  remotest  suspicion  of  their  intention.  After  a  long  and 
perilous  voyage,  the  first  division  of  the  fleet,  under  the  orders  of 
Slainge,  eftected  a  landing  in  the  bay  of  Wexford,  which  in  honor 
of  this  chief  was  called  by  our  annalists  Inbher  slainge;  the  second 
division,  of  which  Gann  and  Seangann  were  Commanders,  efl'ected 
a  landing  on  the  coast  of  Donegal  ;  and  the  third  with  tlie  chieftains 
Geannann  and  Rughraidhe  reached  the  shores  of  the  county  of 
Mayo,  near  Rillala,  in  a  destitute  state.  These  five  chiefs,  after 
uniting  their  forces,  agreed  to  parcel  out  the  country  into  five  divi- 
sions, among  them.  Slainge  being  the  eldest  brother,  assumed  the 
sovereignty  of  Ireland,  though  his  portion  of  the  division  only  com- 
prehended Leinster  ;  the  two  Munsters  fell  to  the  share  of  Gann 
and  Seangann,  and  Ulster  became  the  dominion  of  Rughraidhe,  while 
the  government  of  Connaught  was  assigned  to  Geannann.  Slainge, 
to  whom  our  historians  give  the  title  of  the  first  monarch  of  Ireland, 

1318,  a  gold  coin  of  the  Emperor  Valentinian,  was  found  in  it,  which  General 
Valiancy  and  Dr.  Llhwyd  observe,  might  bespeak  it  to  denote  it  a  Druidical 
monument  of  the  early  ages.  Wc  think  it  was  a  place  of  interment  of  some 
ancient  Irish  chief. 

St.  Patrick's  Purgatory.  This  cavern  is  a  narrow  cell  in  one  of  the  Islands 
in  Lough  Derg.  in  the  county  of  Fermanagh,  famous  for  being  hewn  by  St.  Patrick 
out  of  a  solid  rock,  as  a  place  of  penance,  and  prayer,  in  which  the  holy  man  often 
confined  himself. 

Skeheewrinky,  in  the  counties  of  Cork  and  Tipperary,  situated  between  Cahir 
and  Mitchell's  town,  is  one  of  the  most  magnificent  caves  in  Ireland.  The  opening 
to  it  is  a  cleft  of  rock  in  a  lime  stone  hill,  so  narrow  that  it  is  difliculttoget  into  it. 
You  descend  by  a  ladder  of  tiiirty  steps,  and  then  reach  a  vaulted  apartment  of  a 
hundred  feet  long,  and  si.xty  high.  A  small  aperture  on  the  left  leads  from  this, 
in  a  winding  course  of  not  less  than  hall'  a  mile  exhibiting  a  variety  of  rocky 
altars,  columns,  spires  and  architectural  ruins,  resembling  a  fallen  city.  In  some 
places  the  immense  cavity  of  the  rock  is  so  extensive,  that  when  well  lighted  by 
torches,  it  assumes  the  appearance  of  a  vaulted  cathedral  divided  into  pillared 
aisles,  and  furnished  with  many  altars.  The  walls,  ceiling,  and  floor  seem  enriched 
with  the  finest  embellishments  of  art,  as  the  curious  incrustations  that  adhere  to 
them,  appear  as  dazzling  as  if  they  were  powdered  with  diamonds,  and  enamelled 
with  crystal.  The  columns  of  spar  arc  extremely  brilliant  and  shaped  into  every 
order  of  architecture,  and  adorned  with  volutes,  and  fancy  foliage  of  icicles,  which 
possess  '  a  grace  beyond  the  reach  of  art.'  One  branch  of  the  cave  extending  in 
a  northern  direction,  is  in  some  places  extremely  narrow  and  low,  but  it  widens 
abruptly  into  a  large  hall,  in  which  the  rocks  form  an  amphitlieatre,  throiigh  whose 
area  a  stream  meanders.     We  will  have  occasion  to  speak  of  this  cave  again. 


was  passionately  fond  of  music,  in  which  according  to  Molloy  and 
Colgan,  he  was  an  tMninent  proficient,  pniticularlj  on  the  harp.  It 
was  tliis  Prince  say  O'Geohegan  and  OTlaherty,  that  first  bore  the 
harp  as  the  national  emblem,  on  his  royal  banner.  It  appears  that 
his  short  rei<rn  of  one  year  was  distinguished  by  no  memorable  event. 
Keating  and  liynch  trace  his  genealogy  up  to  Japhet.  This  Prince 
was  succeeded  l)y  his  brother  Rughraidhe,  who  after  a  reign  of  two 
years  was  drowned  in  the  Boyne  near  Drogheda;  and  having  no  issue 
his  throne  and  sceptre  devolved  to  Gann,  who  after  a  reign  of  two 
years,  was  svicceeded  by  his  brother  Geannann,  whom  death  soon 
plucked  from  his  throne  to  make  room  for  Seangann,  who  after  a 
reign  of  five  years,  was  murdered  by  his  nephew  and  successor, 
Fiacha  Cinnfionnan,  or  white-haired,  the  grand  son  of  Rughraidhe. 
The  usurper  did  not  long  enjoy  his  ill-gotten  power,  for  he  was 
assassinated  by  his  cousin  Radhnall,  the  son  of  Geannan,  who  was 
saluted  as  monarch.  This  monarch  was  scarcely  seated  on  his 
throne,  when  his  title  was  disputed  by  Fiodhhghean,  the  son  of 
Seangann,  whose  standard  was  joined  by  numerous  malecontents, 
with  whom  he  marched  to  Craoibhe  where  the  royal  army  was 
encamped.  A  fierce  battle  quickly  took  place,  in  which  the  king 
was  slain,  and  his  forces  cut  to  pieces.  The  crown  was  not  long 
suffered  to  remain  on  the  brows  of  the  victor,  for  Eochaidh,  the  heir 
of  Radhnall,  fomented  a  rebellion,  the  result  of  which  was  the  death 
of  Fiodhhghean  and  the  total  discomfiture  of  his  army,  at  the 
engagement  oi  Muirthcimne*  in  the  County  of  Louth. 

Our  historians  represent  Eochaidh  as  a  prince  that  united  the 
matured  wisdom  of  the  statesman,  to  the  heroic  valor  of  the  general, 
consequently  his  reign  was  more  brilliant  and  fortunate  than  that  of 
any  of  the  Belgian  monarchs.  He  was  a  friend  to  literature  and 
the  arts  ;  and  the  laws  he  enacted  were  fraught  with  a  spirit  of  justice 
and  equity  which  commanded  at  once  reverence  and  obedience. 
We  are  told  that  he  was  married  to  Tailte,  daughter  of  the  king  of 
Spain,  the  place  of  whose  interment,  in  Leineter,  still  retains  the 
name  of  Tailtcan. 

He  fell  in  the  tenth  year  of  his  reign,  in  an  engagement  with  Vir- 
giodlamed,  king  of  the  Tuatha  de  Danans,  at  a  place  called  Muige 
Tuirride.  His  death  terminated  the  Belgian  power  in  Ireland, 
which,  according  to  the  testimony  of  Keating  and  O'Halloran,  lasted 
thirty-seven  years.  O'Flaherty  however,  who  is  certainly  one  of  the 
most  accurate  of  our  chronologists,  maintains  with  a  strong  force  of 
argument,  that  the  dominion  of  the  Belgians  existed  eighty  years, 
from  their  first  invasion  of  the  Island  until  its  subversion  by  the 
Damnonii,  whose  history  shall  be  the  subject  of  the  next  chapter. 

*  Now  Mallacrew  about  five  miles  north  of  the  town  of  Ardee. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

InrasioH  of  Ircliniil  hij  Llif,  Dumnnnii ,  or  Tiaitha  dc  Danans.  Their  viigratioii 
from  Greece.  Wstonj  of  the  Uagh-Fuil,  or  stone  of  dcstiinf.  Of  the  reigns  of 
Brcas,  J\'iuidh,  Luigha,  ^-c.  Objcctiuns  of  Lcdwich,  Mac  Fhersun,  O'Connor, 
and  Warner,  ansjccrcd. 

A.  M.  2541.  EocHAiDH  liavinj^,  as  we  stated  in  the  last  chapter, 
raised  his  power  to  the  l)iglic.-;t  pinnacle  of  grandeur,  heheved  himself 
secure  from  foreign  or  domestic  foes  ;  but  tiie  unexpected  invasion 
of  the  Damnonii  soon  dissolved  the  delusion  of  liis  dream  of  rejral 
happiness,  and  convinced  him  that  the  stability  of  royal  authority  is 
not  always  immoveable  on  its  slippery  foundation.  The  invaders 
landed  in  the  tenth  year  of  the  reign  of  this  monarch,  under  the 
command  of  Nuadh,  a  direct  descendant  of  Neniedius.  This  Prince 
and  his  soldiers  distinguished  themselves  in  Greece  by  their  martial 
exploits. 

TuATHA  DE  Danans.  Our  annalists  inform  us,  that  these 
invaders  were  designated  "  Tuatlia  de  Danans,^^  to  denote  their 
descent  from  lobhath,  the  son  of  the  Princess  Danan,  the  daugh- 
ter of  Dealboith,  of  the  royal  dynasty  of  Nemedius.  Other 
antiquarians  derive  this  name  from  the  magical  power  which  the 
Damnonii  possessed,  and  exercised  in  so  astonishing  a  manner,  in 
Bffiotia  and  at  Athens.  Warner  and  O'Connor  deduce  the  origin  of 
their  appellation  from  the  fact  of  the  colony  being  divided  into  three 
tribes;  the  first  of  which,  consisting  of  the  chieftains  and  nobles, 
were  called  Tuatha ;  the  second  Dei,  which  signifies  gods,  as  they 
were  the  Priests  and  Druids  who  ofticiated  at  their  sacrifices  and 
religious  rites ;  the  third  class,  the  Danans,  ranked  in  their  numbers 
the  Bards,  who  sung  the  exploits  of  their  heroes,  and  the  hymns  of 
tlieir  sacred  ceremonies. 

Some  of  the  Nemedians,  who,  as  we  before  related,  were  expelled 
from  Ireland  by  the  Africans,  settled  themselves,  with  their  chief, 
Beothach,  near  Thebes,  where  they  acquired  great  fame  for  their  skill 
and  potency  in  magic,  in  which  we  are  told  they  were  so  profoundly 
versed  as  to  raise,  by  their  necromantic  power,  the  dead  to  life. 
They  continued  at  Thebes,  where  they  increased  prodigiously, 
until  the  country  was  subjected  to  the  sway  of  the  Assyrians,  when 
they  removed  to  Athens,  and  became  the  auxiliaries  of  the  Athenians 
in  their  wars  with  the  invaders.  The  enchantments  they  are  said 
to  have  wrought  at  Athens  are  only,  in  our  opinion,  the  creation  of 
poetic  fiction,  and  therefore  too  marvellous  to  obtain  historical 
credence  from  us.  Finding  their  magical  spells  rendered  ineflectual 
by  the  counter  charms  of  the  Assyrian  Druids,  they  hastily  tpiitted  a 
country  where  their  credit  and  influence  were  rapidly  sinking  in 
public  opinion.  Accordingly  they  committed  themselves,  once  more, 
to  the  guidance  of  fortune,  and  after  several  wanderings  and  adven- 
tures through  "  field  and  flood,"  they  arrived,  at  lengtli,  in  Norway, 
where  it  is  said  they  were  hospitably  received  by  the  inhabitants, 
who  being  an  illiterate  people,  entertained  feelings  of  respect  for  the 


24 

strangers,  whom  they  admired  for  their  learning,  as  well  as  skill  in 
necromancy.  They  a|ipointed  four  cities  for  their  hahitation,  where 
tliey  erected  schools  for  the  instruction  of  the  youth  of  the  nation. 
These  cities  were  named  Falias,  Goreas,  Finnia,  and  Murias.  Here 
they  dilVused  the  hlessinos  of  instruction  and  the  lights  of  education. 
Our  records  do  not  say  how  long  the  Daninonii  remained  in  their 
new  hahitations  :  but  w hether  disgusted  with  the  climate,  or  with 
the  unpolished  manners  of  the  people,  or  what  seems  more  probable, 
disturbed  by  the  jealousy  and  envy  of  the  natives,  they  determined 
to  seek  out  some  new  land  of  promise.  Enlisting  themselves  under 
the  banner  of  Nuadh,  they  migrated  to  Denmark  ;  but  finding  the 
aspect  of  the  country  uiipleasing,  they  sailed  thence  to  Scotland, 
where  they  landed,  and  resided  for  seven  years.  The  occurrences 
of  their  stay  in  Scotland  have  not  been  committed  to  the  historic 
page. 

These  erratic  people  becoming  discontented  in  Scotland,  set  out 
again  in  quest  of  aiu)ther  country,  and  succeeded,  after  a  short 
voyage,  in  reaching  the  northern  coast  of  Ireland.  The  luxuriance 
of  the  verdure,  and  the  vivid  greenness  of  the  grass  that  mantled 
the  hills  and  valleys  of  Erin,  proclaimed  the  fertility  of  the  soil,  and 
convinced  the  strangers  that  here  cultivation  and  industry  would 
afford  them  all  the  necessaries  of  life.  Nuadh,  after  landing,  by  the 
advice  of  his  principal  officers,  caused  his  entire  fleet  to  be  burned, 
so  that  all  hopes  of  retreating  from  the  Is'e  should  be  thus  cut  off, 
and  that  the  valor  and  courage  of  his  followers  should  be  their  only 
remaining  refuge  from  the  opposition  which  they  might  experience 
from  the  natives. 

Having  arranged  themselves  in  martial  array,  they  commenced 
their  march  into  the  interior  of  the  country,  under  the  covert  of  a 
thick  mist,  which  they  raised  by  enchantment,  to  screen  them  from 
the  observation  of  the  inhabitants.  After  the  lapse  of  three  days, 
while  it  is  said  this  magic  mist  continued,  they  reached  the  northern 
frontier  of  Leinster,  where,  concentrating  their  forces  in  a  strong 
position,  they  then  resolved  to  send  heralds  to  Eochaidh,  requiring  of 
him  to  resiiin  his  crown  to  their  chief,  or  meet  them  in  the  field  of 
battle. 

The  monarch,  indignant  at  the  insolence  of  this  daring  message, 
sent  by  a  band  of  wandering  adventurers,  accepted  the  challenge 
without  liesitation.  Placing  himself  at  the  head  of  his  troops  he 
soon  reached  the  camp  of  the  invaders,  where  an  engagement,  as 
obstinate  as  it  was  sanguinary,  ensued.  Bi>th  armies  fought  with 
desperate  valor  and  implacable  fierceness,  for  many  hours  ;  but  at 
length,  notwithstanding  the  gallantry  displayed  by  the  Belgians, 
victory  declared  itself  for  the  invaders,  and  the  brave  Eochaidh  and 
ten  thousand  of  his  soldiers  fell  in  the  conflict.  In  this  battle  Nuadh 
lost  a  hand,  but  the  wound  was  healed  by  the  skill  of  his  physician, 
Miach,  and  a  silver  hand  exactly  fitted  to  the  stump  by  Credah,  his 
goldsmith,  whence  he  derived  the  appellation  of  Airgiottlamb,  which 
signifies,  in  Irish,  the  silver-lianded. 

The  conqueror,  after  this  victory,  assumed  the  sovereign  authority, 
and  acted  very  arbitrarily  towards  the   defeated  Belgians,  whom  he 


25 

compelled  to  exile  themselves  to  foreij^n  countries.  Many  of  these 
Bel<,fians  found  refuge  in  the  Isles  of  Arran,  Man,  and  the  Hebrides. 

The  Damnonii  are  said  to  iiave  brouglit  four  monuments  of  great 
antiquity  with  them  into  Ireland.  The  first  was  a  block  of  marble, 
called,  "  liagh-J'ai/,^'  or,  tlie  stone  of  destiny,  to  wliich  they  attached 
great  value,  as  one  of  their  prophets  had  predicted,  that  a  prince  of 
their  race  should  reign  wherever  it  should  be  preserved ;  conse- 
quently it  was  used  for  many  ages  in  Ireland  in  the  coronation  chair 
of  our  monarchs,  until  Fergus  the  great,  the  son  of  Earca,  and 
brother  of  the  Irish  monarcli,  Morough,  subdued  Scotland,  and 
ascended  its  throne,  in  A.  D.  430,  when,  to  give  greater  pomp  and 
solemnity  to  his  coronation,  he  entreated  his  brother  to  favor  him 
with  the  loan  of  it.  This  sacred  relic  of  antiquity  was  accordingly 
sent  over  to  Scotland,  where  it  remiiined  preserved  in  the  Abbey  of 
Scone,  until  Edward  I.  carried  it  of}",  with  the  other  regalia  of  the 
Scottish  crown,  and  placed  it  in  Westminster  Abbey,  where  it  has 
been  employed  in  its  original  use,  at  the  coronation  of  George  IV. 
ns  well  as  that  of  most  of  tlie  Kings  that  preceded  him  since  the 
reign  of  Edward  I. 

The  Druids  consulted  this  sacred  stone  on  all  momentous  occasions, 
and  its  divinations  were  as  religiously  believed  as  were  those  of  the 
oracle  of  Delphi.  Many  wonderful  miracles  have  been  imputed  to 
the  Liagli-Fail.  It  had  the  singular  property  of  emitting  a  sound 
resembling  thunder,  when  any  of  the  true  line  of  the  Scythian  or 
Milesian  Princes  was  crowned  upon  it.  The  statue  of  Memnon, 
we  are  told,  possessed  a  similar  power  of  uttering  a  sound  when  it 
received  the  first  rays  of  the  rising  sun.  Whenever  an  illegitimate 
prince,  whose  mother  had  been  faithless  to  the  King's  bed,  was 
seated  on  the  '■'■fatal  stone,'"  it  issued  no  sound,  so  that  it  served  as 
a  talisman  to  preserve  the  chastity  of  the  Irish  Queens,  as  well  as 
an  ordeal  test  of  the  purity  of  the  Milesian  blood.  But  the  coming 
of  the  Messiah,  which  abolished  all  the  Pagan  superstitions,  deprived 
this  oracular  stone  of  all  its  virtues,  as  it  never  was  known  to  emit 
a  sound  after  the  birth  of  Christ.  Many  of  our  antiquarians  have 
written  disquisitions  on  the  Stone  of  Destiny,  and  entered  into  the 
recesses  of  historical  research,  to  bring  forth  testimony  of  its  being 
actually  part  of  Jacob's  pillar.  Indeed  Bishop  Usher  says,  "that 
whether  the  extraordinary  attributes  which  the  Liagh-Fail  was 
supposed  to  possess,  were  the  invention  of  the  crafty  Druids,  or  the 
real  donation  of  enchantment,  cannot  be  now  ascertained;  but  the 
prophecy  of  that  singular  medium  of  augury,  is  every  day  fulfilled 
by  the  reign  of  the  present  royal  family  of  England,  who  are  lineally 
descended  from  the  Milesian  monarchs  of  Ireland."  Doctor  War- 
ner, who,  except  Plowden,  did  us  more  justice  in  his  history  than 
any  other  Englishman,  observes,  in  relation  to  the  fatal  stone,  "that 
the  coronation  of  the  Kings  of  England  over  this  wonderful  stone, 
seems  to  confirm  its  title  to  the  Stone  of  Destiny  ;  but  it  reflects  no 
great  honor  on  the  learning  or  understanding  of  the  nation  to  retain 
a  remnant  of  such  ridiculous  Pagan  superstition  in  so  itnportant  and 
solemn  an  act."  With  regard  to  these  sentiments  of  Dr.  Warner, 
it  may  be  observed,  that  it  will  always  be  the  interest  of  the  ch|ef 
4 


26 

rulers  not  to  distarb  the  opinions  that  have  once  gained  popular 
credit,  unless  they  tend  to  subvert  some  moral  or  religious  principle  ; 
for  in  that  case,  they  may  sap  the  very  columns  that  support  the 
grand  edifice  of  social  order,  and  destroy  the  basis  on  which  laws 
and  goverument  are  founded.  So  great,  indeed,  is  the  influence 
which  oj)inion  has  over  the  destinies  of  a  people,  and  so  much  are 
they  subject  to  its  sway,  that  Pascal,  in  his  Provincial  Letters,  calls 
it  the  "  Queen  of  the  vwrhV — la  Reinc  du  Monde.  The  Trojans 
defied  the  assaults  of  the  Greeks,  as  long  as  they  possessed  the  Palla- 
dium ;  and  the  Romans  were  invincible,  while  they  contiimed  to 
believe  that  their  city  was  to  be  eternal.  Posmnt  quia  posse  videntur. 
"  Mahomet,"  says  Mennais,  the  learned  and  acute  author  of  the 
Essay  on  Religious  Indifference,  "  persuaded  a  few  Arabians  that 
their  swords  were  to  subject  the  whole  world  to  the  Alcoran,  and  in 
less  than  a  century  the  Turkish  Empire  was  established,  from  the 
banks  of  the  Euphrates  to  those  of  the  Nile.  Cato  did  not  so  much 
fear  the  introduction  of  the  Grecian  philosophy  into  Rome,  only 
because  he  foresaw,  that  by  teaching  the  Romans  to  dispute  about 
every  thing,  they  would  end  in  believing  nolliing.  His  fears  were 
completely  justified  by  tlie  event."  The  new  philosophy  triumphed 
over  the  resistance  of  the  laws,  the  wisdom  of  the  senate,  and  the 
destinies  of  the  eternal  city  itself.  A  few  reveries,  armed  witii  doubts, 
accomplished  what  the  forces  of  the  entire  world  were  unable  to 
effect ;  as  the  snows  of  Russia  eff'ected  the  dissolution  of  Napoleon's 
invincibility,  what  Europe,  in  arms,  essayed  in  vain  to  achieve. 

From  these  examples,  nothing  can  be  more  obvious,  than  tliat  the 
art  of  governing  the  people  effectually,  is  the  art  of  chaining  their 
belief  to  the  pillars  of  opinion,  and  alarming  their  fears,  by  raising 
before  them  the  phantoms  of  superstition.  Of  this  the  Pagan 
legislators  were  so  sensible,  that  they  made  it  one  of  the  first  maxims 
of  their  policy. 

It  is  evident,  then,  that  though,  as  Dr.  Warner  says,  "  it  reflects 
no  great  honor  on  the  understanding  of  the  nation,"  to  attach  any 
credit  to  this  superstitious  practice,  yet  the  retaining  of  it,  on  the  other 
hand,  argues  no  want  of  sound  policy  in  those  who  are  invested 
with  the  executive  and  legislative  authority  in  England.  Conse- 
quently, if  the  |)eople  are  weak  enough  to  believe  that  the  crown 
will  be  perpetuated  in  the  present  royal  family  while  they  are 
crowned  on  this  stone,  it  is  certainly  the  interest,  as  well  as  the 
wisdom  of  the  government,  to  strengthen  the  bonds  of  delusion 
which  fetter  popular  prejudice,  and  deepen  the  gloom  of  credulity 
that  darken  its  optics.  But  we  have  wandered  too  far  into  reflection 
on  the  ^^ fated  stone,"  from  which  Ireland  got  the  name  of  "  Innis 
FaiV 

The  second  instrument  of  enchantment  which  belonged  to  the 
Damnonii,  was  a  sword  of  exquisite  temper  and  workmanship;  and 
the  third  a  gleaming  spear,  so  polished  and  bright,  that  some  of  our 
Bards  have  denominated  it  the  ^^  Meteor  of  Death.'"  This  famous 
spear  was  used  in  battle  by  several  Irish  Kings. 

The  fourth  magical  implement,  as  the  Book  of  Tnrasions  represents, 
was  a  Caldron,  of  singular  construction  and  properties. 


27 

That  tlie  ancients  cultivated  necromancy  and  astrology,  in  an 
extraordinary  dej^ree,  is  a  fact  attested  by  tlie  evidence  of  aullientic 
history  ;  Iiiit  in  all  probability,  their  maj^ic  was  nothing  but  a  more 
extended  acquaintance  with  the  arts  and  sciences,  and  a  knowledge 
by  which  many  movements  can  be  put  in  operation  on  natural  and 
philosophical  principles;  and  things  effected  by  mechanical  power, 
that  appear  strange  and  surprising  to  the  ignorant.  This  species  of 
magic  is  practised  at  the  present  day  as  much  as  in  ancient  times, 
by  every  juggler,  though  it  has  ceased  to  excite  our  surprise  by  its 
apparent  opposition  to  the  general  laws  of  nature,  because  we  know 
it  is  founded  on  an  application  of  a  power  supplied  by  natural 
philosophy. 

If  Electricity  and  Galvanism  were  known  to  the  Irish  Druids,  the 
people  would  reverence  them  as  Gods,  who  could  kindle  the  fire  of 
heaven  on  earth,  and  reanimate  the  bodies  of  the  dead.  AVe  make 
these  observations  merely  to  blunt  the  edge  of  that  ridicule  to  which 
the  supposed  magic  of  our  Danan  ancestors  might  expose  the 
authenticity  of  the  annals  that  record  it.  The  Danans  might  be 
conversant  with  many  of  those  feats,  which  excite  admiration  for 
ingenuity  and  expertness  in  enlightened  minds,  rather  than  the 
astonishment  which  only  springs  from  the  conviction  of  the  interven- 
tion of  supernatural  agency.  In  those  days  of  remote  antiquity, 
the  beacons  of  philosophy  and  literature  did  not  blaze  so  splendidly 
in  human  intellect,  as  they  do  now.  But  to  resume  our  narrative  ; 
NuADii  having  secured  by  the  decisive  defeat  of  the  Belgians,  the 
entire  sovereignty  of  the  Island,  imagined  himself  inaccessible  to 
the  attacks  of  fortune  or  the  pretensions  of  rivals  ;  but  this  confidence 
was  not  well  founded.  After  the  lapse  of  some  years,  his  cousin, 
Breas,  who  acted  as  Regent  of  the  kingdom  during  the  period 
which  the  King's  hand  was  healing,  now  became  a  pretender  to  the 
crown,  and  succeeded  in  collecting  an  army  from  among  the  exiled 
Belgians,  and  the  alien  Africans,  to  sustain  his  claim.  An  engage- 
ment soon  took  place  at  IMuigh-Tuirreadh  near  tlie  lake  of  Arrow,  in 
county  of  INIayo  ;  the  conflict,  as  usual  in  a  civil  war,  was  sustained 
with  animosity  and  intrepidity  on  both  sides. 

Breas  himself,  as  well  as  the  chiefs  of  the  Belgian  and  African 
auxiliaries,  fell  on  one  side,  while  the  monarch  Nuadh,  and  the  most 
distinguished  leaders  among  the  royal  army,  fell  on  the  other.  The 
victory,  however,  was  gained  by  the  gallant  Danans,  who  instantly 
raised  the  nephew  of  their  fallen  King,  Luigiia  Laimhfheada,  to 
the  vacant  throne.  It  was  this  Prince  that  instituted  the  famous 
"  Aonach  Taitcaii"  or  military  games,  ordained  in  honor  of  Tailte, 
the  daughter  of  Magh  More,  King  of  Spain,  and  widow  of  Eochaidh, 
the  last  king  of  the  Fir-bolgs.  After  the  death  of  her  royal  husband, 
she  married  Dcocha  Gharbh,  one  of  the  Danan  chiefs,  and  was 
entrusted  with  the  education  of  the  young  Trince  Luigha,  who  in 
gratitude  for  the  care  and  tenderness  he  expeiienced  from  her, 
instituted  these  Olympic  games  to  commemorate  her  name.  The  cele- 
bration of  these  games,  at  which  the  beauty  and  chivalry  of  Ireland 
assembled,  commenced  on  the  first  of  August,  the  anniversary  of 
the  Queen's  death,  and  continued  fourteen  days  after.     From  this 


28 

celebration  the  first  of  Aiijjiist  is  called  in  Irish  "  Zo//  Lvghnonsa,'''' 
or  the  day  of  King  Lughaidli.  This  King,  after  a  prosperous  reign 
of  forty  years,  died  full  of  years,  and  honor,  and  was  interred  at 
Uisneach,  in  the  county  of  West  Meatli. 

To  his  diadem  succeeded  Daghaidh,  of  whom  our  annals  record 
that  he  reigned  Monarch  of  Ireland  nearly  eighty  years.  Dr. 
Keating  bestows  the  appellation  of  Great  on  this  king,  without 
telling  us  whether  his  virtues  or  his  valor  entitled  hiin  to  that  dis- 
tinction. 

The  next  Prince  of  this  line,  who  ascended  the  throne,  was 
Dealchaoidth,  who  after  a  reign  of  ten  years,  undistinguished  by 
any  military  exploit,  was  assassinated  by  his  own  son  Fiacha.  The 
vile  parricide,  however,  did  not  long  enjoy  that  power  for  which  he 
waded  tlirough  the  blood  of  his  parent,  as  he  was  slain  in  the  battle 
of  Ard  Breace  by  Eogan  of  Inhnr-nurrc.  His  death  made  way  for 
the  three  last  Princes  of  the  Tnatha  Dnnan  dynasty,  Mac  Cuil, 
Mac  Ceath,  and  Mac  Greine,  who  reigned  a  year  alternately,  for 
the  period  of  thirty  years.  They  received  these  names  from  the 
respective  Deities  that  became  the  object  of  their  adoration.  Mac 
Cuil  worshipped  a  log  of  wood.  Mac  Ccath  bent  the  knee  of  homage 
before  a  plough-share  ;  but  Mac  Greine  elevated  his  thoughts  to  a 
more  sublime  object,  and  adored  the  sun,  which  until  the  introduc- 
tion of  Christianity  was  reverenced  as  the  chief  Deity  of  the  Irish. 
In  process  of  time,  Mac  Greine,  (which  signifies  the  son  of  the  sun,) 
became  sole  Monarch  of  Ireland,  and  was  in  the  meridian  of  power, 
when  the  Milesians  invaded  ihe  Island  in  273G,  and  established  a 
sovereignty,  which  lasted  2400  years  !  In  the  preceding  history  of 
the  four  first  colonies  that  settled  in  Ireland,  we  have  strictly  adhered 
to  our  ancient  annals,  in  deriving  the  Partholanians  from  Fathocda, 
the  son  of  Magog,  and  in  making  the  Nemedians,  Belgians  and 
Damnonii,  descendants  of  the  Partholanians.  The  learned  Dr. 
O'Halloran  has  devoted  three  chapters  of  his  history  to  substantiate 
and  fix  this  origin  of  our  nation  on  an  immoveable  foundation  of 
historical  proof.  But  opposed  to  his  bulwark  of  logical  deduction 
and  deep  research,  are  arrayed  the  powerful  arguments  of  the  late 
Charles  O'Connor,  the  lucid  reasoning  of  O'Geoghegan,  and  the 
philosophical  inquiries  of  Dr.  Warner. 

Amidst  the  contention  of  these  giants  of  literature,  we  find  our 
little  bark  adrift  in  the  whirlpool  of  Scylla  and  Charybdis,  for — 

"  Who  can  be  right  when  Doctors  disagree  ?  " 

One  party  argues  that  every  country  received  its  inliabitants  from 
that  immediately  contiguous  to  it;  that  Asia  Minor  was  consequently 
inhabited  by  the  pof-terity  of  Ja])het  before  Greece  ;  Greece  before 
Italy;  Italy  before  Gaul ;  Gaul  hefore  Britain,  and  Britain  before 
Ireland.  This  opinion  is,  no  doubt,  very  powerfully  enforced  by 
Charles  O'Connor  in  his  dissertations.  Dr.  W^arner,  evidently 
borrowing  the  tinge  of  his  notions  from  the  |)rofound  author  of  the 
dissertations,  asserts  "  that  the  little  knowledge  of  navigation  in  those 
early  ages,  would  not  admit  of  longer  voyages  ;  and  we  may  assure 
ourselves,  that  the   poetical  relations  bringing  some  of  them  from 


29 

remote  regions,  and  speaking  of  their  performing  various  exploits, 
are  nothing  else  bnt  the  humor  so  common  in  those  days,  of  swelling 
tiie  orisiniil  of  nations,  with  the  heroic  and  the  marvellous."  We 
admit,  with  pride,  as  an  Irisliuian,  the  genius  that  shines  in  the 
writings  of  Cliarles  O'Connor,  nor  can  any  one  admire  more  than 
we  do  the  good  sense  and  iinpartiahty  that  pervade  the  dissertations, 
particuhuly  when  we  retlect  that  tiiey  arc  the  production  of  an 
accomplished  writer,  who  was  himself  the  representative  and  lineal 
descendant  of  Roderick  O'Connor,  the  last  of  our  Milesian  mon- 
archs ;  but  thouirh  we  entertain  this  respect  not  only  for  the  writer, 
but  also  for  his  opinions,  yet  we  deem  it  a  duty  of  the  first  impor- 
tance in  every  historian,  to  judge  for  himself  on  all  controverted 
points  of  history,  and  examine  minutely  and  deliberately,  the 
cogency  of  that  erudite  antifjuarian's  opinion,  before  we  subscribe 
to  it,  no  matter  how  dazzling  it  may  be  with  the  glitter  of  sophistry, 
and  the  spangled  drapery  of  imposing  argument.  If  we  believe  the 
authorities  that  inform  us  of  Irelnnd's  being  first  peopled  by  Partho- 
lamis  and  his  posterity,  after  by  Nemedius  and  his  colony,  next  by 
the  Fir-holgs,  and  lastly  by  the  Danans  ;  why  reject  the  very  same 
authorities,  when  they  tell  us  the  countries  whence  these  colonies 
emigrated  into  Ireland?  If  we  reject  the  latter,  why  not  reject  the 
former  account,  as  they  have  both  exactly  the  same  claim  to  our 
assent  ?  With  regard  to  the  historic  narrative  of  the  first  four 
colonies  of  our  country,  we  shall  observe,  that  if  it  is  the  fictitious 
story  of  an  Irish  Bard,  the  inventor  has  displayed  a  greater  versa- 
tility of  talent,  exhibited  a  wider  field  of  imagination,  and  a  more 
enlarged  acquaintance  with  the  diversity  of  the  human  character,  in 
the  happy  faculty  of  describing  so  many  chieftains  and  generals,  in 
assigning  to  each  "  a  local  habitation  and  a  name,"  without  betraying 
the  least  appearance  of  monotonous  sameness  or  sin)ilitude,  in  the 
assemblage  of  personages,  or  the  qualities  which  he  has  attributed 
to  them,  than  the  most  fanciful  and  creative  of  our  poets,  from 
Shakspeare  to  the  sublime  Byron.  All  the  historical  characters  are 
drawn  from  life  ;  they  are  various  and  dissimilar  in  individuality, 
feature  and  aspect.  They  are  all  distinguished  by  those  traits  that 
belong  to  the  soldier;  but  every  soldier  is  himself,  and  no  other; 
their  respective  characters  are  pecidiarly  their  own,  and  no  one  can 
suspect  them  to  be  the  common  oftspring  of  the  same  production. 
To  produce  such  an  infinite  diversity  of  historic  characters,  is 
perhaps,  more  than  human  genius  could  accomplish.  It  would, 
therefore,  be  absurd  to  suppose,  that  the  fabricator  of  the  Irish 
annals,  could  ever  have  sketched  all  the  different  characters  that  are 
introduced  into  the  preceding  part  of  our  history. 

As  to  the  futile  objections  of  the  Inneses,  the  Macphersons,  and 
the  Ledwiches,  they  have  been  scattered  into  "  thin  air,"  and 
submerged  in  the  surges  of  oblivion  by  Bishop  Usher,  M'Dcrmott, 
Harold,  and  the  most  overwhelming  of  all,  Lady  Morgan;  so  that 
it  would  be  like  warring  with  phantoms  for  us  to  notice  them.  To 
Mr.  O'Connor,  we  would  say,  that  the  ancients  had  the  Ark  for  a 
model,  and  even  if  they  had  not,  the  bare  floating  of  timber  would 
have  pointed  out  the  facility  of  removing  by  water  from  one  place  to 


30 

another.  Tlie  Indians  of  this  country  tised  canoes,  rudely  shaped, 
which  they  rowed  with  singidar  dexterity,  before  they  were  visited 
by  Columbus,  or  became  acquainted  with  European  navigation. 

Josephus,  who  had  better  opportunities  of  knowing  liow  the  world 
was  peopled  by  tlie  posterity  of  Noah,  than  we  can  pretend  to, 
informs  us,  that  they  passed  by  sea  to  many  places.  Who  that  has 
read  history,  is  not  aware  of  the  Phoenician  commerce,  and  the 
mighty  fleets  of  Sesostris,  King  of  Egypt,  who  lived,  according  to 
Dh  Fresnoy's  chronology,  G2G  years  after  the  flood,  and  consequently 
only  three  centuries  after  the  arrival  of  Partholanus  in  Ireland  1 
Have  we  not  the  authority  of  creditable  writers  to  assert,  that  he 
undertook  and  accomplished  long  and  dangerous  voyages?  He 
doubled  the  cape  of  Good  Hope,  after  sailing  through  the  straits  of 
Babelmandel,  from  the  Arabian  Gulf  to  India,  returning  through 
the  strait  and  the  Mediterranean  sea.  Why  then  are  we  to  doubt 
that  shorter  excursions  were  made  by  water  three  centuries  earlier? 

Moses  tells  us,  that  by  the  posterity  of  Japhet  "  the  Isles  of  the 
Gentiles  were  divided  in  their  lands,  every  one  after  his  tongue  and 
nation."  Now  the  Isles  of  the  Gentiles  are  universally  admitted  to 
be  European  isles;  and  if  tliey  received  their  inhabitants  from  Asia 
so  early  as  the  days  of  Phaleg,  when  the  dispersion  recorded  by 
Moses  took  place,  why  might  not  Ireland  receive  her  settlers  from 
Greece,  so  much  nearer  home,  200  years  later  ;  for  Phaleg  was  born 
101  years  after  the  flood,  in  whose  days  the  confusion  of  tongues, 
and  the  dispersion  of  mankind  occurred  at  Babel  1 

These  are  the  reasons  which  have  induced  us  to  cling  so  tena- 
ciously to  our  old  historical  monuments,  because  were  we  to  give 
them  up,  we  would  abandon  that  vantage  ground,  on  which  our 
writers  have  achieved  such  signal  victories  over  Scotch  pretenders, 
and  English  bigots.  But  we  do  not  presume  to  direct  the  judgment 
of  the  reader;  the  historian's  duty  is  to  detail,  not  to  dictate. 

Our  pages  shall  be  open  for  such  objections  as  may  be  brought,  in 
decorous  discussion,  against  any  opinion  we  may  advance  in  the 
course  of  this  history.  We  are  not  of  the  nature  of  the  sensitive 
plant,  ready  to  shrink  from  the  most  delicate  touch  ;  like  the  Irish 
oak,  we  can  brave  the  tempest  when  it  assails  us. 


CHAPTER    V. 

The  origin  of  the  Milesians  or  Scots  traced  to  Phmiius.     An  account  of  Ids  succes- 
sors ;  and  tkcir  migrations,  until  tliey  invaded  Ireland,  Jl.  M.  273G. 

We  coine  now  to  treat  of  an  epoch  of  Irish  history,  which  has 
been,  more  than  any  other  in  our  annals,  iHustrated  and  attested  by 
a  combination  of  genius  and  liistorical  testimony  that  estabhshes 
its  basis  on  a  rock  of  irrefragable  accuracy,  which  can  no  more  be 
shaken  by  the  cavils  of  doubt  and  scepticism,  than  the  pyramids  of 
Egypt  by  the  idle  blast  of  the  Sirocco.  In  this  era  the  horizon  of 
our  history  was  overcast  by  no  fictitious  clouds  ;  letters  and  light 
were  introduced  into  Ireland  by  our  JMilesiau  ancestors,  and  truth 
was  the  deity  they  worshipped. 

Our  Scytliian  origin  has  not  been  even  questioned  by  Innes  or 
Macpherson,  in  all  their  visionary  essays  to  despoil  Erin  of  the 
unfading  garlands  which  her  Fingals,  [Fion  Mac  Cumhal,)  Ossians, 
and  Columbas  entwined  round  her  brows.  For  Buchannon  himself 
says,  "  the  Scythians  becoming  too  numerous  in  Spain,  many  of  them 
forsook  that  country  and  settled  in  Ireland,  which  they  called  Scota, 
in  honor  of  the  wife  of  Milesius,  their  chief." 

Pha^nius,  who,  next  to  Cadmus  of  Phoenicia,  is  most  eminent  for 
the  invention  of  letters,  was  the  great  progenitor  of  the  Milesian 
line.  He  was  the  descendant  of  Magog  the  son  of  Japhet,  the  son  of 
Noah.  We  have  scriptural  authority  for  saying  that  Japhet  had 
seven  sons,  whose  posterity  peopled  not  only  Europe,  but  ])art  of 
Asia.  The  descendants  of  Gomer  inhabited  Gaul  and  Germany  ; 
those  of  ]Magog  occupied  Scythia,  which  they  rendered  so  renowned 
for  martial  glory.  Madai  and  Juvan  settled  in  the  difterent  provinces 
of  Greece.  Thubal,  who  was  the  inventor  of  the  .Jewish  harp, 
possessed  Spain  and  Portugal.  Messech,  Italy.  And  Thyras 
obtained  the  sovereignty  of  Thrace.  Of  the  children  of  Magog, 
the  great  progenitor  of  the  Scythian  nation,  the  inspired  pensman 
has  given  us  no  account ;  but  all  our  chronicles,  particularly  those 
that  are  deemed  most  authentic,  as  the  Book  of  Invasions,  the  White 
Book,  called  Lcabar-Dhroiiia-Sncac/ita,  and  the  Book  of  Conquests, 
concur  in  the  assertion  that  he  had  three  sons,  liaath,  Jobath  and 
Fathochta ;  from  Baath  descended  Feniusa  Farsa,  king  of  Scythia, 
who  was  the  founder  of  the  Gadelians.  Jobath  was  the  ancestor  of 
the  Bactrians,  Parthians,  and  Amazons.  Fathochta  was  the  progen- 
itor of  Partholanus,  and  consequently  of  the  Nemedians,  Fir-bolgs^ 
and  Tuatha  de  Danans,  as  well  as  of  the  Goths  and  Huns. 

Our  Ethiric  historians  commence  their  annals  of  our  Scythian 
origin  with  Plucnius,  the  son  of  Baath,  the  great  source  whence 
flows  the  Milesian  stream.  Our  antiquarians  say  that  PhaMiius  got 
the  name  of  Saisde,  or  the  sage,  from  his  knowledge  of  philosophy, 
and  his  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  different  languages  that 
originated  from  the  confusion  of  tongues  at  Babel.  He  also  gained 
immortality  by  inventing  eight  letters  of  the  alphabet,  in  addition 
to  the  sixteen  signs  of  Cadmus.     Possessing  sovereign  authority  in 


32 

PIicEiiicia,  he  selected  seventy-two  learned  men  whom  he  dispersed 
to  the  different  countres  that  were  then  inhabited,  to  learn  the 
lan<:^ua<^e  that  prevailed  in  each,  conimandiug  them  to  return  at  the 
expiration  of  seven  years.  When  that  period  was  elapsed,  these 
literary  missionaries  came  back  to  the  court  of  Phajnius,  with  minds 
enriched  and  elevated  with  foreign  lore.  Schools  were  founded  by 
the  Prince,  for  these  lin<ruists  to  impart  a  portion  of  their  acquired 
knowledj^e  to  their  countrymen. 

But  no  sooner  were  tliese  schools  opened  thanPhoenius  discovered 
that  the  memory  of  the  teachers  was  not  sufficiently  tenacious  of 
the  principles  they  had  studied  in  their  respective  pereorinations,  so 
that  the  necessity  of  fixinjr  on  some  arbitrary  characters  to  impress 
the  recollection,  and  represent  tiie  original  elemeutaiy  sounds  of  the 
human  voice,  forcibly  suggested  itself.  To  attain  so  desirable  an 
end,  his  iirst  object  was  to  ascertain  the  number  of  tliese  primary 
sounds  that  enter  into  the  composition  of  words  ;  and  to  ettect  this 
he  judged  it  expedient  to  add  eight  letters  or  signs  to  the  alphabet 
of  (Jadmus.  He  is  said  to  have  been  assisted  in  this  invention  by 
Gadel  and  Gar,  two  Hebrew  philosophers  of  erudition.  The  Irisli 
appellation  for  our  mother  tongue  was  "  Teanga  Phcni,^''  or  the 
language  of  Phronius.  This  Alphabet  served  to  record  the  transac- 
tions of  history,  philosophy,  and  science  ;  but  the  sacred  mysteries 
of  reli<'"ion  were  registered  in  a  character  which  was  only  understood 
by  the  Druids  or  high  priests.  Raymond,  in  a  long  dissertation, 
satisfactorily  proves  that  the  occult  letters  or  signs  used  by  the 
Pha3nician  priesthood,  were  in  formation  and  identity,  the  same 
characters,  in  which  the  Irish  Brehons  preserved  their  records. 
Before  paper  or  parchment  was  invented,  the  ancient  Irish  Druids 
caused  the  sacred  signs  to  be  cut  on  tablets  of  marble,  and  sometimes 
inscribed  with  a  red  hot  iron  on  smoothed  boards  of  the  beech  tree. 
Several  of  these  Druidical  records  are  still  to  be  seen  in  the  museum 
of  Trinity  College,  Dublin.  Ware,  Camden,  and  the  Welsh 
antiquarian,  Lllnvyd,  have  adduced  insurmountable  arguments  and 
logical  deductions  to  support  the  fact  alleged  by  our  historians,  that 
the  use  of  the  Pha3nician  alphabet  was  coeval  with  the  landing  of 
the  Milesians  in  Ireland. 

"  The  PhcEnician  and  Irish  languages,"  says  Llhwyd,  "are  similar 
in  meaning,  and  generally  in  orthography  ;  so  much  so,  indeed,  that 
they  agree  as  much  together  as  any  one  of  the  Greek  dialects  doth 
with  another,  and  more  exactly,  in  fact,  than  the  languages  of  two 
remote  parts  of  the  same  kingdom."  But  it  is  time  to  turn  to 
Phaenius. 

This  Prince,  thirsting  after  new  knowledge,  committed  the  care 
of  the  kingdom  to  his  eldest  son,  Neaniul,  and  setting  out  on  his 
travels,  he  visited  several  seminaries,  in  order  to  increase  the  acqui- 
sition of  his  accomplishments.  After  a  long  peregrination,  he  took 
up  his  residence  in  the  vicinity  of  Babylon,  where  he  opened  a 
school  and  gave  instructions  to  several  Egyptians,  for  according  to 
Herodotus,  the  youth  of  Egypt  in  those  days  derived  all  their 
knowledge  of  letters,  geometry  and  architecture  from  the  Babylo- 
nians.    Leaving  this  seminary  under  the  supeintendence  of  compe- 


33 

tent  preceptors,  he  returned  to  his  kingdom  with  the  view  of 
promoting  a  general  system  of  ednt'ation  throughout  all  his  domin- 
ions; hut  shoitly  after  his  return  lie  was  arrested  in  his  laudable 
career  by  the  hand  of  death. 

Neaniul  took  the  reigns  of  governtnent,  and  his  brother  Niul 
(the  lemote  progenitor  of  the  royal  dynasty  of  O'Neil,)  was 
appointed  to  the  olHce  of  high  priest.  His  legislative  wisdom  and 
literary  attainments  spread  his  fame  over  Europe  and  Asia.  Pharaoh 
Cingress,  king  of  Egypt,  hearing  of  the  celebrity  oi'this  paragon  of 
learning,  became  so  extremely  anxious  to  see  him  that  he  sent 
ambassadors  to  invite  the  erudite  Prince  to  his  court.  Flattered  by 
the  invitation,  he  repaired  to  ligypt,  attended  by  a  gorgeous  retinue. 
At  the  court  of  Pharaoh  the  graces  of  his  person  and  the  insinuation 
of  his  manners  captivated  the  heart  of  the  Egyptian  princess,  Scota, 
while  the  display  of  liis  talents  ])repossessed  the  king  and  courtiers 
in  his  favor.  A  matrimonial  alliance  was  soon  solemnized,  and  Niul 
received  [)ossession  of  the  territory  of  Capncirunt,  on  the  borders  of 
the  Red  f^ea,  as  the  dowry  of  his  wife.  Tiie  issue  of  this  union  was 
a  son,  whom  Niul  named  Gadi:l,  in  honor  of  his  father's  preceptor, 
who  had  borne  the  snme  name. 

Keating  and  O'Flaherty  entertain  us  with  a  historical  detail  of  the 
intimacy  of  Moses  and  Niul,  which,  from  the  silence  of  other 
creditable  writers,  we  think  we  may  more  properly  call  it  a  talc  of 
Romance.  Cormoc,  the  royal  historian,  nor  St.  Fiech,  the  Biogra- 
pher of  St.  Patrick,  makes  no  mention  of  the  connexion  of  Moses 
and  Niul,  though  each  of  these  authors  state  that  Ireland  was 
anciently  called  Tiiathn  Ph(jciii,  or  the  Island  of  Pluenius. 

Indeed,  Ring  Cormoc  in  his  Psalter,  instead  of  synchronizing  the 
Jewisli  Prophet  and  the  Phoenician  Prince,  informs  us,  that  between 
the  period  of  the  Gadelians  quitting  Egypt,  and  that  of  the  deluge, 
470  years  had  el;i|)sed,  whereas  the  era  of  Moses'  departure  from 
captivity,  is  fixed  by  the  most  accurate  chronologists  1(30  years  later 
than  that  of  the  birtii  of  Gadel-glas.  But  as  the  story  has  been 
interwoven  in  our  early  annals,  we  have  no  right  to  tear  the  threads 
of  interpolation  out  of  the  historic  web.  Sir  Isaac  Newton  mentions, 
somewhere,  "that  if  tlie  alloy  of  fiction  could  be  separated  from  the 
pure  ore  of  fact,  many  ])onderous  folio  volumes,  assuming  the  name 
of  history,  might  be  committed  to  the  flames,  without  any  loss  to  the 
repul)lic  of  letters."  But  let  us  give  our  version  of  the  story,  and 
embody  its  substance  in  our  own  language. 

It  was  during  the  residence  of  Niul,  at  Capacirunt,  adjoining  the 
Red  sea,  that  the  Israelites,  under  the  command  of  Moses  and  Aaron, 
attempted  to  free  themselves  from  their  Egyptian  bondage,  and  in 
the  course  of  their  march  they  encamped  near  the  house  of  the 
Prince,  who  surprised  at  their  number  and  hostile  appearance,  went 
in  person  to  know  who  they  were,  and  whether  they  came  in  peace 
or  war.  On  his  approaching  the  cani|)  he  met  Aaron,  who  gave 
him  a  brief  detail  of  the  H-ebrew  nation,  and  the  bondage  to 
which  they  had  been  so  long  subjected  in  the  land  of  plagues. 
He  then  related  the  wonders  and  miracles  that  God  had  wrought 
for  their  deliverance,  and  the  punishments  which  he  inflicted  on 
5 


34 

their  unrelenting  oppressor.  Ninl  moved  and  afiected  by  the 
relation  of  the  holy  man,  profl'ered  him  his  assistance,  and 
offered  to  supply  him  with  corn,  and  such  other  necessaries  as  his 
country  produced.  Aaron,  after  j^iving  a  feeling  expression  to  his 
gratitude,  returned  to  his  brother,  and  joyfully  informed  him  of  his 
interview  with  a  neighboring  Prince,  and  the  kind  offers  of  assistance 
that  he  so  generously  made,  ftloses  elated  at  the  intelligence,  com- 
municated it  to  the  assembled  hosts,  to  whose  bosoms  it  imparted 
the  vivid  beams  of  liope.  It  happened  on  the  same  night,  that  the 
young  Prince  Gadel,  was  bit  in  the  neck  by  a  serpent,  while  Ijatliing 
in  the  river.  The  virulent  venom  rpiickly  diffused  itself  through  his 
veins,  and  poisoned  the  currents  of  life,  so  tiiat  he  was  soon  reduced 
to  the  last  extremity.  Niul,  alarmed  at  this  fatal  accident,  and 
aware  of  the  miraculous  powers  with  which  Moses  was  gifted,  carried 
the  expiring  Prince  to  his  camp,  and  entreated  that  he  would  extend 
to  his  son  the  healing  eftects  of  those  attributes  with  which  the 
supreme  Being  had  invested  him.  Moses  touched  with  pity  for  the 
tortures  of  the  child,  instantly  complied  with  the  request  of  the 
afflicted  parent,  and  laying  his  wand  on  the  wound,  the  young 
Prince  immediately  recovered.  As  soon  as  the  cure  was  performed, 
Moses  locked  a  chain,  which  he  held  in  his  hand,  round  the  neck  of 
Gadel,  whence  he  received  the  name  of  Gla?,  or  of  the  lock.  Moses 
then  predicted,  that  wherever  any  of  the  posterity  of  Gadel-glas 
should  reign,  no  venomous  reptiles  should  ever  infest  the  country,  or 
be  able  to  live  on  the  soil  on  which  they  would  once  imprint  their 
footsteps.  Niul  overjoyed  at  the  recovery  of  his  son,  and  the 
promise  of  the  prophecy,  cheerfully  furnished  Moses  with  such 
provisions  as  were  necessary  to  his  journey,  not  however,  without 
apprehensions  that  his  civility  to  the  Israelites  might  arouse  the 
jealousy,  and  draw  down  the  vengeance  of  his  father-in-law  upon 
his  devoted  head.  As  soon  as  he  imparted  these  fears  to  Moses,  he 
solicited  Niul  either  to  remove  with  him  into  the  land  of  promise, 
where  he  shoidd  enjoy  a  part  of  the  possessions  destined  for  the 
Hebrews,  or  if  this  did  not  seem  a  pleasing  alternative,  he  promised 
to  deliver  up  the  Egyptian  shipping  into  his  hands,  by  which  means 
he  and  his  peeple  could  keep  aloof  until  he  saw  how  God  should 
settle  affairs  between  him  and  Pharaoh,  who  was  making  prepara- 
tions to  pursue  tlie  children  of  Israel,  in  order  to  bring  them  back 
to  bondage.  The  latter  proposition  having  been  accepted  by  Niul, 
Moses  instantly  despatched  a  thousand  men  to  secure  the  Egyptian 
fleet,  who  succeeded  in  their  design  of  putting  Niul  in  the  possession 
of  it.  He  lost  no  time  in  embarking  with  all  his  followers,  and 
standing  out  to  sea  to  await  the  event  of  Moses'  flight  from  the 
tyranny  of  Pharaoh.  Next  day,  according  to  holy  writ,  tlie  waters 
of  the  red  sea  were  divided,  and  the  Egyptian  Monarch,  in  attempt- 
ing to  follow  Moses,  perished  with  all  his  hosts,  by  which  memorable 
event,  the  fears  of  Nitd  being  dissipated,  he  returned  to  his  former 
possessions,  and  reigned  in  peace  for  many  years.  When  our  intel- 
ligent readers  peruse  the  foregoing  ingenious  fictions,  they  will  allow, 
that  like  the  episode  narrating  the  meeting  of  Dido  arul  /Eneas,  they 
serve  to  decorate  with  the  flowers  of  romance  and  story,  which  the 


35 

wcicrlit  of  its  glaring  anacroiiism  must  sink  in  tlic  quagmire  of  utter 
discredit. 

What  credulity  can  be  persuaded  that  IMoses  could  send  a  thousand 
men  to  seize  on  the  Egyptian  fleet,  while  Pharaoh  with  all  his  forces, 
was  in  actual  pursuit  of  him  1  Dr.  Keating  endeavors  to  account 
for  the  imaginary  alliance  of  Moses  and  Niul,  by  supposing  that  the 
latter,  like  many  of  the  characters  in  scripture,  lived  some  hundred 
of  years  ;  but  a  hypothesis  is  a  bad  ground-work  on  which  to  raise 
a  fabric  of  historical  fact. 

Those  who  reject  the  iireceding  story,  which  has  indeed  no  claim 
to  historical  credence,  derive  the  word  Glo.^,  the  surname  of  Gadel, 
from  the  brightness  and  l)iilliant  poHsh  of  liis  arms,  which  reflected 
a  green  lustre.  From  this  Gadcl-GIas  the  Milesians  received  the 
appellation  of  Gadelians,  and  from  his  Mother,  Scota,  that  of  Scots. 
The  etymology  of  these  names,  and  also  of  the  name  Phoenicians, 
given  to  our  Milesian  ancestors,  is  confirmed  by  the  following 
ancient  verse — 

"  Pliam  o'  P/iann/s  robearta  :  hrig  gun  docJita 
Gaoidhcal  0' Gaoidhal-Glus-garta  .   scut'o  Scotn." 

That  is,  IOC  are  iinqucstionably  called  Phoenicians  from  our  rcnoioncd 
progenitor,  Phccnius  ;  Gaddians  from  Gadcl-Glas,  and  Scots  from 
Scota. 

Gadel  succeeded  his  f^ither  Niul,  A.  M.  1996,  and  seems  to  have 
enjoyed  a  peaceable  reign.  It  was,  indeed,  too  short  to  witness 
ntany  revolutions.  His  son  £rt5r«  assumed  regal  authority;  but  his 
reiijn,  which  it  is  said  lasted  thirty  years,  is  not  distinguished  in 
history.  He  died  in  203G  of  the  world,  and  left  a  son  named  Sru, 
who  succeeded  to  the  throne.  At  this  era,  the  sovereignty  of  Egypt 
was  swayed  by  Pharaoh  an  Tiiir,  whom  our  historians  represent  as 
a  brave  and  accomplished  Prince.  He  recruited  the  forces  of  his 
kingdom,  and  exerted  himself  to  repair  the  ravages  with  which  the 
divine  wrath  devastated  the  country  during  the  reign  of  his  wicked 
predecessor,  Pharaoh  Cingress. 

This  Monarch,  either  not  knowing  the  descendants  of  Niul,  or 
according  to  some  authorities,  incensed  at  the  assistance  which  the 
(iadelians  afl'orded  Moses  in  his  flight  from  the  Egyptians,  entered 
the  country  of  Capacirunt  with  fire  and  sword. 

Sru,  unable  to  cope  with  so  formidable  an  opponent,  found  no 
other  resource  of  safety  from  the  danger  by  which  he  was  menaced, 
but  in  flying  into  the  country  of  his  ancestors.  This  flight  took 
place,  according  to  O'Halloran,  A.  M.  2040.  The  irruption  of 
Pharaoh  was,  however,  so  rapid  and  unexpected,  that  Sru  could  only 
collect  four  ships,  in  which  he  embarked,  with  the  ]>rincipal  nobility, 
their  wives,  and  such  valuable  effects  as  they  could  carry  with  them 
in  so  precipitous  an  eml)arkation.  This  event  occurred  in  the  tenth 
year  of  Sru's  reign.  Sir  Francis  Walsingiiam,  in  a  latin  work, 
published  in  ]5G;3,  called  Hi/podigma,  alludes  to  the  flight  of  Sru 
out  of  Egy|)t  in  the  following  passage,  which  we  translate — "  After 
Pharaoh  Cingress  and  all  his  bands  j)erished  in  the  Hed  sea,  his 
successor  Pharaoh  an  Tuir,  burning  with  resentment  against  a  noble 


30 

Scytliian  who  resided  in  Egfypt,  and  who  was  a  blood  relation  of  the 
former  reigning  family,  whom  Pharaoh  dreaded  as  a  rival  in  iho 
monarchy.  Ho  therefore  resolved  to  drive  this  competitor  out  of 
Egypt,  lest  he  niiglit  attempt  to  seize  the  government.  The  Scythian 
Prince  nf)t  having  the  means  of  asserting  his  riglit  to  the  crown  of 
Egypt,  fled  to  Spain,  and  thence  to  Irehmd."  This  account,  how- 
ever, is  ojdy  true  in  part,  as  they  did  not  come  direct  from  Egypt 
into  Spain  ;  for  Dagha,  who  led  the  Gadelians  into  Spain,  was  the 
fifth  in  descent  from  Srn,  nnder  whose  command  they  departed  from 
Egypt,  to  elude  the  vengeance  of  Pharaoh  an  Tuir.  From  Egypt, 
the  Gadelians  directed  their  course  to  the  Ishand  of  Crete,  in  the 
Mediterranean  sea,  where  they  obtained  a  peaceable  settlement,  and 
civilized  the  rude  manners  of  the  inhaititants,  by  introducing  the 
study  of  literature  and  the  arts.  They  instructed  them  in  tlie 
knowledge  of  the  Divine  Being,  the  reverence  and  obedience  due 
to  liim,  and  the  duties  which  he  has  thought  proper  to  impose  upon 
man. 

Srn  ruled  over  his  followers  in  Crete  25  years,  and  by  his  death 
the  government  devolved  upon  Heber  Scot,  his  son.  After  a  period 
of  twenty  years  administration,  in  the  Island  of  Crete,  he  for  some 
cause,  unexplained  by  our  annalists,  abandoned  the  Island,  A.  M. 
209G,  and  set  sail  for  Phoenicia,  the  country  of  his  ance.'^tors,  where 
he  was  kindly  received  by  his  relatives,  and  after  obtaining  the  regal 
authority,  he  died  full  of  years  and  virtue.  His  son,  Baiiikain, 
ascended  the  throne  in  spite  of  the  opposition  of  Naoinc,  the  legiti- 
mate descendant  of  Neaniul,  and  the  rightful  heir  of  the  crown  of 
Phoenicia.  The  contention  of  these  competitors  filled  the  kingdonj 
with  all  the  horrors  of  civil  war.  Fortune  seemed  long  undecided, 
and  the  contending  rivals  alternately  experienced  the  rewards  of 
victory,  and  the  vicissitudes  of  defeat.  Bam/iain,  however,  after  a 
disturbed  reign  of  35  years,  fell  by  the  sword,  and  made  way  for  his 
son,  Oghanihnht,  who  took  command  of  the  shattered  forces  of  his 
father,  and  by  fortune  and  perseverance,  retrieved,  in  some  degree, 
the  losses  which  had  been  sustained  during  the  former  reign.  He 
met,  however,  with  that  fate  to  which  a  scene  of  continued  hostilities 
must  have  necessarily  exposed  him,  and  died  in  battle,  A.  M.  2176. 
His  son,  Tait,  of  whom  nothing  memorable  is  recorded,  became  his 
successor.  After  his  death,  which  is  supposed  to  have  iiappened  in 
22II,  the  command  devolved  on  A^hrioin,  who  defeated  and  slew 
his  rival  Riflleoir,  the  son  of  Riffil,the  lineal  descendant  of  Neaniul, 
the  son  of  Pha^nius.  This  victory,  however,  was  ]iroductive  of 
conseq\iences  which  proved  worse  than  a  defeat ;  for  the  followers 
of  Riftleoir,  collecting  all  their  strength,  vowed  vengeance  on  the 
house  of  Niul.  To  evade  the  storm  that  foreboded  such  terrible 
results,  Aghnoin  and  his  adherents  resolved  to  abandon  a  country 
where  peace  and  hap])incss  could  not  be  enjoyed  any  longer  by  them. 
They  accordingly  embarked  on  board  of  their  fleet,  and  committed 
themselves  to  the  guidance  of  winds  and  waves,  without  having 
shaped  their  course  for  any  particular  port  of  destination.  On  this 
voyage  of  chance,  Aghnoin,  was  accom|)anied  by  his  brother  Heber, 
who  presided  as  High   Priest ;  by  his   three  sons,  Ealloid,   Laimh- 


37 

Fionn,  and  Lnimh-GIas,  as  well  as  by  Caicer,  and  Cing,  the  two 
sons  of  Iloher. 

His  fleet  was  wafted  aboiit  for  two  years,  by  tbe  caprice  of 
temj3ests  and  billows,  daring  wiiicb  perilons  period,  Agbnoin  died, 
A.  IM.  2'241,  atul  was  succeeded  in  tbe  command  by  liis  eldest  son, 
Laimb-Fionn,  tbe  wbite-lianded.  Sbortly  after,  be  and  liis  marine 
wanderers  were  driven  by  a  storm  into  tbe  Island  of  Cberine,  (Ci/pnis,) 
wbere  tbcy  stopped  to  refit  their  fleet  and  recruit  themselves,  for  a 
space  of  til"iecn  months.  Here  death  deprived  them  oftiiehigh  priest, 
Heber,  and  bis  nepliew  Laimli-Glaa,  who  were  interred  with  all  tbe 
pomp  and  honors  due  to  their  rank.  Heber  was  succeeded  in  the 
pontificate  by  bis  son  Caicer,  whom  tiie  Gadelians  consulted  relative  to 
their  future  destinies.  Having  sacrificed  to  the  gods,  and  particularly 
to  Neptune,  he  foretold,  that  the  settlement  reserved  for  their 
posterity,  was  tbe  most  western  Island  in  Europe,  and  one  which 
Princes  of  their  race  would  rule  over  for  many  centuries;  but  that 
some  generations  should  intervene  before  they  could  get  possession 
of  tbe  "(Jrcen  Isle  of  tbe  Ocean."  Having  made  the  necessary 
preparations  for  a  long  voyage,  they  set  sail,  and  directed  their 
course  to  <iothland,  where  Laimb-Fionn  had  a  son,  who  was  reputed 
a  Prince  of  wisdom  and  valor. 

In  this  voyage  they  encountered  every  species  of  danger,  as  their 
course  lay  through  perilf)us  seas  full  of  rocks,  peopled  by  seducing 
sirens.  To  steer  clear  through  these  difficulties,  we  are  gravely  told 
by  the  Psalter  of  Cashel,  that,  as  soon  as  the  fleet  reached  the 
straits  of  Messina,  the  high  priest,  Caicer,  caused  the  mariners  to 
stuff  their  ears  with  wax,  by  which  contrivance  they  escaped  tbe 
rocks  and  quicksands,  to  which  the  magic  influence  of  siren  fascina- 
tion drew  so  many  hapless  barks.  We  think  that  some  poet,  and 
not  a  historian,  foisted  this  fable  of  the  sirens,  which  originated  with 
the  Phoenicians,  into  the  Psalter  of  Cashel,  unknown  to  king  Cormoc. 
The  Gadelians  succeeding  according  to  their  wishes  in  avoiding  the 
dangers  to  which  their  voyage  exposed  them,  at  length  effected 
a  landing  at  Getulia,  on  the  African  coast. 

As  soon  as  they  went  on  shore  they  |M'oceeded  to  return  solemn 
thanks  to  tbe  gods  for  their  safety.  Having  explored  the  country, 
and  ascertained  the  character  of  its  inhabitants,  they  came  to  a 
determination  of  making  a  ]}ermanent  settlement  in  a  land  which 
appeared  to  be  fertile  and  verdant. 

Sbortly  after  their  arrival,  their  chief,  Laimb-Fionn,  died.  A.  M. 
2281,  and  was  succeeded  by  bis  eldest  son,  Heber,  called  Glun-Jionn, 
or,  the  white-knee.  Our  annalists  characterize  him  as  a  prince  that 
united  the  prudence  of  the  sage  to  the  intrepidity  of  the  warrior; 
but  we  are  not  told  when  or  wliere  be  displayed  these  accomplish- 
ments ;  nor  indeed  is  there  any  particular  notice  taken  of  tbe 
transactions  of  the  (Jadelians  for  a  ))eriod  of  315  years,  which  they 
are  supposed  to  have  remained  in  (Jetulia.  By  an  ancient  poem, 
written  by  Ginlla  Caoinhan,  we  are  informed  that  the  (radelians 
remained  only  thirty  years  in  Gothland.  But  though  Keating  agree.1 
with  tbe  author  as  to  tbe  country,  he  rejects  the  period  of  time 
which  he  assigns  for  their  continuance,  and   asserts  that   there   are 


38 

Irish  records  of  great  autliority  which  relate  that  the  Gadelians 
remained  150  years  in  tlie  country,  where  eight  generations  passed 
away  during  tlieir  rule.  This  is  indeed  a  period  of  history  which  is 
involved  in  a  dusky  mantle  of  obscurity  tiirongh  which  the  eye  of 
inquiry  will  never  be  able  to  penetrate.  Heber's  throne  was  suc- 
cessively filled  by  his  son  Adhnoin-Fionn,  his  grand-son  Feabhar- 
Glas,  his  great-grand-son  IVeannail,  and  by  the  descendants  of  the 
latter,  Nuagliadii,  AUad,  Earachda,  and  Deaghfatha,  the  father  of 
the  renowned  Bratha.  The  latter  prince,  in  early  life  betrayed  a 
capacity  for  governing,  and  a  spirit  of  ambition  that  spurned  the 
narrow  limits  of  his  father's  territories,  and  bid  fair  to  shine  with 
lustre  in  a  suitable  sphere  of  action. 

No  sooner  had  he  assumed  the  sovereign  authority  than  he  formed, 
the  determination  of  gaining  by  conquest  a  country  that  would  aflord 
a  sufficient  scope  for  the  display  of  his  genius.  He  quickly  iitted 
out  a  fleet,  and  having  sailed  through  the  Mediterranean  Sea,  and 
passed  the  pillars  of  Hercules,  with  some  difficulty  he  succeeded  in 
landing  on  the  coast  of  Galacia,  where  he  gallantly  rcj)nlscd  tiie 
natives,  who  flocked  to  the  shores  to  oppose  him. 

Bratha,  after  repelling  the  hostile  attacks  of  a  warlike  and 
ferocious  peojjle,  caused  breast-works  and  entrenchments  to  be  raised 
to  secure  his  army  from  the  further  molestation  of  the  natives. 
According  to  the  Psalter  of  Cashel,  Bratha  and  his  son  Breogau 
had  to  fight  fifty-four  pitched  battles  before  they  were  able  finally  to 
establish  their  dominion  in  Spain.  Death  terminated  the  glorious 
reign  of  Bratha,  A.  M.  2597,  when  has  valiant  son,  Breocan, 
mounted  the  throne  of  Spain  by  the  consent  of  the  nation. 

He  built  a  city  for  the  residence  of  his  ])eople,  which  he  surrounded 
with  a  wall  and  deep  fosse.  From  him  the  city  was  called  Breogan 
Sgiath,  or  the  shield  of  Breogan.  He  also  erected  a  light-house  for 
the  direction  of  shipping  from  England  and  Ireland,  with  which 
countries  his  subjects  carried  on  an  extensive  trade.  This  Pharos 
was  furnished  with  reflecting  and  refracting  glasses,  globes,  and  other 
nautical  instruments.  This  heroic  prince,  from  whom  the  dynasty 
of  the  house  of  Braganza  is  descended,  was  the  father  of  ten 
legitimate  sons,  namely,  Cuailyne,  Cnala,Blath,  Aibhle,  Nar,  Bregha, 
Fuadh,  Muirtheimhne,  Ith,  and  Bille.  The  latter  was  the  father  of 
GoLLAMH,  who  was  designated,  by  way  of  distinction  and  dignity, 
"  3filc-Espoine,^^  or  the  hero  of  S|)ain,  who,  under  the  name  of 
Milesius,  cuts  such  a  distinguished  figure  in  the  annals  of  Erin. 

Breogan  and  his  sons  gained  many  victories  in  Spain,  and  finally 
succeeded  in  reducing  that  country  and  Portugal  to  his  subjection. 
His  son  GoLLAMH  covered  himself  with  glory  in  every  battle,  and 
his  skill  and  heroism  generally  secured  the  victory. 

Having  finally  established  their  settlement  in  Spain,  Gollamh 
(Milesius)  became  desirous  of  an  opj)ortunity  of  entwining  new 
laurels  in  his  wreath  of  fame.  By  his  lather's  consent  he  fitted  out 
an  expedition  with  which  he  sailed  from  the  port  of  Corunna,  in 
order  to  assist  his  friends  in  Phoinicia,  who  were  at  this  time  greatly 
distressed  by  foreign  wars.  He  was  accompanied  by  twelve  literary 
and  scientific  men  who  were  to  take  observations  in  astronomy  and 


39 

the  arts,  and   keep  a  regular  journal  of  the  discoveries  they  might 
make,  or  the  im|)rovements  they  might  meet. 

The  chivalric  prince  was  received  with  warm  demonstrations  of 
respect  and  regard  by  his  cousin  RefHeoir,  at  the  Scythian  court. 
His  acknowledged  military  talents  and  undaunted  courage  pointed 
him  out  to  the  king  as  a  person  every  way  (jualitied  to  command  his 
armies.  In  order  to  knit  the  honds  of  relationship  still  closer,  and 
add  "  a  tower  of  strength"  to  his  power,  the  king  gave  Milesius  his 
daughter,  the  heautiful  Seang,  in  marriage.  At  the  head  of  the 
army  he  soon  expelled  the  invaders  from  the  dominions  of  his  father- 
in-law,  suppressed  revolts,  and  liumhled  all  the  enemies  of  the 
Scvthian  nation. 

lie  had  two  sons  by  the  Phoenician  Princess,  Don  and  Aireach 
in  giving  birth  to  the  latter  of  whom  she  died.  The  father  was 
assiduous  in  instructing  his  sons  in  military  talents,  and  in  all  the 
accomplishments  that  can  adorn  and  polish  intellect.  His  victories 
and  his  generosity  raised  him  so  high  in  the  estimation  of  the  people 
that  his  popularity  filled  the  mind  of  the  king  witli  alarm  and 
jealousy,  who,  aj)prehensive  that  the  Spanish  prince  might  attempt 
to  usurp  the  sovereign  j)ower  and  wrest  it  from  his  family,  after  the 
example  of  his  ancestors,  took  measures  to  have  him  assassinated. 
But  some  friend  intimated  privately  to  Gollamh  the  fate  that  was 
intended  for  him,  who  on  hearing  the  treachery  of  his  father-in-law, 
resolved  to  have  vengeance.  In  order  to  deceive  the  king  he  feigned 
indisposition,  whilst  his  adherents  were  making  the  necessary 
preparations  to  accomplish  his  intention.  All  being  ready  for  the 
execution  of  his  plan,  he  at  the  head  of  a  chosen  band  of  his  country- 
men forced  the  gates  of  the  jjalace,  and  dispatched  the  ungenerous 
Reffleoir.  Milesius  not  tfiinking  it  prudent  to  entrust  himself  any 
longer  to  the  faith  of  the  PluxMiicians,  set  sail  for  Egypt,  where  he 
proftered  his  services  to  Pharaoh  Nectonebus,  the  king,  who  was  then 
engaged  in  war  with  the  Ethiopians.  Pharaoh  wishing  to  avail 
himself  of  the  assistance  of  a  prince  whose  exploits  were  the  theme 
of  universal  applause,  immediately  a])pointed  him  generalissimo  of 
Jiis  armies. 

He  engaged  the  Ethiopians  in  several  conflicts,  with  incredible 
success,  and  proved  himself  worthy  of  the  dignity  conferred  upon 
him  by  the  Egyptian  Monarch,  who,  in  consideration  of  the  impor- 
tant services  which  he  experienced  at  his  hands,  gave  him  his 
daujihter,  Scofn,  in  marriage.  By  Scota  he  had  two  sons,  born 
in  Egypt,  Heher-Fionn,  and  Amhergin.  During  the  absence  of 
Milesius,  his  father  Bille  died  in  Spain,  and  in  consequence,  the 
Spaniards  began  to  revolt  from  the  Gadelian  government.  The 
moment  Milesius  heard  of  the  disaffection  of  the  Spaniards,  he  took 
a  final  leave  of  his  father-in-law,  and  hastened  back  to  chastise  the 
rebels  of  his  country.  No  sooner  was  he  landed  than  his  very  name, 
like  that  of  him  who  threw  Alexander,  Hannibal,  and  Cicsar  into 
the  shade.  Napoleon,  comnmnicated  fear  and  consternation  to  the 
hearts  of  the  insurgents.  Tranquillity  was  soon  restored,  and 
Milesius,  hefi)re  his  death,  had  the  hap|)incss  of  reigning  over  a  well 
alVected  and  united  people.     lie  died,  A.  M.  270G,  advanced  in  years. 


40 

>vlio,  after  a  short  time,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Hcher-Fionn, 
shared  the  royal  power  willi  his  younger  brother,  Hcremon.  Dr. 
Keating'  alleges,  but  we  know  not  on  what  authority,  that  Milesius' 
voyage  from  Egypt  to  Spain,  was  perilous  and  protracted,  occupying, 
according  to  his  unauthenticated  account,  a  period  of  two  years, 
during  which  he  visited  Thrace,  where  his  wife  Scota  was  delivered 
of  a  son,  called  lu  ;  that  after  refitling  his  fleet  in  the  Hellespont, 
he  again  put  to  sea,  and  passing  through  a  series  of  circumnavigations, 
in  the  course  of  which  he  touched  the  north  of  Britain,  (where 
another  son  was  born  to  him,  whom  he  named  Co/pa,  or  the  swords- 
man,) he  at  length  made  the  coast  of  Spain.  "  There  is  certainly 
no  (juestion"  says  the  profound  and  erudite  Charles  O'Connor, 
"  but  that  the  account  of  the  feats  and  exjjloits  of  th.e  Gadelian  ciiiefs, 
taken  in  a  great  measure  from  ovir  Bards  and  Fileas,  rather  than 
from  our  authentic  annals,  is  mixed  with  much  fable  and  colored 
with  the  die  of  invention  ;  and  we  need  not  doubt  of  the  corruption 
of  tlie  stream,  as  it  is  mixed  with  the  current  of  succeeding  ages  : 
it  is  enough  that  the  ciiiefest  heroes  mentioned  by  our  old  Bards, 
were  equally  celebrated  in  t!ie  traditions  of  other  learned  nations." 

Our  annalists  tell  us  that  Milesius  had  eight  sons  born  in  wedlock, 
and  twenty-four  wlio  were  the  fruits  of  illicit  love. 

Heber-Fionn,  his  eldest  son  by  Seang,  his  first  wife,  in  conjunc- 
tion with  his  younger  brother  Heremon,  assumed  tiie  reins  of 
sovereignty,  and  Andiergin  was  elevated  to  the  pontificate.  By  the 
assistance  of  the  twelve  Philosophers,  who  accompanied  Gollamh, 
alias,  Jlilesius,  to  Phcenicia  and  Egypt,  these  Princes  were  able  to 
give  ample  encouragement  to  the  arts  and  sciences.  While  they 
were  employed  in  the  salutary  endeavor  of  ameliorating  the  condition 
of  their  people,  by  dilfusing  knowledge  and  morals  among  them, 
the  country  was  visited  with  the  dreadful  calamities  of  jjestilence 
and  famine,  by  which  they  were  so  weakened,  that  the  neighboring 
states  were  once  more  encouraged  to  attack  them. 

In  this  fallen  state  of  their  fortunes,  they  Avere  unable  to  surmount 
the  difficulties  and  dangers  that  environed  them  ;  nor  could  they 
devise  any  means  to  resist  the  hostile  attacks  with  which  they  were 
threatened.  M'hile  bewildered  in  the  mazes  of  this  emergency, 
without  a  ray  of  hope  to  warm  their  despair-chilled  hearts,  Amher- 
gin,  as  if  suddenly  seized  with  prophetic  inspiration,  reminded  them 
of  the  ancient  prediction  of  his  predecessor,  Caicer.  His  words 
raised  their  spirits  from  the  deepest  despcnulency  to  the  summit  of 
expectation.  He  informed  them  that  the  Western  Islaiul  of  the 
Atlantic,  which  was  unknown  to  their  ancestors  in  the  days  of  Caicer, 
was  that  destined  for  the  posterity  of  Milesius.  The  people,  on 
hearing  the  speech  of  the  high  Priest,  called  on  their  chiefs  to 
conduct  them  to  that  Isle,  where  the  gods  proinised  them  prosperity 
and  happiness.  After  deliberating  in  council,  they  resolved  on 
sendin"'  Itii,  the  son  of  Breogan,  on  whose  prudence  and  sagacity 
they  could  rely,  to  visit  the  Island,  and  ascertain  the  strength  and 
character  of  its  inhabitants. 

Ith,  accordingly  set  sail  from  the  port  of  Corunna,  in  Spain, 
A.  M.  273.5,  in  n  strong  ship,  attended  by  his  son,  Lughaidh,  and  a 
select  body  of  150  armed  men,  besides  the  crew. 


41 

His  vojajje  having  proved  prosperous,  he  reached  the  northern 
coast  of  Irehiiid,  in  a  i'ew  days  after  his  departure,  and  landed  with 
all  his  followers  at  JJaire  Ca/garh,  now  I^ondondemj,  where  he 
innncdiately  ofiered  sacrifices  to  Neptune,  the  favorite  marine  god 
of  the  Phoenicians  and  Gadelians.  The  omens  did  not  prove  as 
propitious  as  he  expected,  hut  relyingon  the  fulfilment  of  the  ancient 
jirophecy,  he  did  not  sutler  his  mind  to  hrood  in  sadness  on  the 
discouraging  divination.  As  soon  as  the  Gadelians  pitched  their 
tents,  numbers  of  the  inhal^itants  approached  their  camp  to  know 
who  they  were,  and  what  the  strange  adventurers  wanted  in  the 
country  of  Innis-fail.  Itii  was  astonished  to  find  himself  addressed 
by  the  people  of  a  foreign  clirne,  in  his  vernacular  language,*  and 
gave  the  incpiiries  to  under.stand,  in  the  same  idiom,  that  the  identity 
of  their  language  convinced  him  that  he  and  they  must  have  sprung 
from  one  common  source  of  Japhethian  ancestry  ;  that  he  was 
driven  on  their  coasts  by  stress  of  weather,  and  that  he  intended  to 
return  as  soou  as  possible  to  his  friends  in  Spain.  The  people 
synipntliizing  in  his  distresses,  infoimed  him  that  the  Danan  Princes, 
who  then  ruled  the  nation,  were  holding  a  Congress  at  Oilcack  Nead, 
in  the  peninsula  oi Innh-Shonc,  not  far  from  his  camp,  whither  they 
advised  him  to  repair.  This  congress  assembled  here,  (where  in 
days  of  yore  the  kings  of  Ulster  held  their  courts,)  for  the  purpose 
of  making  an  equitable  partition  of  the  crown  Jewels  between  three 
brothers,  who  had  disputed  aboiit  them.  He  accordingly  presented 
himself  before  this  assembly,  and  by  his  courtly  bearing  and  eloquent 
address,  impressed  the  Belgian  chiefs  with  so  high  an  idea  of  his 
character,  that  they  unanimously  agreed  to  make  him  their  umpire 
in  deciding  an  unfortunate  difference,  which,  if  not  averted,  was 
likely  to  kindle  the  flames  of  civil  war  in  the  country.  The  con- 
tending brothers  unanimously  declared  that  they  would  cheerfully 
submit  to  his  decision. 

Itii,  unwilling  to  incur  the  displeasure  of  either  of  the  Princes, 
adjudged,  that  the  jewels  should  be  etpially  divided  among  the  three 
brothers.  He  expatiated  at  the  same  time,  on  the  advantages 
resulting  from  peace  and  concord,  and  observed  that  a  country  so 
fruitful,  indented  as  it  was  with  rivers  that  watered  green  meadows, 
and  verdant  valleys  of  flowery  pasturage,  which  were  never  visited 

*  The  great  antiquity  of  the  Irish  language,  which  is  the  same  as  the  ancient 
Scythian,  affords  another  proof  of  tlie  Pliocnician  origin  of  the  Irish  nation,  and 
that  the  elements  of  their  idiom  were  brought  to  Ireland  when  the  use  of  letters 
was  in  its  infancy.  Indeed,  the  old  Irish  bears  so  great  an  affinity  to  the  ancient 
Hebrew,  that  to  those  who  are  masters  of  botli,  they  appear  plainly  to  be  only 
dialects  of  the  same  tongue.  This  surely  lays  a  fair  foundation  for  an  ancient 
history  to  be  built  upon  :  '•  for  a  nation  and  language  are  both  of  an  age,  and  if  a 
language  be  ancient,  the  people  must  be  as  old." — ^Vak.ver. 

"  In  order  to  discover  the  original  of  the  Irish  nation,  I  was  at  the  pains  to 
compare  all  European  languages  with  that  of  Ireland,  and  I  found  it  liad  little 
agreement  with  any  of  them.  I  then  had  recourse  to  the  Celtic,  the  original 
language  of  the  ancient  Celtffi,  or  Scvthians.  and  I  found  the  affinity  so  great  that 
there  was  scarcely  a  shade  of  ditference.  There  being  such  an  exact  agreement 
between  them,  aiid  the  Irish  having  no  affinity  with  any  known  language  in  the 
world,  excepting  the  Plebrew  and  the  Phcenician,  this  is  sufficient,  I  think,  to 
procure  that  credit  to  Irish  history  which  it  may  justly  challenge." — Raymond. 
6 


42 

with  the  devastation  of  the  hurricane,  seemed  designed  by  bountiful 
nature,  as  the  abode  of  contentment  and  prosperity. 

Having  reconciled  the  brothers  to  eacli  other,  he  took  liis  leave, 
and  departed  witli  the  presents  that  they  presented  him,  for  his  sliip. 
No  sooner  was  lie  gone,  however,  than  the  congress  began  to  reflect 
on  the  warm  oulogium  which  he  had  pronounced  on  the  beauty  and 
fertility  of  the  Island  ;  and  many  of  tlie  chiefs  expressed  their  fears, 
that  so  clever  and  sagacious  a  leader,  would,  on  his  return  to  his  own 
country,  induce  tiie  Gadelians  to  make  an  atten>pt  to  possess  the 
kingdom  by  conquest.  This  apprehension,  the  moment  it  was 
expressed,  possessed  the  opinions  of  the  whole  assembly.  Accord- 
ingly a  resolution  was  instantly  adopted  to  cut  off  the  foreigner 
before  he  had  time  to  embark.  Mac  Cuil,  one  of  their  military 
Chieftains,  with  a  force  of  150  soldiers,  immediately  pursued  Ith, 
and  soon  overtook  him,  as  he  marched  through  a  circuitous  route, 
in  order  to  have  a  better  view  of  the  country.  Ith,  perceiving  his 
pursuers  armed,  soon  concluded  what  their  object  was,  began  to 
retreat  precipitately  to  his  ship,  with  his  little  band,  and  succeeded 
notwithstanding  the  celerity  of  the  enen>y's  march,  in  gaining  the 
shore.  Here,  within  a  cable's  length  of  his  vessel,  resigning  himself 
to  the  impulse  of  that  military  ardor  which  he  inherited  from  his 
ancestors,  and  which  neither  the  sagacity  of  age,  nor  the  presence 
of  fatal  danger  could  restrain,  he  bravely  turned  on  his  assailants. 
The"  conflict,  which  soon  became  sanguinary,  was  supported  with 
accustomed  valor  on  the  one  side,  and  with  that  confidence  which  is 
usually  inspired  by  superior  numbers,  on  the  other.  After  a  long 
and  doubtful  struggle,  tlie  gallant  Itii  was  mortally  wounded,  and 
his  brave  companions  in  arms,  more  desirous  to  preserve  the  body 
of  their  beloved  commander  from  insult  than  to  contend  for  the 
honor  of  an  uncertain  victory — a  victory  from  which  they  could 
derive  no  immediate  advantage — made  good  their  retreat  to  the 
ship.  The  place  where  this  battle  was  fought  is  called  to  this  day 
Mugha  Ith,  or  the  scene  of  Ith's  defeat,  on  the  banks  of  Lough 
Foyle. 

The  Gadelians  had  not  proceeded  far  to  sea  before  their  heroic 
leader  died  of  his  wounds.  His  son  Lughaidu  assumed  the  com- 
mand, and  conducted  tliem  safely  to  Brigantium.  He  was  careful 
however  to  preserve  the  body  of  his  father  till  he  arrived  on  the 
Spanish  coast,  where  it  was  brought  on  shore  and  exposed  to  the 
view  of  the  Gadelians,  to  inspire  them  with  a  just  resentment  of 
the  treachery  which  they  experienced  from  the  inhabitants  of 
Ireland. 

Lughaidh  then  took  occasion  to  inform  his  countrymen  of  the 
salubrity  of  the  climate  and  luxuriance  of  the  soil  of  Erin,  and  that 
as  discord  and  division  prevailed  amongst  its  rulers,  that  it  might  be 
easily  conquered.  Tiie  eflect  of  this  speech  was  to  kindle  the 
ambition  and  resentment  of  the  Gadelians,  and  the  hope  of  conquest 
and  the  desire  of  revenge  gave  an  impetuous  incentive  to  their 
resolution  of  invading  Ireland ;  with  what  success  shall  be  seen  in 
the  next  chapter. 

Having  now  given  a  brief  history  of  the  origin  and  ^anilcrings  of 


43 


the  Gadelians,  it  is  necessary  to  notice  some  objections  wliicli  may 
be  urged  against  tlie  account  we  have  given  of  their  voyages  and 
travels. 

The  grounds  on  wliich  this  account  is  founded  liave  been  furnished 
by  our  most  creditable  historians.  It  may  be  said  that  from  the 
imperfect  knowledge  of  navigation  in  tliose  remote  times,  it  is  not 
probable  that  the  Gadelians  could  accomplish  so  many  voyages  from 
Egypt  to  Crete — from  Crete  to  Scythia — thence  to  Africa — thence 
to  Spain,  and  thence  to  Ireland.  To  remove  this  objection  we  must 
refer  to  what  we  have  already  said  with  regard  to  the  early  know- 
ledge of  navigation,  in  vindicating  the  history  of  the  four  Ante- 
Milesian  Colonies. 

"Voyages  and  transmigrations,"  says  M'Geoghegan,  "  where  the 
humor  of  these  ancient  times.  Men  had  not  yet  taken  root  ;  and 
territorial  possessions  were  not  established  by  law,  nor  defended  by 
justice.  The  Tyrians,  after  coasting  Asia  Minor,  Greece,  Italy, 
Gaul,  and  all  the  countries  Yvhich  surround  the  Mediterranean  Sea, 
without  stopping  at  any,  entered  the  ocean  by  the  straits  of  Gibraltar, 
and  established  ihemsiilves  on  the  western  coast  of  Spain,  where 
they  built  the  city  of  Cadiz,  a  long  time  before  Utica  and  Carthage 
were  founded,  and  while  naval  knowledge  was  yet  in  its  infancy." 
In  addition  to  the  remarks  of  the  Abbe  M'Geoghegan,  we  might 
observe  that  the  Phoenicians,  the  Egyptians,  the  Greeks,  and  the 
Carthairinians  sent  colonies  into  diflV-rent  countries,  at  a  very  early 
age.  SVe  are  told  by  the  historians  that  even  Carthage,  in  the  age 
of  her  glory,  after  founding  300  cities  on  the  coast  of  Africa,  finding 
herself  still  stircharged  with  inhabitants,  sent  General  Ilannon  with 
a  fleet  of  30,000  volunteers,  to  survey  the  countries  lying  beyond  the 
pillars  of  Hercules,  and  to  establish  colonies,  as  Strabo  terms  it, 
"on  these  remote  conjines.^'' 

The  Scythians,  from  whom  the  Gadelians  descended,  and  who 
were  masters  of  the  vast  regions  which  extend  from  the  Boristhenes 
to  the  county  of  the  Massagetes,  and  from  the  Saces  to  the  east  of 
the  Caspian  Sea,  had  neither  cities  nor  houses.  They  were  always 
itinerant,  and  dwelt  in  tents,  now  in  one  country,  and  again  in 
another. 

The  ships  of  King  Solomon  traded  to  Arabia,  Persia,  India,  and 
even  to  the  western  coasts  of  Africa,  so  that  it  is  more  than  probable 
that  from  the  earliest  times,  and  immediately  after  the  flood,  men 
had  discovered  the  secret  of  constructing  vessels  after  the  model  of 
the  ark,  which  had  preserved  their  anscstors  from  the  waters  of  the 
deluge. 

"  Whatever  truth,"  says  Dr.  Warner,  "  there  may  be  in  the 
Gadelian  voyages,  it  appears  incontestible  that  the  people  derive 
their  origin  from  the  Scythians.  Their  name,  Kinea-Scuit,  {i.  c.  the 
clan  of  Scythia,)  or  Scots,  denote  their  eastern  lineage.  The 
agreement  of  foreign  writers  with  their  Fileas  and  Bards  confirms 
it.  Newton,  after  Ap|)ian  and  others,  says  that  Greece  and  all 
Europe  have  been  peopled  by  the  Cimmerians,  or  Scythians,  from 
the  borders  of  the  Pontus  Euxinus,  who  led  a  wandering  life,  like 
the  Tartars  of  the  north  of  Asia." 


44 

It  is  true  indeed  tlint  our  Senacliies  have  made  soine  mistakes  in 
their  manner  of  conducting;  the  Gadelians  from  Scythia  to  Spain, 
which,  instead  of  saihng  throiij^h  the  INIediterranean,  they  would 
fain  make  us  believe  that  they  bent  tiieir  nautrical  course  through 
ways  that  were  utterly  impa.ssahle.  But  thouoh  they  have  mistaken 
tiie  line  which  the  Gadelian  emigrants  pursueii,  yet  they  have  care- 
fully preserved  the  names  of  the  different  places  where  they  had 
landed,  in  their  passage  from  Phoenicia  to  Spain.  This  })roves 
satisfactorily  tliat  the  n;imes  related  in  our  annals  have  been  scrupu- 
lously preserved  without  alteration  or  correction.  The  testimony 
adduced  from  foreign  writers  by  Mr.  O'Connor,  (which  we  shall 
insert  in  a  future  note,)  in  support  of  the  emigration  of  the  Scuta 
31ilrsifins  from  Egypt  to  Spain,  adds  strength  and  solidity  to  our 
historical  monuments. 


CHAPTER  Vf. 

77/e  landing  of  the  Milesians  in  Ireland.  The  nntncs  of  the  prineipal  Commanders 
who  eunductcd  the  expedition  from  Spain.  They  repulse  the  Danans.  icho  attached 
them  on  their  landing  on  the  coast  of  Kerry  : — a  decisive  battle,  in  lehieh  the 
Tuatha  de  Danans  are  orerthroun,  and  the  victory  gives  the  Milesians  jiosscssion 
of  the  icholc  Island.      Ohjrctions  ansirercd. 

The  desire  of  revenge  and  the  hope  of  conquest  gave  a  strong 
impulse  to  the  warlike  spirit  that  actuated  the  Milesians.  Their 
armament  was  prepared  with  incredible  desfjatch,  in  the  |)ort  of 
Brigantium,*  and  nothing  that  zeal   or  assiduity  could   supjdy  was 

*  This  city  was,  as  wo  have  ah'eady  staled,  bujll  I)y  Eueooan,  tlie  grandfiitlior 
of  Milcsius,  who,  according  to  our  liistorians  and  some  French  writers,  was  tlie 
first  ])rince  that  raised  revenues  and  built  castles  in  Spain.  Our  old  annalists 
often  distinguish  the  Milesians  by  the  name  of  Claim  Breogan,  or  the  iollowcrs  of 
Breogan.  VVhitaker  snys  that  tlicse  Brigantcs  made  frequejit  voyages  to  South 
Britain,  before  they  had  invaded  Ireland. 

Innis,  the  Scotch  writer,  who  has  cavilled  so  morosely  at  every  relation  in  our 
history,  exultingly  quotes  Nennius.  a  Britisli  historian,  who  wrote  in  the  ninth 
century,  to  impugn  the  allegation  of  our  annals.  But  what  does  that  quotation 
amount  to.'  Why  it  strengthens  the  bulwarks  that  defend  the  historic  records  of 
Ireland.  Nennius  mentions  the  celebrated  light  tower  of  Brigantium,  and  its 
reflecting  glasses.  Innis  conjectures  that  the  use  of  glass  was  not  known  in  the 
age  of  Breogan  ;  but  Innis  and  IVIacpherson  v.'cro  such  extensive  dealers  in  con- 
jecture and  hypothesis,  that  the  light  of  truth  was  aa  offensive  to  their  eyes  as  the 
rays  of  the  sun  are  to  those  of  the  moping  owls.  That  the  ancients  were 
acquainted  with  the  use  of  such  glasses  as  we  jre  told  Breogan  fixed  on  his  Pharos, 
is  a  fact  well  authenticated 

The  ships  that  sailed  to  Syria  and  Egypt  were  easily  descried  and  reflected  b}' 
means  of  a  mirror  placed  on  the  Colossus  of  Ithodes.  Who  has  not  read  of  the 
destruction  of  the  Roman  ileet  by  the  burning-glasses  of  Arciiimedes  .'' 

Leo,  in  his  description  of  Africa,  also  informs  us.  that  one  of  the  Ptolemies 
erected  a  tower  of  burning-glasses,  at  Ale.xanth-ia,  by  the  intervention  of  which 
ships  could  be  set  on  fire  at  a  great  distance. 


45 

wanting  in  its  completion.  It  consisted  of  150  ships,  well  manned 
and  appointed,  which  sailed  under  the  orders  of  forty  commanders, 
from  tlie  port  of  Brigantium,  or  Coriinna,  with  a  favorable  wind. 
In  the  foremost  place  among  the  leaders,  we  must  class  the  sons  of 
Miiesins  ; — tiiese  were  Don  and  Aireacii,  born  in  Plirenicia — Ileber 
—  Fionn,  and  Amhergin,  horn  in  Eg^ypt; — Ir,  and  Colpn,  born,  as 
will  appear  in  the  last  chapter,  dnrinj;  tiie  voyage  of  JMiksius  from 
Eirypt  to  Spain  ; — and  Aranann  and  lieremon,  born  in  Spain. 
Next  to  these  in  the  station  of  honor  were  the  sons  of  Breogan, 
named  Breagha,  from  whom  Mag-Breagha,  his  settlement  in  Meath, 
derives  its  name  :  Cnala,  who  has  given  name  to  Slicih  Cuala: — 
Cnalgne,  whose  name  is  commemorated  by  SUab  Cualgnc,  in  the 
county  of  Down,  and  lilarlh,  after  whom  the  mountain  of  Blama,  in 
Leinster,  was  called  Sliab  Blamaht  ; — Fuadh  also  honored  a 
mountain  with  his  cognomen;  and  the  celebrated  scene  of  the  death 
and  defeat  of  the  Ulster  champion,  Cucullain  JMurthoimhne  (now 
Nullacrew,  in  the  county  of  Louth)  owes  its  appellation  to  one  of 
the  sons  of  Breogan.  Besides  those  were  Nare  and  Eibhle,  as  well 
as  their  nephews,  Ltighaidh  and  Er,  Dorba,  Fearon  Feargna,  the 
sons  of  Heber,  and  Mnimhne  Luighne,  Laighne  and  Palp.  The 
other  leaders  were  Buas,  Breas,  Buarghne,  Fidman,  Mantan,  Caicer, 
Suerge,  En,  I^n,  Eatan,  Sobhairce,  Seadna,  Gnistean,  Bille  and  Lui. 
They  were  also  attended  by  Scota,  the  widow  of  Milesius,  and 
several  other  ladies  of  distinction,  besides  many  Spanish  women,  the 
wives  of  these  marine  Brigantiums,  and  the  Milesians  were  called 
from  their  city  of  Brigantinm. 

The  adventurers,  after  coasting  along  a  j)art  of  vSpain  and  France, 
arrived,  at  length,  on  the  southern  coasts  of  Ireland,  and  landed  at 
lubber  Sceine,  now  Bantry  Bay.*  It  received  the  name  of  Sceine, 
from  Sceine,  the  wife  of  Ambergen,  who,  in  her  impatience  to  go 
ashore,  fell  overboard,  and  was  drowned  in  this  bay. 

Dr.  Keating  informs  us  that,  prior  to  the  landing  of  the  Milesians 
in  Bantry,  they  had  attemj)ted  to  land  in  Inblier-Slainge,  now  the 
harbour  of  Wexford  ;  but  the  Danans,  by  their  magical  enchant- 
ments, wrapped  the  Island  in  a  cloud,  so  that  it  appeared  to  the 
Milesians  under  the  form  of  a  hog,  from  which  it  got  the  appellation 
of  Miic-Innis,  or  the  Hog's  Isle. 

As  soon  as  all  their  forces  were  disembarked,  the  chiefs  marshalled 
them  in  order  of  battle,  and  marched  to  Sliahh-7iiis,  a  strong  position, 
where  they  encamped.     Here,  in  a  council  of  war,  they  resolved  on 

*  Bantry  Bay,  in  the  county  of  Cork,  distant  217  miles  from  Dublin,  is  capable 
of  containing  all  the  shipping  in  Europe.  The  shores  that  fringe  this  fine  bay  are 
bold  and  picturesque,  presenting  sloping  hills,  crowned  with  monastic  ruins,  and 
verdure-clad  rocks  winch  are  fantastically  grouped  in  the  fore-ground  of  the  land- 
scape. The  town  of  Bantry  looks  as  if  it  emerged  out  of  the  sea  ;  it  is  a  pleasant 
and  cheerful  village,  that  is  much  frequented  by  strangers  during  the  summer- 
months.  Colonel  Ireton,  whose  progress  through,  Ireland  was  marked  with  fire 
and  blood,  caused  Bantry  to  feel  the  effects  of  Cromwellian  mercy,  by  putting 
such  of  the  inhabitants,  as  were  well  disj)osed  to  the  royal  cause,  to  the  sword. 
Formerly  immense  shoals  of  pilchards  were  caught  in  the  Bay,  which  made  the 
town  a  great  fish  mart,  and  afforded  employment  and  emolument  to  many  of  the 
inhabitants.     But  of  late  years  not  a  single  pilchard  has  appeared  on  the  coast. 


4G 

sending  an  crabassy  to  the  court  of  llie  Danan  Princes,  to  demand 
their  resignation  of  the  soveieiirnty  of  the  island,  and  reparation 
for  the  death  of -their  gallant  relative  Ith,  whom  the  Danans,  in 
violation  of  the  laws  of  nations,  had  slain  in  a  treacherous  manner. 
Amhergin,  who  was  delegated  to  deliver  this  etrdjassy,  attended  by 
some  of  tiie  Milesian  chiefs,  appeared  before  the  sons  of  Cearmada, 
and  announced,  in  haughty  terms,  the  purport  of  his  arrival  ;  laying 
at  the  same  time  great  stress  on  the  formidable  forces  which  the 
invaders  had  ready  to  wrest  tlie  sceptre  of  authority  from  them,  in 
case  that  hostilities  should  supercede  ])acific  overtures.  This  threat, 
as  the  crafty  Druid  intended,  intimidated  the  Danans,  who,  after 
some  consultation,  informed  him  that  they  were  not  then  prepared 
for  an  engagement,  having  no  previous  notice  of  their  arrival:  that 
it  was  not  honorab'e  for  so  martial  a  people  as  the  Milesians,  to  take 
an  enemy  by  surprise  ;  and  that,  if  they  gave  them  time  to  embody 
their  army,  they  would  then  try  the  fortune  of  war  in  a  general 
engagement.  After  an  animated  debate  that  gave  rise  to  a  warm 
discussion,  it  was  finally  agreed  on  that  the  Milesians  should  re-em- 
bark with  all  their  forces  ;  that  they  should  clear  the  coast,  or,  as 
some  say,  sail  nine  waves  from  the  shore  ;  and  that  if  they  made 
good  their  landing  a  second  time,  the  Danans  would  consider  it  a 
just  invasion,  and  either  submit  as  a  tributary  people,  or  oppose 
them  as  a  hostile  nation,  as  they  might  think  proper. 

This  compact  was  ratified  by  both  parties,  and,  according  to  its 
conditions,  the  Milesians  returned  on  board,  with  all  their  forces  and 
equipments,  and  sailed  once  more  the  prescribed  distance  into  the 
ocean  ;  but  when  tacking  about  in  order  to  make  good  their  second 
landing,  a  violent  storm  arose,  which  our  annalists  ascribe  to  the 
enchantment  of  the  Damnonii.  Be  this,  however,  as  it  may,  the 
Milesians  sufiered  severely.  The  rage  of  the  tempest  and  the  want 
of  sea-room,  conspired  to  produce  the  disaster,  that  was  near 
annihilating  the  Milesian  fleet.  The  ship  commanded  by  Don  was 
driven  into  the  Shannon,  and  dashed  to  pieces  on  a  ledge  of  rocks 
near  Killaloe,  where  every  soul  on  board  perished.  The  same  fate 
overtook  Ir's  galley,  which  was  wrecked  on  the  coast  of  Desmond. 
The  remainder  of  the  fleet,  though  dismally  shattered,  stood  out  to 
sea  to  wait  the  cessation  of  the  storm.  While  the  gale  raged  in  its 
fury,  Arranan,  who  with  valiant  courage  ascended  one  of  the  masts 
of  his  ship,  to  secure  some  sails,  which  no  other  person  on  board 
durst  attempt,  was  dashed  upon  the  deck  by  the  violence  of  the 
squall,  and  killed.  Knock-Arranan,  in  the  county  of  Kerry,  still 
commemorates  the  place  of  his  sepulture.  The  sqaudron  under  the 
orders  of  Heremon,  though  dreadfully  dismantled  and  crippled,  were 
fortunate  enough  to  weather  the  destructive  tempest,  and  make  land 
at  Inbher-Colpa,  the  swordsman  who  perished  here  together  with 
Aireach,  where  the  river  of  Boyne  disembogues  itself  into  the  sea, 
two  miles  S.  W.  of  Drogheda.  Heber  and  Amhergin  were  equally 
successful  in  making  their  landing  good  on  the  coast  of  Kerry. 
While  the  Milesians  were  thus  buft'etting  the  warfare  of  the  elements, 
the  Damnonii  were  making  the  most  active  pre])arations  for  the 
warfare  of  the  sword.     The   crisis   of  their  fate   was   at  hand,  and 


47 

life  and  empire  were  tlu;  forfeits  of  tlio  great  game  wliicli  they  liad 
to  play.  They  raised  their  eritire  people  en  masse,  and  marched  to 
meet  the  invaders  with  a  resolute  spirit,  animated  by  liope  and  a 
well-founded  confidence  in  their  own  valor  and  fortitude.  The 
Milesians  under  lleber  and  Amhergin,  far  from  being  disheartened 
by  their  marine  disasters,  assumed  a  bold  attitude,  and  presented  a 
formidable  front  to  their  assailants,  who  fiercely  attacked  them  iit 
their  entrenched  camp  at  Sliabh-iiiis,  in  the  vicinity  of  Tralee.* 
After  a  desperate  conflict,  where  sanguinary  carnage  reared  its 
colossal  throne  with  human  bodies,  victory,  dearly  purchased, 
declared  herself  the  favoring  goddess  of  the  Milesians.  The  Danans 
left  1000  of  their  slain  on  the  bloody  field.  The  Milesians  lost  300 
of  their  bravest  troops,  among  whom  were  two  venerable  Druids, 
who,  during  the  action,  encouraged  them  witli  their  prayers,  while 
they  fought  like  heroes.  We  must  not  omit  also  to  record  the 
glorious  death  of  Scofa,  the  widow  of  Milesius,  and  Fais,  the  wife 
of  Un,  who,  like  intrepid  Amazons,  joined  in  the  strife  of  the 
battle.  The  ladies  were  buried  next  day,  with  all  tlie  pomp  of 
funeral  solemnities.  Scota,  in  a  valley  called  to  this  day  "  Glan- 
Scota,''^  near  Tralee;  and  Fais,  in  another  valley,  which  in  honor  of 
her  memory  is  still  denominated  "  Glan-Fais.'''' 

The  Milesians,  now  flushed  with  conquest,  and  their  leader,  Heber, 
anticipating  future  victories  from  the  success  that  attended  his  arms 
at  the  battle  of  Tralee,  boldly  marched  with  his  triumphant  army 
into  the  interior  of  the  country  ;  cheered  by  the  hope  of  meeting 
some  of  his  brothers  or  kindred,  who  had  been  separated  from  him 
by  the  late  storm.  After  a  long  and  tedious  inarch,  he  arrived  at 
Drogheda,  directed  thither,  in  all  probaliility,,  by  some  communica- 
tions which  he  had  received,  that  his  brother  Ileremun  had  landed 
in  that  port. 

But  whether  fortune,  or  a  knowledife  of  the  event,  had  guided  his 
course,  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  finding  his  friends  here  before  him, 
who  informed  him  of  the  melanciioly  fate  of  his  five  brothers.  The 
forces  of  Heber  and  Heremon  having  thus  happily  formed  a  junction, 
they  made  the  necessary  preparations  for  opening  the  ensuing 
campaign  under  brilliant  auspices.  They  now  considered  the 
Island  their  own  by  right  of  conquest,  and  they  resolved  to  spurn  all 
overtures  that  the  Tuatha  de  Danans  might  make,  which  should  not 
have  for  their  basis  an  unconditional  surrender  of  the  government 
into  their  hands  as  Lords  paramount.  Having  learned  from  their 
spies,  that  the  Danans  were  strongly  encamped  on  the  plains  of 
Taylton,  in  INIeath,  not  far  distant,  they  quickly  determined  to 
march  immediately  and  force  them  to  an  engagement,  which  they 

*  Tralee  is  the  capital  of  the  county  of  Kerry,  a  flourishing  town  situated  on  a 
fine  bay.  Tralee  was  granted,  in  1173,  by  Denis  McCarthy,  Prince  of  Cork,  to 
Maurice  Fitz-Maurice,  tlie  ancestor  of  the  Earl  of  Kerry,  for  military  services 
rendered  tliat  Prince.  Richard  II.  of  England  created  Thomas  Fitz-Maurice  Vis- 
count Kerry,  A.  D.  \?,W\.  The  ruins  of  a  monastery  founded  here  in  1201,  for 
Dominican  friars,  by  one  of  this  family,  proclaim  the  ancient  irrandeur  of  Tralee. 
McCarthy's  castle,  which  Elizabeth  gave  to  one  of  her  marauders  of  the  name  of 
Denny,  is  still  in  good  preservation. 


48 

elfxibted  not  would  fiiiiilly  decide  their  fate.  It  is  not  improl)nli!c 
that  the  Fir-bolgs,  or  Belga?,  ill  hi  ookiii<i:  the  yoke  to  which  they  had, 
as  will  be  seen  by  our  |)r»cedii:ij  cliaptcrs,  been  subjected  by  the 
a>:cendancy  of  the  Danmonii,  joined  the  standard  of  the  IMilesians 
on  the  present  occasion.  It  wouhl  be  unwise  policy  to  stand  aloof, 
lino  wing,  as  they  must,  that  their  neutrality  would  be  punished  by 
those  on  whom  fortune  would  confer  the  sovereignty  of  the  island. 
And  to  this  course  they  were  not  devoted  by  the  dictates  of  policy 
alone  ; — the  desire  of  revenge,  which  generally  possesses,  in  spite  of 
religion  and  philosophy,  great  s.vay  over  human  feelings,  must  have, 
undoul)tedly,  co-operated  with  the  suggestions  of  prudence. 

Hebeu  and  Heremon  having  reached  the  plains  of  Tailtean,  in 
Meath,  where  the  Danan  princes  were  jjrepared  to  receive  them,  sent 
a  second  embassy,  ordering  them  to  resign  their  dominion,  or  appoint 
a  day  to  decide  who  were  the  most  worthy  of  imperial  power.  This 
message  of  defiance  and  insult  ignited  the  coldest  of  Danan  hearts 
with  the  flame  of  patriotism  and  courage.  The  Damnonii,  undis- 
n)ayed  by  the  disasters  that  had  hitherto  attended  their  arms,  boldly 
replied,  that  they  would  die  possessed  of  that  regal  dignity  with 
which  they  were  then  invested — a  dignity  which  they  had  not  onlv 
acrpiired,  but  maintained  during  a  period  of  nearly  two  centuries, 
by  their  bravery  and  valor.     A  battle  now  became  inevitable. 

Both  armies  entered  the  field  on  the  appointed  day,  with  the 
resolution  to  either  conquer  or  die.  The  Milesians  were  led  by  the 
three  brothers,  Heber,  Heremon,  and  Amhergin  ;  and  the  Damnonii 
by  three  brethren  Princes,  Mao  Grein,  Mac  Ceath,  and  Mac  Cuil, 
the  latter  of  whom,  it  will  be  remembered,  was  he  that  slew  Ith. 
The  cheerful  lark  had  scarcely  carolled  to  the  morning  breeze  her 
peace-inspiring  lay,  when  the  banners  of  destruction  waved  their 
sable  influence  in  the  dusky  air,  and  called  forth  the  hostile  troops, 
who  advanced  with  awful  determination  to  tiie  carnage  of  ambition. 
The  Damnonii  imagined  that  they  fought  under  the  pi'otection  of 
lieaven,  because  they  fought,  indeed,  in  defence  of  their  country  and 
of  its  liberties  and  deities;  they  fought  under  the  sanction  of  justice, 
to  defend  from  the  insult  of  hostile  invaders,  their  wives  and  children, 
those  fondest  pledges  of  humanity,  that  cling  to  us  with  ten-fold 
endearment  amid  the  horrors  of  death,  and  the  menaces  of  danger. 
The  Milesians,  on  the  other  hand,  full  of  the  idea  that  Ireland  was 
the  country  destined  for  them  by  the  appointment  of  the  Fates — the 
promised  land  oC  prediction,  derived  that  confidence  from  belief, 
which  the  Tuatha  de  Danans  did  from  the  justice  of  their  cause  ; 
and  those  feelings  of  revenge  which  the  death  of  Ith  aroused  formerly 
in  their  bosoms,  were  now  in  a  vehement  blaze  of  inveterate  rancour. 
Animated  with  these  incentives,  and  nearly  equal  in  point  of 
numbers,  they  rushed  furiously  to  the  charge.  The  contest,  though 
terrible,  was  supported  on  both  sides  with  equal  courage  and  resolu- 
tion. The  scene  of  horror,  which  commenced  before  the  morning 
sun  had  reached  the  eastern  horizon,  still  Avavcd  the  purple  ensign 
of  slauohter  when  he  terminated  his  solar  course  in  the  western 
main. 

It  is,  indeed,  to  be  lamented  that  ancient  histories,  attentive  only 


49 

to  the  oeiicral  issue  of  eni^aoemeiits,  neglect  detailing  the  particular 
rencontres  and  evolutions,  which  have  led  to  victory  or  defeat.  This 
omission  is  partly  accounted  for  hy  one  circumstance  which  generally 
decided  the  issue  of  all  battles  in  those  early  times.  Military  science, 
in  comparison  to  what  it  is  now,  was  scarcely  known  ;  and  victory, 
instead  of  emanating  from  the  skill  and  dispositions  of  an  able 
general,  was  always  the  result  of  personal  bravery  and  physical 
strength.  The  historian  had,  therefore,  little  more  to  relate  than 
the  mere  issue  of  an  engagement ;  but  though  this  was  geijerally 
the  case,  particular  circumstances  sometimes  occurred  tliat  gave 
interest  to  tlie  circumstantial  details  of  military  operations.  In  the 
j^resent  instance  we  are  told  tliat  the  opposing  chiefs,  wearied  with 
nnitual  carnage,  sought  for  each  other,  to  decide  by  personal  combat 
the  destiny  of  their  people.  They  soon  met,  and  bf)th  armies,  as  if 
by  mutual  consent,  sus|)ended  the  work  of  havoc  and  death,  to 
witness  the  gigantic  strugiile  between  these  Horatii  and  Curatii,  on 
whose  swords  the  fate  of  Ireland,  like  that  of  Rome,  now  vacillated. 
Fortune  awarded  the  triumph  to  the  Wilesians.  Mac  Cull  fell  by 
the  arm  of  Heber.  Mac  Ceath  met  the  same  fate  from  the  hand  of 
lleremon  ;  and  Mac  Grein  yielded  to  the  conquering  arm  of 
Amhergin. 

The  Danans,  dispirited  and  dismayed  by  the  fall  of  their  royal 
chiefs,  submitted  to  the  over-ruling  power  of  the  fates,  and  retreated 
])recipitately  from  the  field  ;  but  the  Milesians,  determined  to  follow 
up  their  victory,  pursued  them  in  their  flight  to  Skrigh-Cualgiie, 
where  they  made  a  stand,  and  fought  with  such  desperatiori,  that  the 
Milesian  advanced  guard  was  cut  to  pieces,  and  its  leaders,  Cualgne 
and  FrADii,  the  sons  of  Breogan,  slain  at  its  head  ;  but  Heremon 
and  Heber  coming  up  with  their  reserves,  broke  the  line  of  the 
Danans,  and  spread  annihilation  and  death  through  their  ranks. 
This  defeat  sealed  their  overthrow,  and  left  them  without  even  a 
hope  of  being  ever  again  able  to  recover  the  dominion  of  Ireland, 
which  had  been  swayed  by  nine  of  their  Princes,  during  a  period  of 
one  hundred  and  ninety-five  years.  Such  of  the  Danans  as  were 
too  proud  to  wear  the  chains  of  Milesian  subjection,  retired  to  Britain, 
and  settled  in  Devonshire  and  Cornwall.  In  allusion  to  the  victories 
of  the  Milesians,  Dr.  Warner  says: — "  From  some  of  the  poetical 
fragments  translated  in  the  English  version  of  Heating's  history,  it 
appears  that  there  is  still  extant  a  beautiful  description  of  the  battles 
between  the  Milesians  and  the  Damnonians,  in  which  are  celebrated 
the  funeral  rites  that  were  performed  for  two  of  the  Spanish  Druids, 
as  well  as  for  the  three  Princesses.  These  fragments  not  only  give 
us  a  great  idea  of  their  poetry,  but  also  show  in  what  manner  all 
their  public  transactions  were  delivered  down  and  registered  by  their 
Bards." 

In  the  foregoing  narrative  we  have  essayed  to  make  ancient  and 
modern  history  the  basis  of  our  detail  respecting  the  Milesian.s. 
We  certainly  disclaim  the  idea  which  some  critics  have  of  an  impar- 
tial historian — that  his  duty  should  be  to  state  focts,  without  note  or 
comment,  as  the  observations  of  the  historian,  howjver  just,  must 
necessarily  excite  feelings  in  some  quarter  that  are  better  hushed  in 
7 


50 

the  tranquil  calm  of  mutual  conciliation  and  eternal  oblivion.  This 
view  of  impartiality  might  have  some  claim  to  our  consideration,  if 
human  actions  could  he  contemplated  independent  of  that  inseparable 
link  which  connects  them  with  the  motives  that  first  produced  them, 
or  that  still  perpetuates  their  existence  ; — but  as  human  actions  have 
no  value  in  themselves,  except  what  they  derive  from  these  motives, 
as  even  the  worst  action  cannot  be  criminal,  if  there  be  no  intention 
of  crime  in  the  mind  of  the  perpetrator  ;  and  as  the  best  action 
cannot  be  pronounced  virtuous,  without  volition,  or  a  consciousness 
of  its  moral  value  on  the  part  of  him  who  performs  it  ; — nay,  as  it 
may  become  the  most  detestable  of  crimes,  if  perpetrated  with  the 
most  vile  intention  ;  this  view,  we  think,  of  impartiality  should  be 
rejected  with  dignified  disdain.  Nor  can  any  historian  with  a  heart 
throbbing  with  feeling  obey  the  restraint  which  this  stoic  principle 
inculcates,  unless  he  be  utterly  divested  of  human  passion,  and  that 
he  can  arm  his  mind  with  that  specious  philosophic  indifference, 
which  abstracting  itself  from  all  the  interests  of  humanity,  considers 
virtue  and  vice  independent  of  their  association  with  the  propensities 
of  man  ;  and  views  them  as  mere  instruments  of  utility,  not  as 
impressed  with  the  characters  of  good  or  evil.  Indeed,  the  frigid, 
abstract  philosopher  may  look  down  with  a  smile  of  profound 
indift'erence  on  every  thing  which  man  esteems  great  and  exalted  ; — 
he  may  deem  virtue  founded  on  a  visionary  basis,  that  exists  only  in 
the  fantastic  imagery  of  an  ideal  creation,  and  vice  to  be  only  its 
reverse; — he  may  accordingly  deem  a  virtuous  course  of  action  to 
be  the  mark  of  consequential  and  necessary  error,  not  the  expression 
of  motives  in  the  mind  of  man,  that  are  either  virtuous  or  meritorious 
a  priori ;  and  which  assume  that  character  only  from  a  combination 
of  erroneous  principles,  premises,  or  data,  on  which  the  genius  of 
superior  reason,  in  its  redeeming  excellence,  frowns  with  an  expres- 
sion of  sovereign  contempt.  Be  it  so  ;  it  is  not  for  us  to  investigate 
the  claims  of  modern  philosophy,  or  to  derogate  from  its  high 
pretensions  in  this  boasted  age,  when  literature  and  science  have 
poured  upon  intellect  the  milder  influence  of  their  auspicious 
irradiation — when  the  muses  woo  it  to  the  academic  shade — and 
when  the  arts  make  it  the  shrine  of  their  trophies  ; — but  as  a  historian 
we  feel  we  cannot  avail  ourself  of  this  sublime  ])rivilege,  or  endure 
the  restraints  which  it  would  impose  upon  our  passions  and  national 
prejudices.  Who  can  point  out  the  historic  stream  that  is  not 
discolored  by  natural  sympathy  or  partial  |)ropensities  ?  To  say 
that  the  historian  should  not  seem  to  take  part  one  way  or  other, 
in  the  opposite  interests  that  become  the  subject  of  his  page,  nor 
betray  that  warmth  of  temper  in  his  observations,  wliich  in  the 
opinion  of  those  who  make  the  assertion,  is  a  certnin  indication  of 
weakness  or  of  partiality — is,  in  other  words,  to  maintain  that  there 
is  no  reason  to  sup])ort  truth  in  preference  to  error — to  join  with 
the  innocent  against  the  guilty — to  vindicate  the  oppressed  from  the 
wrongs  of  the  oppressor,  the  slave  from  the  inflictions  of  the  tyrant ; 
and  that  there  is  nothing  in  the  advocacy  of  suffering  virtue,  of 
devoted  patriotism,  that  can  excite  our  generous  feelings  or  national 
sympathy — that  can  provoke  our  anger,  or  kindle  our  indignation. 


51 

This  doctrine  is  surely  the  gloomy  heterodoxy  of  cold-hearted 
misanthropes,  who  never  felt  a  pang  of  pity  fur  the  wrongs  and 
sorrows  of  their  native  laud,  and  who,  instead  of  having  hearts 
sensitively  "  alive  to  each  fine  impulse,"  exult  at  the  adversity  that 
breaks  the  spirit  of  the  struggling  patriot — wanton  in  the  political 
debasement,  and  revel  m  the  civil  privations  of  their  fellow-creatures. 
The  bronzed  cheeks  of  such  torpid  stoics  were  never  furrowed  by 
the  genial  tear  of  compassion,  their  hearts  never  glowed  with  aftec- 
tion  for  country  or  kindred.  Yes,  say  these  shallow  philosophers, 
those  matters  should  not  be  exhibited  in  the  range  of  histoi-y  ;  they 
are  out  of  the  province  of  the  historian,  and  solicit  no  investigation; 
for  they  make  no  appeal  to  the  tribunal  of  history.  To  this 
historical  heresy  w-e  shall  never  conform;  we  indignantly  abjure  its 
canons,  and  sincerely  renounce  its  hypocritical  and  sophisticated 
dogmas. 

A  strict  adherence  to  truth  should  guide  the  pen  of  the  historian 
in  his  investigation;  he  should  "  weigh  the  moral  characters,"  which 
he  introduces  on  the  historic  theatre,  "in  the  balance  of  the 
sanctuary,"  before  he  gives  them  a  form  and  impress  on  the 
adamantine  sculpture  of  history.  He  should  have  a  mind  too 
inflexible  to  be  bent  by  the  hands  of  ])rejudice,  and  too  impenetrable 
to  be  impressed  by  political  or  religious  prepossessions.  The  task 
in  which  he  is  engaged,  is  one  of  the  most  invidious  nature  ;  he  sits 
as  judge  to  determine  the  opinion  that  posterity  should  entertain  of 
departed  characters,  and  this  opinion  can  only  be  just  so  far  as  it 
quadrates  with  the  irrevocable  sentence  that  has  been  passed  upon 
them,  at  the  awful  tribunal  of  eternity — a  sentence  not  founded  on 
the  external  conduct,  but  on  the  internal  organization  of  the  moral 
S3'stein.  The  impartial  historian  should,  indeed,  divest  himself  of 
all  those  arbitrary  passions  and  propensities,  that  are  not  founded  in 
the  original  constitution  of  justice  and  immutable  laws  of  humanity. 
He  must  "  consider  right  and  ifrong  in  their  invariable  state,  content 
himself  with  the  sloio  progress  of  his  name,  and  commit  his  claims  to  the 
justice  of  posterity  ;"  but  in  flinging  oft"  the  incubus  of  bigotry  and 
intolerance,  let  him  still  tenaciously  retain  the  fegis  of  truth,  and 
when  he  combats  with  this  invulnerable  panoply,  the  shafts  of 
objection  and  disputation  shall  fall  blunted  at  his  feet;  he  may 
therefore  speak  with  confidence  and  spirit ; — Veritc  sans  peur.^^ 

In  resuming  the  defence  of  our  ancient  annals,  we  shall  commence 
by  observing,  that  all  the  arguments  advanced  against  them  are  of  a 
negative  character.  They  have  not  been  rejected  on  the  authority 
of  contemporary  writers;  they  have  not  been  found  refuted  by  the 
historical  monuments  of  other  nations ;  on  the  contrary,  the  more 
accurately  they  have  been  compared  and  contrasted  with  them,  the 
more  their  claims  to  authenticity  have  been  established  on  the  basis 
of  demonstration.  We  have  already  stated  that  we  candidly  admit 
that  there  is  an  admixture  of  fable  running  through  the  veins  of  the 
early  history  of  Ireland ;  but  where  is  the  history  to  be  found  that 
is  not  tinged  with  the  coloring  of  poetic  fiction  1  The  late  Mr. 
Charles  O'Connor,  of  Ballinagar,  to  whose  learned  inquiries  into 
the  antiquities  of  liis  country,  our  history  is  so  much   indebted,  has 


52 

taken  much  pains  in  comparing  and  collating  our  ancient  chronicles 
with  the  contemporary  and  ])arallel  accounts  of  other  nations,  the 
result  of  which  stamps  the  seal  of  authenticity  on  our  Milesian  oriijin. 
We  are  happy  to  avail  ourselves  of  his  profound  researches,  as  tlicy 
will  c;ist  a  hhize  of  illustration  on  the  historic  narrative,  which  we 
have  <jiven  in  liie  precediii<^  chapters,  of  the  early  colonization  of 
Ireland.  "  After  a  diligent  exaniination,"  says  this  erudite  historian, 
"  of  our  fahulous  and  mythohjgical  history,  I  sought  whether  any 
parts  of  It  could  be  supported  by  ijaralhl  accounts  from  otiier  ancient 
and  learned  nations,  who  lived  on  the  continent.  I  thought  such  a 
scrutiny  the  more  necessary,  as  the  original  reports  of  so  remote  a 
people  as  those  of  Ireland  must,  upon  the  first  review,  he  erpifdly 
suspected  with  those  of  the  nortliern  countries.  The  satisfaction 
which  I  have  received  in  this  inquiry  has,  indeed,  greatly  exceeded 
my  expectation.  I  own  with  great  pleasure,  that  my  lights  in  these 
parallel  researches  were  chiefly  owing  to  the  system  of  antiquities 
and  chronology  left  us  by  Sir  Isaac  Nevvlon  : — it  is  he,  and,  I  think, 
he  only,  who  gives  the  most  authentic  and  rational  account  of  the 
introduction  of  arts,  letters,  and  agriculture  into  Europe  :  and  it  is  to 
his  chiefly  that  the  Scotliih  account  of  those  matters  can  he  recon- 
ciled. See  then  an  additional  and  an  unexpected  degree  of  credit 
brought  home  to  our  accounts  ,  and  that  without  the  least  knowledge 
or  design  of  the  great  author  who  gave  it  !  The  learned  of  Europe 
stood  aghast,  amazed  at  the  novelty  of  Sir  Isaac's  system  : — and 
who  can,  without  equal  admiration,  behold  \\\e  remotest  nation  in  the 
west  transmitting  such  relations  as  prove  a  comment  and  support  to 
that  system  ?"  As  it  is  impossible  that  such  an  agreement  should 
ha|)pen  from  concert,  or  start  from  chance,  the  consideration  of  it 
will  be  important.  We  will  previously  exhibit,  in  opposite  columns, 
a  short  view  of  this  connexion. 

PARALLEL    ACCOUNTS    OF    FOREIGN  AND    IRISH    HISTORIANS    RESPECTING 

THE    MILESIAN    COLONY. 

I.  I. 

Foreign    Testimonies.  The  Native  Filens.  {\) 

*  An     Emigrant     Colony     of         *  The   Iberian  Scots,    bf)rder- 

*  A  colony  of  Iberians  went'  to  *  Leabar — Gabala — Lib.  I.  Kcating's 
Evn-opc,  gave  the  name  of  Iberiis  (Ebro)      MSS.  Ogygia,  page  G6. 

to  a  river  in  Spain,  and  occupied   Spain 
itself.     RufEus  ex  Appian  in  JEneid. 

(1)  The  FiLEAS  were  the  highest  orders  of  the  Bards;  they  were  the  roj-al 
historiographers,  and  ranked  at  the  great  convocation  of  learned  professors  that 
assembled  at  Tara  annually,  next  to  the  Druidical  order.  In  all  wars  and  dissen- 
sions their  persons  and  properties  were  sacred  and  inviolable.  They  were  endowed 
by  the  government ;  and  the  donations  given  them  by  military  cliiefs,  ambitious 
of  having  their  fame  consecrated  in  their  songs,  were  immense.  Their  privileges 
were  often  detrimental  to  the  state.  If  they  libelled  innocence,  or  even  vilified 
the  monarch  himself,  they  were  exempt  from  the  visitation  of  justice.  They 
pleaded  in  no  tribunal,  except  where  their  own  order  were  the  judges.  Besides 
occasional  benefactions,  they  derived  a  great  revenue  from  their  odes,  elegies,  and 
eulogiums.  In  early  times  the  laws,  the  history,  and  the  sciences  were  conveyed 
through  the  medium  of  verse ;  and  the  Bard  was  at  once  a  poet,  a  legislator,  a 
historian,  and   an   artist.     They  always  accompanied   their  chiefs  to  battle,  to 


53 

Iberians,  from  tlic  borders  of  the  iiii^  originally  o-i  the  f'lnxiiie  son; 
Eiixine  and  Caspian  seas,  settled  were  expelled  tlieir  country  ;  and, 
in  Spain.  after  various   adventures,  settled 

ultimately  in  Spain. 

II.  11. 

*  A  colony  of  Spaniards,  by  *  Kinea  Scuit  (tlie  Scots)  and 
tbc  name  of  Scots,  or  Scythians,  the  j)osterity  of  Eber  Scot  (Il)e- 
settled  in  Ireland,  in  the  fouilh  rian  Scythians)  were  a  colony  of 
age  of  the  world.  Spaniards  wlio  settled  in  Ireland, 

about    a    thousand    3'ears    before 

Christ. 

III.  IIL 

t  The  Phoenicians,  who  firt^t  f  The  ancient  Iberian  Scots 
introduced  letters  and  arts  into  learned  the  use  of  letters  from  a 
Europe,  had  an  early  commerce  celebrated  Phoenius,  from  whom 
with  the  Iberian  Spaniards.  they  took  the  name  o(  Phceuii,  or 

PhaMiicians. 

IV.  lA^ 

I  Nil,  Beliis,  Sihor,  Osihor,  ^  Niul,  Bileus,  Sru,  Asru,  Tat, 
Thoth,  Offmius,  &c.  were  Egyp-  ant!  Ojj^aman,  were  mighty  in 
tian  warriors,  who  filled  the  world  Egypt  and  several  other  countries, 
with  the  fame  of  their  exploits. 

V.  V. 

§  The  Egyptian  conqueror  of  <5,  A  great  hero,  famous  in 
Spain  got  the  emphatic  name  of  Egy|)t,  obtained  the  name  of 
the  hero,  or  Hercules.  Colambh  and  Alilen-Esi^aine,  i.  e. 

the  hero  of  Spain. 

VI.  VI. 

II  Nil,    Sichor,     Osichor,    &c.         ||   Niul,    Sru,    Asru,   »fcc.   suc- 
succeeded  to  the  Phoenicians,  in  ceeded  to  Phoenius,  in  teaching 
cultivating  and  instructing  several  the  use  of  arts  and  letters, 
nations. 

VII.  VII. 

^    In     the    days    of     the     first         ^     The    conquest    of     Spain, 

Hercules,  or  Egyptian  conqueror  together  with  draught,  forced  the 

of  Spain,  a  great  drought  parched  Iberian    Scuits,    or   Scots,  to  fly 

up  several  countries.  into  Ireland. 

These  striking  coincidences  must  give  additional  strength  of 
probability  to  our  historic  structure,  for  surely  the  most  incredulous 
Mill  allow,  that  they  could  never  be  traced  in  the  fairy  ground  of 
fable  ;  because  even  if  it  were  argued  that  those  ancient  writers  on 

animate  tliein  with  song  in  the  height  oi"  tlie  engagement,  and  hear  witness  to 
tlieir  deeds,  in  order  that  they  might  be  recorded. 

*  Vide  JVeirton   Chronol.     Dublin  ed.  *  Lfh.  Gah.     Ogijgla.     O'Fli/nn. 

p.  10  Buchan.  Rrr.  Scotic.  f   Letihar     Gah.       Keating.        Lijnch. 

t   Strabo,  Lib.  3.     Universal  History.  Psalter  of  C'ashel.     Ogi/gia. 
t  JVeicton  Citron.  t  Leabar  Gab. 

§   Ibid.  §    Ibid,  ct  omncs  nostri. 

II   Id.  passim.  \\   Lcb.     Gab.     Keating.     0' Flaherty. 

IT   Id.  pp.  !18.  231 .  Psalter  of  Cashel. 

ir  Ogygia.     Regan.     Book  of  Tara. 


54 

the  continent,  whose  liistoric  details  have  been  found  to  coincide 
with  those  (»f  our  Filea-^,  were  themselves  only  fabulists  and  comi)i- 
lers  of  fiction,  yet  still,  it  will  not  also  be  asserted,  that  those 
imaginary  events  which  they  recorded  should,  from  mere  chance, 
liappen  to  be  the  same  with  those  said  to  be  invented  by  our  ancient 
bards.  Macpherson,  and  the  Irish  apostate,  Leoavich,  charge  our 
annalists  with  the  invention  of  historical  falsehoods,  in  order  to 
impose  them  on  posterity  as  historical  truths  ;  while  their  own 
spurious  statements,  like  blasted  oaks,  are  rotting  and  decaying 
by  the  corroding  fingers  and  cankering  excrescence  of  their  dreamy, 
fictitious,  and  puerile  romance.  What  have  they  advanced  for 
history,  but  unauthenticated  fables,  a  tangled  tissue  of  improbability, 
in  which  no  intelligent  or  acute  reader  can  discover  the  warp  and 
woof  of  truth  ?  But  their  fabrications  have  been  dissolved  ;  for  every 
dispassionate  man  will  admit,  that  they  and  the  arch  hypocrite, 
Hume,  under  the  guise  of  pretended  liberality  and  assumed  candor, 
liave  sacrificed  historical  truth  and  justice  to  court  the  favor  of 
English  patronage  and  promote  the  despotic  views  of  English  policy. 
Happily,  the  ignorance  of  these  historians  has  been  as  easily  detected 
and  exposed,  as  the  baseness  of  their  motives  has  been  made 
manifest;  for  though  our  annals  are  impressed  with  the  strongest 
characters  of  fiction,  yet  it  is  undeniable  that  there  are  also  the 
strongest  evidences  of  their  high  antiquity.  To  relate  an  event 
simply  as  it  happened  is  the  part  of  the  philosophic  historian  ; — to 
detract  from  the  virtue,  the  generosity,  the  magnanimity  of  mind, 
that  produced  it,  is  reserved  for  the  interested  historifying  politician, 
who,  in  almost  all  his  reasonings,  abstracts  himself  from  the  im.j)ulses 
and  sympathies  that  enter  into  the  noblest  elements  of  human  nature; 
but  exaggeration  is  the  lofty,  though  faulty  privilege,  not  only  of 
the  patriotic  historian  and  genealogical  Seanca*  but  more  particu- 
larly of  the  enraptured  Bard,  who  identifies  himself  with  all  the 
interests  of  humanity, — who  feels  those  very  emotions  and  passions 
which  he  so  ardently  describes, — whose  fervid  bosom  glows  with 
that  refined  generosity,  that  tender  sensibility,  that  heroic  notion  of 
an  exalted  spirit,  which  characterize  his  heroes;  and  who  in  a  word, 
can  find  nothing  so  sublimated  in  the  nature  of  man,  nor  conceive 
any  thing  so  romantic  in  the  ardor  of  his  aflections,  of  which  he  did 
not  believe  himself  capable.  In  describing,  therefore,  the  exploits 
of  his  ancestors,  the  Irish  bard  could  not  easily  resist  those  mingled 
emotions  of  patriotic  enthusiasm  and  military  renown,  that  led  him 
to  attribute  tlie  actions  of  others  to  the  same  greatness  of  soul,  and 
soaring  of  ambition  that  would  have  produced  them  in  himself.  He 
knew,  nay,  he  felt  that  he  was  not  writing  the  history  of  a  cold, 
calculating,  and  mercenary  people,  who  are  never  prompted  to  those 
achievements  that  dignify  the  historic  page  ;  and  who  are  alone 
actuated  by  the  probable  consequences  that  result  from  action  ;  not 
bv  that  noble  daring — those  high  and  sublime  sentiments  of  heroism 
and  of  virtue,  which  contemplate  only  the  motives  that  shoukl  induce 
to,  and  not  the  dangers  that  may  await  on  chivalric  actions.    Neither 

*  The  genealogical  Antiquarian  Storyteller. 


55 

are  we  to  be  surprised  if  many  exploits,  that  appear  incredible  to 
tlie  pyrrbonism  oi'tbe  higgard  pbiloso])by  tbat  prevails  at  tlie  jiresent 
era,  slioiild  in  those  days  of  cbivalric  bravery,  not  only  be  attein[)ted 
with  confidence,  but  executed  with  success. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

The  Milesians  cstahJish  their  government  on  the  basis  of  justice  find  wisdom,  in 
Ireland.  Their  beneficial  institutions  and  judicious  politi/.  Partition  of  Ireland 
by  Fleber  and  Hciemon.  Discord  and  dissetision  caused  by  the  icife  of  lleher  ; 
the  fatal  results  that  ensue.  Death  of  Hebcr  in  an  engagement  with  his  brother. 
Hcreinon  sole  monarch  of  Ireland — he  successively  defeats  Caicer,  Ainhcrgin,  Un 
arid  Vighe — the  arrival  of  the  Picts — tlieir  plans  and  intrigues  discovered,  and 
frustrated  :  alliance  between  them  and  Hercmon — ultimately  the  invaders  settle  in 
North  Britain.  Death  and  character  cf  Hercmon,  the  great  founder  of  the  0'J\'icl 
dynasty. 

The  last  decisive  victory  secured  the  Milesians  the  sovereifrnty  of 
the  kingdom  of  Ireland.  Having  nothing  now  to  apprehend  from 
foreign,  or  internal  enemies,  Hebf.r  and  Heremon  began  to  organize, 
in  conjunction  with  their  Druidical  brother  Amhergin,  a  code  of 
laws  for  the  government  of  their  people.  The  legislative  enactments 
of  these  conquerors  were  dictated  by  a  spirit  of  equitable  justice,  and 
enlightened  policy,  towards  the  conquered  natives,  that  im|)resses  us 
with  a  high  sense  of  their  wisdom  and  prudence.  After  concurring 
in  the  extent  of  sovereign  power  that  each  brother  should  assume 
and  sway  in  the  executive  administration  of  their  realms,  they 
proceeded  to  make  a  division  of  tiie  kingdom. 

In  arran<ring  this  partition,  Heber  and  Heremon  paid  particular 
regard  to  the  suggestions  and  decision  of  Amhergin,  the  High  Priest. 
Our  annalists  do  not  accord  in  their  detail  of  the  particular  territo- 
ries allotted  to  each  of  these  Princes.  Dr.  Keating  informs  us,  that 
some  learned  antiquarians  assign  the  northern  part  from  the  river 
Boyne*  and  Scuibh  to  Heremon,  and  thence  southward  to  the  Ocean, 
to  Heber. 

*  The  Boyne,  a  noble  and  romantic  river,  rises  in  the  King's  County,  and  after 
a  devious  course  winds  its  tributary  streams  into  the  sea  at  Drogheda.  Its  banks 
arc  adorned  with  the  towns  of  Trim,  Navan,  Slane  and  Drogheda,  Longwood, 
Edenderry  and  Kinnegad,  the  latter  in  the  country  of  West  Meath. 

'l"he  battle  between  James  II.  and  William  III.  fought  at  Old  Bridge,  near 
Drogheda.  on  the  banks  of  this  river  in  1G!)0,  has  given  immortal  celebrity  to  the 
Boyne.  The  Doric  Obelisk,  erected  in  173(3.  to  commemorate  a  victory  lost  by  the 
imbecility  of  James,  and  won  by  the  foreign  mercenaries  of  the  Dutch  Usurper, 
is  a  grand  and  im])osing  pillar,  which  towers  to  the  elevation  of  150  feet.  The 
inscriptions  on  the  four  sides,  record  the  event  of  the  victory  and  tlie  deeds  of 
Schomberg  and  the  other  chiefs  of  William's  army.  In  1821,  we  were  one,  among 
the  countless  multitude,  that  followed  the  late  Oeorge  IV'.  King  of  England  to  Old 
Bridge.  His  Majesty  did  not  alight  from  his  carriage  on  that  occasion,  to  view 
the  obelisk,  but  the  Marquis  Conynghnm  pointed  out  to  him  the  spot  where 
Schomberg  was  killed  in  the  river,  and  the  |)ositions  which  the  iiostile  armies 
occupied  on  its  right  and  left  banks.     June  1835. 


5G 

Rejecting",  however,  tliis  allcfred  division,  he  adduces  other 
authorities  tliat  assert  the  tv/o  provinces  of  Munster  were  appit)j)ri- 
ated  to  the  possession  of  Heher,  while  Leicester  and  Coniiaiijrlit 
formed  tlie  dominions  of  ITeremon  ;  and  to  Eimher,  the  son  of  their 
brotlier  Ir,  was  iiiven  as  a  |>atiiinonial  territory,  the  entire  province 
of  Ulster.  O'Fhdierty  and  Rl'Geoghegan  endeavor  to  sustain  the 
correctness  of  Keating's  ])artitinn  ;  but  Dr.  O'HaUoran,  who  seems 
to  have  made  more  accurate  and  profound  inquiries  tlian  either  of 
these  historians,  states,  that  Heher,  as  being  the  eklestlirotlier,  ciiose 
the  southern  part,  a  line  of  (hvision  being  drawn  from  the  Bay  of 
Galway  to  the  Bay  of  Dubhn,  by  which  Leinstcr  and  Munster  fell 
to  his  sliare,  while  the  house  of  Heremon  enjoyed  for  its  portion  of 
the  distribution,  the  provinces  of  Ulster  and  Connaught.  'i'his  bears 
the  evident  marks  of  truth,  and  subsequent  facts  establisii  its  accu- 
racy on  a  solid  foundation  of  probability.  For  whenever  the  house 
of  Ileber  was  deprived  by  the  branches  of  the  Ucremonian  Dynasty 
of  the  Monarchy,  it  contended  for  the  original  partition — a  partition 
whose  limits  were  sidisequently  defined,  and  acknowledged  by  the 
faith  of  a  solemn  treaty  made  A.  D.  ioG,  between  Con,  "  of  the 
hundred  battles,"  and  Eogan-more,  Monarch  of  Ireland.  By  the 
terms  of  this  treaty,  the  southern  provinces  of  Ireland  were  denomi- 
nated '■'■  Lcat-Moglia,''^  and  the  northern  "■  Lcnt-Cuin.''''  *  The 
division  of  territories  being  finally  adjusted  to  the  satisfaction  of 
both  the  brothers,  their  kindred  and  ofliceis  were  rewarded  with 
grants  of  land.  To  Eimher,  the  son  of  Ir,  several  territories  were 
allotted,  by  his  uncle  Heremon,  in  Ulster.  Heber  also  bestowed 
large  tracts  of  land  to  Luglniidh,  the  son  of  Ith,  in  the  counties  of 
Cork  and  Kerry.  These  chiefs  held  their  possessions,  as  feudatories 
to  the  ruling  princes.  This  was  the  origin  of  the  feudal  system  in 
Ireland.  Each  class  of  the  sub!)rdinate  dependents  of  these  chiefs 
had  land  jiarcelled  out  to  them,  in  the  vicinage  of  the  residence  of 
the  head  of  the  sept,  for  which  they  were  obliged  to  render  military 
service  to  him  when  called  ujion.  The  two  brothers  vied  with  each 
other  in  their  endeavors  to  disseminate  the  l)lessings  of  a  paternal 
government  through  the  isle,  and  concord  and  affection  seemed  to 
cement  together  n(jt  only  the  hearts  of  the  fond  brothers,  but  those 
also  of  their  devoted  subjects.  But  this  was  like  the  caltn  that 
precedes  the  coming  of  the  'tempest.  A  contention  arose  between 
them  that  threatened  disastrous  results. 

In  appointing  their  retinues,  who  were  to  accompany  them  to  their 
respective  seats  of  government,  each  brother  strenuously  insisted  on 
retaining  in  his  service  a  Poet  of  great  genius,  and  a  Musician  so 
eminently  skilled  in  his  soul-touching  art  as  to  rival  Orpheus 
himself 

Heber  maintained  that  without  the  inspiring  stanzas  of  Cir  mac 
Nis  (as  the  Poet  was  called)  the  notes  (jf  O'Nai's  harp  would  sound 
discordant  in  his  ear  ;  while  Heremon  on  the  other  hand,  declared 
he  set  his  heart  on  the  union  of  the  rhyme  of  the  Poet,  and  the 
dulcet  melody  of  the  harper.     Both  were  obstinately  determined  to 

"*  Leat,  in  Irish,  signifies  half,  or  share. 


57 

possess  llic  sons  of  song,  nnd  tlieir  strife  was  on  the  point  of  the 
most  fatal  consequences,  wlien  Atnhcrgin,  tlie  arch-Diuui  prevailed 
on  tiiem  to  submit  their  ditierence  to  his  mediation. 

He  cast  lots  by  vrhich  Heber  jrained  the  Musician,  and  Ileremon, 
the  Bard.  In  consequence  of  this  distribution  an  impression  lon<'- 
prevailed  in  the  popular  tr;iditions  of  Ireland,  that  Ulster  excelled  in 
poetry,  and  iMunster  in  music*  This,  indeed,  is  an  instance  of  that 
early  protection  with  which  poetry  and  music  were  fostered  by  the 
literary  Milesians.  Nor  were  these  the  only  arts  that  received 
encouragement  from  the  tutelary  hand  of  regal  patronage  ; — it  also 
extended  its  shielding  support  to  the  sciences,  agriculture,  rnanu- 
fjictures,  and  commerce.  Twenty-four  men,  well  versed  in  agriculture 
were  appointed  to  reclaim  twenty-four  tracts  of  land,  that,  probably, 
lay  uncultivated  since  the  creation.  To  such  readers  as  view  with 
secret  satisfaction  the  simplest  ail'airs  of  antiquity,  the  names  of  these 
agriculturists  may  not  he  uninteresting,  as  the  portions  of  land 
which  they  cultivated  still  bear  the  names,  of  theii  improvers,  for 
posterity.     These  men,  whom  Swift  would  eulogize  aiiove  all  Philoso- 

*  On  this  subject  an  old  Irish  Poet  bestows  the  following  stanzas  : — 
"  The  learned  Princes,  Hcbcr  and  Heremon 
Contended  which  slionld,  with  the  Poet's  art 
And  the  Musician's  skill  be  entertained — 
They  cast  the  lots ;  the  northern  Prince  enjoyed 
The  pleasing-  charms  of  poetry  ;  and  Heber  >• 

With  music  first  his  southern  subjects  blessed. 
From  hence  the  generous  Irish,  with  rewards, 
Did  bountifully  crown  the  Poet's  skill, 
And  music  flourished  in  the  southern  coasts." 
Cambrensis,  who  was  one  of  our  earliest  libellers,  was  still  obliged  to  admit  the 
perfection  of  the  Irish  in  music.     After  he  had  heard  the  minstrels  who  attended 
the  Irish  chieftains  at  a  banquet  given  to  them  in  Dublin  by  Henry  II.  he  wrote 
to  one  of  his  friends  in  England  as  follows  :     '•  Of  all  nations  within  our  knowledge, 
this  is,  beyond  comparison,  the  chief  in  musical  composition."     When  the  cele- 
brated Italian  composer,  Geminiani  heard  some  of  our  pathetic  airs  in  London, 
he  exclaimed,  '•  Ha  !   that  is  the  music  of  a  people  that  lost  their  liberty  !      1  have 
heard  nothing  so  sweet  and  plaintive,  and  of  such  an  original  turn  on  this  side  of 
the  Alps."     The  celebrated  Handel  declared  often,  that  "  he  would  rather  be  the 
author  of  O'Daly's  '  Ellrn  .flroon  than  of  all  his  own  compositions." 

"  Military  music  made  part  of  the  studies  of  the  Irish  Warriors.  It  filled  them 
with  courage,  and  a  contempt  of  danger ;  and  it  was  by  the  help  of  the  military 
song  they  sounded  the  charge,  rally,  retreat,  &c.  Their  great  proficients  in  the 
art  were  called  Corudlis.  (or  masters)." — Viilc  O' Caiinoi's  Disscr. 

"  In  the  sixth  century  the  Britons  and  Welsh  studied  music  under  the  Irish 
professors,  in  the  College  of  Armagh,  which  was  then  so  renowned  a  University, 
that  it  was  called  the  "great  school  of  the  loest"  of  Europe." — Vide  Wartons  His- 
tory of  English  Poetry. 

"  At  this  time,  says  Magncsius,  (Apology,  page  112,)  there  were  no  less  than 
seven  thousand  matrirulated  students  in  the  University  of  Armagh." 

"  No  nation  can  be  found  in  any  part  of  the  world  more  skilled  in  music  than 
were  the  ancient  Irish." — IVard's  Diss,  on  History,  page  271. 

"  The  Lisii  Historians  contend  that  their  country  is  the  celebrated  Hyperborean 
Isle,  and  that  music  is  the  native  production  of  the  soil,  and  in  support  of  this 
pretension  they  quote  the  following  passage  from  Diodoras  Sicums.  'Erin 
is  a  large  laland,  little  less  than  Sicily,  lying  opposite  the  Celt(e,  and  inhabited  by 
the  Hyperboreans.  The  country  is  fruitful  and  pleasant,  dedicated  to  Apollo,  and 
most  of  the  people  Priests  or  Songsters.  In  it  is  a  large  grove,  and  in  this  a 
temple  of  a  round  form,  to  which  the  Priests  often  resort  with  their  harps  to  chaunt 
the  praises  of  their  god,  Apollo.'  " — Warner. 


58 

phers,  for  raising  millions  of  "  Blades  of  grass,  where  none  grew 
before,"  were  called  Aidhne,  Ai,  Asal,  Meidlie,  Morba,  Mcide,  Cuibli, 
Clin,  Ceara,  Reir,  Slan,  Leighe,  Lifte,  Line,  Leighean,  Tria,  Diila, 
Adhar,  Aire,  Deisi,  Dela,  Fea,  Fenibean,  and  Serahe.  Fertility  and 
improvement  soon  gave  smiling  cbarms  to  the  aspect  of  the  land.^cape, 
and  Ceres  and  Pomona  spread  their  bountiful  donations  over  its 
valleys  and  mountains. 

"  The  clearing  of  the  land  in  this  manner,"  says  Dr.  Warner, 
"  gave  rise  to  agriculture,  whose  vestiges  are  now  to  be  seen  in  some 
of  the  most  waste  and  uncultivated  parts  of  the  Island.  If  tliis  does 
not  afford  a  proof  of  the  superior  numbers,  it  is  at  least  a  proof  of 
the  superior  industry  of  the  ancient  inhabitants  over  the  present  ; 
and  though  the  old  Milesians  bad  an  invincible  prejudice  against 
mechanical  handicraft  occupations,  which  were  carried  on  by  the 
remaining  Belgians  or  their  slaves,  yet  that  agriculture  was  in  high 
repute  and  estimation."  To  these  remarks  of  the  English  historian, 
it  may  be  added  that  it  is  a  remarkable  feature  in  the  history  of  our 
ancestors,  that  while  several  historical  facts  have  been  omitted,  our 
antiquarians  have  sedulously  transmitted  to  us  the  names  of  all  tho&e 
who  encouraged  agncnlture,  which,  indeed,  seems  to  have  been 
more  particularly  attended  to  by  the  ancient  JMilesians,  than  those 
may  be  willing  to  allow,  who  connect  the  idea  of  ferocious  indepen- 
dence to  the  feudal  system  of  antiquity. 

While  Heber  and  Heremon  were  daily  becoming  more  connected 
by  the  bonds  of  fraternal  attachment,  and  reciprocal  kindness, 
woman,  that  source  of  good  and  evil  to  man,  severed  the  ties  of 
affection  and  affinity,  and  threw  down  the  apple  of  discord  among 
the  two  brothers.  They  bad  scarcely  reigned  a  year,  when  a  rupture, 
resulting  from  the  pride  and  ambition  of  Heber's  wife,  divided  them 
by  an  abyss  of  enmity  and  malice.  There  happened  to  be  three 
beautiful  and  picturesque  vales,  on  the  adjoining  confines  of  their 
respective  territories,  two  of  which  were  in  possession  of  Heber, 
who  suffered  weeds  to  luxuriate  where  nature  intended  flowers  should 
flourish  ;  while  tlie  third,  which  belonged  to  Heremon,  was  decorated 
by  his  tasteful  queen  with  every  embellishment  of  art  that  could 
improve  nature. 

This  vale,  in  the  decoration  of  which  Tea,  the  wife  of  Heremon, 
took  so  much  pleasure,  was  as  pleasiiig  and  enchanting,  if  we  credit 
our  annalists,  as  tlie  glen  of  Tempe,  for  its  shady  groves,  floral 
bowers,  meandering  rivulets,  banging  gardens,  and  gushing  fountains 
of  crystal  water,  rendered  it  an  earthly  elysium.  Seated  in  one  of 
these  bowers,  this  lady  often  sang  in  concert  with  the  minstrels  of 
her  palace,  filling  tlie  air  with  music,  with  was  redolent  with  the 
odorous  breath  of  flowers.  Such  was  the  paradise  that  arose  under 
the  plastic  hand  of  female  taste  :  and  such  are  the  charms  it  can 
impart  to  the  spontaneous  productions  of  luxuriant  nature.  The 
loveliness  of  this  vale  excited  the  envy  of  Heber's  queen,  who  insisted 
on  possessing  it  also.  Her  husband,  over  whom  she  exercised 
unlimited  sway,  unable  to  resist  the  influence  of  the  seductive 
blandishment  of  female  entreaty,  and  perhaps,  moved  by  the  loftier 
views  of  ambition,  insisted,  in  a  haughty  manner,  that  bis  brother 
Heremon  ehould  resign  the  vale. 


59 

Tea,  however,  n  latly  whose  mental  endowments  were  only 
equalled  by  her  personal  attractions,  found  no  difficulty  in  persuading 
her  spouse  to  refuse  so  unwarrantable  and  ungracious  a  demand. 
When  tiie  niessen<»er  returned  to  the  Queen  of  ITeber,  and  commu- 
nicated the  pereni|)tory  denial  of  her  brother-in-law,  she  became 
enraged,  and  by  the  power  of  tears  and  supplications,  she  forced 
her  husl)and  to  take  up  arms  in  her  cause.  A  civil  war  was  the 
immediate  consequence.  The  two  brothers,  by  mutual  consent,  led 
their  forces  to  the  plains  of  Gcisoil*  in  Leinster,  where  a  desperate 
engagement  took  place.  After  a  fierce  and  obstinate  fight,  Heber, 
with  three  of  his  commanders,  and  a  great  number  of  his  bravest 
soldiers  were  slain.  This  victory  put  Ileremon  in  the  undivided 
possession  of  the  Monarchy.  Such  are  the  fatal  consequences  that 
arise,  frequently,  from  matters  of  trivial  importance  in  their  own 
abstract  nature,  but  formidable  when  they  become  connected  with 
the  human  passions.  T!ie  shades  of  a  thousand  heroes  must  often 
traverse  that  undiscovered  country,  beyond  the  mortal  continent, 
"  from  whose  bourne  no  traveller  returns,"  to  satiate  the  whim  of 
royalty,  or  the  importunate  cravings  of  a  capricious  individual. 

Heremox,  after  the  death  of  his  l)rother,  was  solemnly  inaugurated 
on  the  Lingh-Fail,  or  stone  of  destiny,  by  the  Druids,  as  sole  Mon- 
arch of  Ireland,  A.  M.  "2737. 

Having  now  no  rival  on  the  throne  to  disconcert  his  policy  or 
interfere  with  his  plans  of  government,  he  gave  full  scope  to  his 
predilections  and  wishes ;  but  though  his  power  was  absolute,  his 
acts  were  generally  the  oftspring  of  conscientious  conviction  and 
acute  discrimination. 

He  selected  for  his  ministers  men  who  were  eminent  for  their 
learning  and  virtues,  so  that  his  administration  soon  healed  the 
wounds  of  civil  war,  and  diffused  through  the  nation  those  blessings 
which  can  only  emanate  from  a  just  and  impartial  government.  It 
might  be  said  that  by  this  wise  and  prudent  procedure  he  made  the 
afi'ections  of  his  people  the  supporting  jjillars  of  his  throne.  Even 
the  Tuatha  dc  Danans  and  the  Fir-holgs,  whom  he  had  conquered 
and  reduced  to  subjection,  were  so  prepossessed  by  his  conciliating 
manners  and  generous  clemency  as  to  become  his  warm  adherents. 
He  bestowed  the  government  of  Leinster  on  Criomthan,  a  legitimate 
descendant  of  the  Belgic  dynasty.  The  two  provinces  of  Munster 
he  conferred  on  Er,  Orbha,  Fearon,  and  Feargna,  the  sons  of  his 
brother  Heber  ;  and  Eadas  and  Un,  the  sons  of  Vighe,  two  generals 
who  signalized  themselves  by  their  valor  in  the  late  engagement, 
were  deputed  Viceroys  of  Connaught ;  and  Heber,  or  Eimher,  the 
son  of  his  brother  Ir,  was  raised  to  the  station  of  Governor  of  Ulster. 
As  soon  as  he  had  thus  organized  and  consolidated  a  system  of 
legislation  and  government  for  the  security  and  safety  of  his  domin- 
ions, he  turned  his  thoughts  to  the  internal  improvement  ol  his 
kingdom.     He  invited   architects   and  sculptors   from   Greece,  and 

*  Supposed  to  be  the  place  now  called  Bellewstown,  County  of  Meatli,  about 
five  miles  S.  W.  of  Droglieda,  and  i.s  famous  for  its  annual  races,  and  for  being 
often  selected  as  the  Parade  ground  of  the  Irish  volunteers  in  1782. 


60 

began,  A.  M.  2738  to  build,  on  an  eminence  oveilookino;  tbe  favorite 
vale  of  bis  wife,  Tea,  the  magniticeiit  palace  of  Tara,  which  for 
more  than  a  thousand  years  afterwards  was  the  regal  residence  of 
the  Monarchs  of  Ireland.  As  we  will  have  inmunerable  occasions 
to  speak  of  the  palace  of  Tara,  in  the  course  of  our  history,  we  will 
defer  a  description  of  its  architecture  and  triennial  parliaments  until 
\vc  bring  down  our  narrative  to  the  glorious  reign  of  Ollamh 
FoDLA,  A.  M,  3083,  which  forms  so  triumi)hant  an  epoch  in  our 
annals.* 

But  neither  the  beneficence,  nor  clemency  of  Ileremon  could 
subdue  the  disaflection  of  some  of  his  own  kindred,  who  still  looked 
upon  him  with  an  evil  and  an  envious  eye,  since  he  overthrew  his 
brother  Heber.  At  the  head  of  this  insurgent  faction,  was  Caicer, 
an  officer  whom  the  monarch  loaded  with  favors  and  honors,  but 
like  some  of  the  infamous  marshals  who  betrayed  the  great  minded 
Napoleon,  he  had  a  heart  dead  to  the  warm  touch  of  gratitude  and 
honor. 

*  IIeremon  built  the  palace  of  Tara,  in  honor  of  his  Queen  Tea,  from  whom  it 
derived  the  name  of  Tcamorc. 

"  It  was  an  inunense  pile  of  wood,  whose  workmanship  and  architectural  grandeur 
displayed  the  liighest  taste  of  Grecian  art." — Nicholson. 

'•  In  the  early  ages,  Britain  had  to  resort  to  Ireland  for  artists,  anJ  materials  for 
building.  The  massy  colonnades,  that  adorn  the  porticoes  of  Tara's  royal  palace, 
were  composed  of  Irish  oak,  and  so  cmbellislied  by  carving  and  gilding  as  to  look 
more  magnificent  than  the  most  finished  peristyles  of  Grecian  sculpture." — 
Campion. 

'•  The  Milesian  buildings,  though  composed  of  wood,  were  more  elegant,  more 
sumptuous,  extensive,  and  more  beautiful  to  the  eye  than  those  erected  of  stone, 
on  account  of  the  various  engravings  in  relievo,  paintings,  and  the  fine  volutes 
that  adorned  the  columns,  sculptured  from  ponderous  trees  of  oak.  On  this  account 
the  workmen  and  artists  of  Ireland  have  been  often  induced  to  abandon  their  own 
country  and  I'epair  to  Britain,  where  they  raised  many  heathen  temples  before  the 
introduction  of  Christianity." — Ward. 

"  It  appears  that  CoRaiACjthe  renowned  Monarch  of  Ireland,  A.  D.  254,  rebuilt 
the  palace  of  Tara  of  marble,  on  an  enlarged  scale  of  grandeur.  We  may  form 
some  idea  of  its  magnitude  when  we  are  told  that  it  was  five  hundred  teet  in 
length,  and  ninety-five  in  breadth,  and  sixty  high.  It  was  adorned  with  thirty 
porticoes.  In  the  middle  of  the  state-room  hung  a  lantern  of  prodigious  size, 
studded  with  300  lamps  ;  and  the  lodging  apartments  were  furnished  with  a  hundred 
and  fifty  beds,  and  the  hospitable  tables  always  spread  witli  delicious  fare  for  1500 
guests  who  daily  jiartook  of  the  royal  banquet. 

"  There  were  three  side-boards  covered  with  golden  and  silver  goblets,  and  the 
king  was  waited  upon  at  table  by  a  hundred  and  fifty  of  the  most  distinguished 
champions  in  the  kingdom. 

"The  household  troops,  who  were  in  constant  duty,  consisted  of  1050  of  the 
flower  of  the  Irish  army." — Warner. 

"  Our  Milesian  ancestors  built  for  use,  not  for  ostentation.  They  built  their 
houses  of  timber,  as  several  nations  of  Europe  have  done,  and  as  some  do  to  this 
day.  The  ancient  Irish  did  not  conceive  tliat  real  magnificence  consisted  in 
rearing  great  heaps  of  stone,  artfully  disposed,  and  closely  cemented  ;  or  that  real 
grandeur  received  any  diminution  from  the  humility  of  its  habitation.  They 
brought  dignity  to  the  place  ;  the^'  sought  none  from  it ; — and  thus  judged  all  the 
Celtic  nations,  until  the  Roman  conquests  changed  their  manners,  and  made  them 
yield  to  Roman  customs." — O'Connor. 

'■  Tara  was  once  a  stately  palace  as  its  ruins  shnwetli  to-day.  It  stood  on  a 
lofty  hill  in  Meatli.  which  commands  a  most  goodly  prospect.  The  valleys  are 
fertile  and  beautiful.  In  this  p;ilace  the  countrie  had  tlu-ir  meetings  of  provincial 
kings,  senators,  and  poets." — IIoi.insiied's  Chronicf.k. 


01 

The  king  incensed  to  madness,  collected  liis  forces  and  soon 
destroyed  the  adlierents  of  the  traitor,  who  fell  himself  a  victim  to 
his  hascness  and  ini^ratitiide.  In  the  course  of  a  year  after  the 
sii()pression  of  Caicer's  insurrection,  the  arch-Druid,  Amhergin, 
re!i"ardless  at  once  of  fraternal  alfection  and  the  injunclions  of  moral 
obliaation,  jjave  himself  up  to  the  influence  of  jealous  passions,  and 
auihitious  aspirations,  by  slirrinjij  up  a  revolt  aoainst  the  king  his 
brother.  Flacin.<>"  himself  at  tiie  head  of  his  rebel  legion  he  marched 
towards  Tara,  but  the  Monarch  soon  arrested  liis  progress  by 
attackinir  him  at  Skreen,  a  small  village  about  three  miles  from  Tara, 
where  he  routed  his  troops  and  slew  himself.*  Shortly  after  this 
revolt  had  been  quelled,  the  king  was  again  obliged  to  resist  the 
ilefe(;tion  of  Un  and  Vighe,  who  were  also  defeated  and  slain. 

The  battle  in  which  these  disaiVected  chiefs  were  killed,  was 
fought  in  the  plains  of  Comhrar  in  the  County  of  Meath,  where  a 
Rath,  or  mound  of  earth,  to  this  day,  gives  "a  local  habitation  and 
a  name,"  to  the  scene  of  their  fight  and  sepulture.  The  arrival  of 
the  l*icts,  at  this  era,  is  a  memorable  event  in  our  annals.  Of  these 
adventurers.  King  Cormac,  in  the  psalter  of  Casliel,  gives  us  a 
circumstantial  narrative.  Bede,  the  venerable  sire  of  English 
annalists,  also,  in  his  ecclesiastical  liistory,  notices  the  descent  of 
the  Picts  on  Ireland,  which  brings  a  collateral  proof  to  sustain  the 
unshaken  truths  set  forth  by  the  regal  Prelate  of  Cashel. 

The  Picts,  as  the  royal  historian  informs  us,  were  engaged  in  the 
service  of  Policornus,  king  of  Thrace,  an  efleminate  Prince,  who 
formed  a  design  of  violating  the  chastity  of  their  general's  daughter, 
a  virgin  of  the  most  exquisite  beauty.  But  her  father,  and  a  man 
of  the  nicest  feelings  of  honor,  with  a  mind  sensitively  alive  to  the 
foul  disgrace  intended  his  darling  child,  resolved  to  save  her  from 
contamination,  even  at  the  risk  of  his  own  life.  Making  known  the 
criminal  designs  of  the  king,  to  some  of  his  friends,  they  felt  so 
strong  a  sympathy  in  his  cause,  that  they  assisted  him  to  despatch 
the  libidinous  tyrant  in  his  own  palace.  As  soon  as  this  deed  was 
accomplished,  they  fled  the  country  to  evade  punishment. 

They  travelled,  we  are  told,  tlirough  the  dominions  of  several 
Princes  until  they  reached  France,  whose  king,  on  hearing  the 
cause  of  their  flight  from  their  own  country,  took  them  into  his 
service,  and  assigned  them  lands,  on  which  they  built  a  city,  from 
thence  called    Pictaviimi,  now  Poictiers.     The   French   Monarch, 

*  Skrf.en,  sometiiiii's  written  Skrijnc,  gives  name  to  a  Barony  in  the  County  of 
Meath,  and  is  now  environed  b}'  as  charming  and  magnificent  scenery  as  can  be 
fonnd  in  Ireland.  It  was  bestowed  by  Henry  II.  on  one  of  liis  Knights  calletl 
De  Feipo,  whoso  descendants  possessed  its  Lordsliips  until  the  reign  of  Queen 
Elizabeth.  Adam  I)e  Feipo  erected  a  strong  castle  here  in  the  twelfth  century, 
the  ruins  of  which  are  still  standing,  as  mementos  of  its  past  feudal  glory.  Sir 
.1.  Ware  tells  us,  tiiat  Francis  De  Feipo  erected  a  large  and  stately  abbey  here, 
for  Augnstin  Hermit,  early  in  the  reign  of  Edward  III.  of  England,  yome  of 
the  architective  relics  of  that  religious  edifice  still  exist  to  attest  its  pristine 
consequence.  Skreen,  distant  about  twenty  miles  from  Dublin,  can  now  only 
show  the  parish  church,  rebuilt  in  1827,  and  a  few  humble  houses,  as  indications 
of  its  former  ecclesiastical  and  feudal  importance.  On  every  side  of  it  are  lordly 
mansions,  and  ornamented  domains,  beautified  with  all  the  embellishments  that 
landscape  gardening  can  bestow. 


G2 

led,  no  douht,  hy  curiosity,  paid  a  visit  to  the  young  damsel,  whose 
captivating  charms  had  the  same  effect  on  his  heart  as  they  produced 
on  that  of  the  Thracian  king:  hut  the  chaste  lady  took  an  early 
opportunity  of  apprising  her  f'atlier  of  the  passion  of  the  French 
Monarch,  conjuring  him,  at  the  same  time,  to  remove  her  from  the 
intluence  of  that  regal  contagion  which  tlireatened  death  to  her 
virtue. 

As  soon  as  he  heard  this,  he  again  formed  the  determination  of 
frying  from  the  danger  that  menaced  his  daughter's  honor.  Thus 
resolved,  he  and  his  friends  seized  upon  a  portion  of  the  French 
fleet,  with  which  they  hastily  put  to  sea,  and  succeeded,  after  a 
favorahle  voyage,  in  gaining  the  Irish  coast.  Tliey  landed  at 
Wexford,  hut  in  their  course  thither  lost  the  beauteous  fair  one,  who 
was  the  sole  cause  of  all  their  wanderings  and  solicitude.  Her 
dread  of  dishonor,  and  the  intense  anxiety  which  perturhated  her 
heart,  preyed  so  much  upon  her  spirits  as  to  produce  a  rapid 
consumption,  which  iiurried  her  to  a  watery  grave,  in  the  sixteenth 
year  of  her  age.  The  Picts  being  brave  soldiers,  enlisted  themselves 
under  the  banner  of  IIeremon,  with  whom,  in  conjunction  with  his 
own  troops,  he  attacked  a  predatory  expedition  of  British  invaders, 
who  had  just  landed  in  his  dominions,  and  succeeded  in  totally 
defeating  them  atthebattle  of  Ard-Leamhnachta,  in  Munster.  The 
Picts  were  emboldened  by  the  services  which  they  rendered  IIere- 
mon on  this  occasion,  to  solicit,  confidently,  an  asylum  from  him  in 
his  kingdom.  But  even  at  this  early  age,  the  Island  was  so  thickly 
inhabited  that  the  monarch,  though  wilHng,  found  himself  unable  to 
grant  their  request.  The  Picts,  however,  were  determined  to  effect 
by  treachery  what  they  could  not  obtain  by  entreaty.  They  con- 
spired, and  entered  into  a  collusion  with  the  disgraced  Damnonii, 
vvliich  was  conducted  with  the  utmost  secrecy.  But  how  seldom  do 
those  brooding  schemes  of  treason,  that  are  not  generated  by 
virtuous  liberty,  for  the  annihilation  of  despotism,  terminate  in 
success  ? 

That  coalition,  wliich  is  founded  on  the  basis  of  injustice  and 
ingratitude,  can  never  rise  to  the  summit  of  honorable  independence. 
Every  member  of  such  an  unhallowed  conspiracy  as  this,  where 
ingratitude  paralyzes  courage  and  mars  resolution,  wishes  to  stand 
as  high  as  his  compeers  in  the  dishonorable  list  that  registers  his 
disgrace  ;  and  if  he  be  disappointed  in  his  expectations,  it  is  justly 
to  be  apprehended  that  he  will  give  publicity  to  those  intrigues,  and 
machinations,  in  which  he  could  not  be  a  leader.  If  lie  be  destitute 
of  principle  and  honor,  he  will  satiate  his  revenge  by  the  punishment 
of  his  associates  ;  and  if  he  be  actuated  by  the  generous  control  of 
virtue  and  of  religion,  the  ennobling  impulse,  which  these  salutary 
feelings  awaken  in  the  mind,  will  precipitate  him  from  the  flagrant 
faith  of  a  league,  whose  secrecy  is  treason  of  the  blackest  dye, 
because  the  offspring  of  ingratitude,  and  convince  him  ere  he 
proceeds  too  far  in  the  iniquitous  career,  that  to  sacrifice  the  interest 
of  a  few,  for  the  welfare  of  the  many,  is  an  imperative  and  sacred 
duty  which  he  owes  to  his  country,  and  the  invoking  behest  of 
religious  obligation.     Our  historians  do  not  indeed  distinctly  inform 


63 

lis  how  the  intrigues  of  the  Picts  were  first  thscovered  :  certain  it 
is,  however,  that  Ileremon  received  timely  notice  of  their  concerted 
designs  to  subvert  ins  government,  and  took,  accordingly,  the 
])rom|)test  measures  to  crush  the  unorganized  embryo  of  sedition. 
IJatlled  in  their  treasonable  projects,  and  sensible  of  the  danger  to 
which  they  were  exposed,  tlie  Picts  quickly  sued  fur  peace  in  the 
mo:-t  supplicaiing  manner.  Hei(unon,  whose  magnanimity  was 
c(|ual  to  his  valor,  conquered  his  just  resentment,  and  yielded  to 
their  entreaties.  At  their  own  urgent  request  he  permitted  them  to 
go  over  to  North  Britain,  where  ihey  proposed  to  make  a  settlement 
which  should  be  ever  after  subject  to  the  Irish  crown.  In  process  of 
time,  as  we  shall  relate  in  its  proper  place,  this  colony  rose  to  such  a 
warlike  magnitude  of  power  as  became  formidable,  not  only  to  the 
Britons,  but  even  to  the  Romans.  To  attest  the  sincerity  of  their 
intentions,  and  to  afford  a  guarantee  for  the  faithful  observance  of  their 
engagements,  they  solicited  the  monarch  for  permission  to  form  matri- 
monial alliances  with  Irish  women,  pledging  themselves  that  their 
children  alone,  should  be  only  entitled  to  succeed  to  tlieir  iidieritance. 
T()  this  stipulation  the  king  adhered,  and  from  the  period  of  its 
ratification,  to  the  days  of  St.  Cohan-Kille,  the  Irish  Apostle  of 
Scotland,  the  Caledonians  were  tributary  to  Ireland.  As  soon  as 
the  king's  consent  was  obtained,  the  temple  of  Hymen  was  crowded 
with  votaries.  Ail  the  chiefs  and  soldiers  of  the  Picts  married  Irish 
females.  Some  modern  writers  are  of  opinion  that  the  arrival  of 
the  Picts  in  Ireland  must  have  been  later  than  the  e])och  fixed  by 
our  historians.  They  imagine  that  population  could  not  have 
increased  to  such  a  degree  as  to  render  it  necessary  to  exclude  the 
Picts  from  a  settlement  in  the  Island  ;  but  if  with  our  annalists  we 
admit  that  the  kingdom  was  inhabited  300  years  after  the  Hood,  it 
must  have  received  a  great  accumulation  of  inhabitants  during  a 
space  of  790  3'ears,  es])ecially  when  we  consider  that  for  a  consid- 
erable time  after  the  flood,  the  age  of  man  was  extended  to  400 
years,  and  that  Suem  the  son  of  Noah,  lived  upwards  of  200  years 
after  the  birth  of  Abraham,  who  was  the  tenth  in  descent  from  the 
builder  of  the  ark.  It  is  not,  however,  necessary  to  have  recourse 
to  the  probability  of  the  existence  of  an  immense  population,  in 
order  to  account  for  the  policy  that  dictated  the  exclusion  of  the 
Picts  from  our  country.  It  is  only  reasonable  to  suppose  that  a 
great  part  of  the  Island  was  in  those  days  covered  with  woods  and 
morasses  ;  and  we  shotdd  not  be  surprised,  if  those  portions  which 
were  reclaimed,  and  cultivated  by  tillage,  probably  with  much 
ditticulty,  from  the  wild  growth  of  ages,  should  be  numerously 
inliabited. 

We  are  informed  that  tlie  Brigantes,  or  Clana-Breogum,  also 
obtained  permission  from  Ileremon  to  pass  over  to  Britain,  and  that 
they  settled  in  Cumberland,  or  the  country  of  hills  and  valleys,  from 
which  they  received,  in  common  with  the  Welsh,  the  appellation  of 
Cumeri.  The  authority  of  the  venerable  Bedo  bears  out,  triumph- 
antly, the  accuracy  of  the  truth  of  this  emigration.  For  he  asserts 
that  the  languages  of  South  Britain,  were  the  British  and  Saxon,  in 


64 

his  own  days,  (the  seventli  century)  nntl  tliat  the  Irish  was  the 
common  dialect  of  the  Caledonians  and  IIil)ernians."  * 

Heuemon,  who  eminently  united  the  skill  ot'  the  jjenerai,  the 
bravery  of  the  hero,  and  the  wisdom  of  the  sage,  to  the  profound 
knowledjie  of  the  statesman,  was  removed  by  death  from  the  scene 
of  his  glory  and  usefulness,  shortly  after  the  departure  of  the  Picts. 
He  left  his  throne  to  his  three  sons,  Muimune,  Luighnl,  and 
Laishne,  of  whom  we  shall  speak  in  the  next  chapter.  Heremon 
possessed,  in  a  hi<rh  degree,  all  those  virtues  that  give  dignity  to  a 
monarcli,  and  reflect  lustre  on  the  diadem  of  royalty.  Of  his  talents 
as  an  accomplished  general,  we  must  form  a  respectable  opinion 
from  the  invariable  success  that  attended  his  arms.  His  reign  was 
disturbed  by  the  restless  and  ambitious  views  of  his  own  commanders, 
whom  irratitude  should  have  made  his  firm  and  devoted  friends. 
His  brother  Andiergin  also  made  unjust  pretensions,  in  the  assertion 
of  which  he  lost  his  life.  He  would  have  probalily  experienced 
serious  disturbance  from  the  Picts,  also,  if  the  eflicient  measures 
which  he  adopted  to  tliwart  their  seditious  designs  on  his  life  and 
kingdom,  had  been  less  prudent  than  his  vigilance  was  active  in 
discovering  them.  His  niDral  character  has  almost  as  great  a  claim 
on  our  admiration  as  his  military  career  ;  for  the  splendor  of  his 
victories  were  never  dimmed  by  cruelty  or  revenge.  It  is  true  he 
made  war  upon  his  brother  ;  but  it  was  a  war  to  which  he  was  forced 
by  necessity  and  self-defence,  it  was  the  dernier  expedient  resorted 
to  for  the  protection  of  his  life  and  dominions. 

We  have  seen  that  the  access  of  power  which  he  derived  from 
victory  was  again  transferred  to  the  fannly  from  whicli  it  was  wrested ; 
for  actuated  with  that  exalted  spirit  of  generosity,  which  so  eminently 
distinguished  him,  he  bestowed  the  principalities  of  the  two  Munsters 
on  the  sons  of  his  brother  Heber.  This  magnanimous  spirit,  which 
soared  above  the  impure  atmosphere  of  revenge  and  the  crawling 
littleness  of  petty  oppression,  seemed  so  have  been  transmigrated 
into  the  souls  of  b.is  illustrious  descendants,  the  chivalric  Hy-Nials, 

*  "Mr.  Macpherson,  (the  only  Ossian  the  Scots  can  now  pretend  to.)  as  great 
a  dreamer  in  etymolojxies  as  in  history,  affirms  that  Bede.  and  all  our  old  writers 
on  this  subject,  are  mistaken,  ana  that  the  Picts  spoke  not  only  tiie  same  lan- 
guage with  the  Milesians,  but  were  the  same  nation,  under  different  appellations. 
But  what  authority  has  he  for  this .'  His  own,  and  his  own  only,  against  all  the 
old  accounts  we  ever  had  of  the  Pictic  nation  !  Eumenius,  a  writer  of  the  third 
century,  and  Claudian  a  writer  of  the  fourth  century,  make  the  Picts  and  Scots, 
(i.  e.  the  ancient  Irish)  two  different  and  distinct  nations  ;  so  do  all  ancient  and 
modern  antiquaries,  from  Nennius,  who  lived  in  the  ninth  century, to  Primate  Usher, 
who  flourished  in  the  seventeenth.  But  tlie  serond-sighted  Mr.  Macpherson 
deposes  against  them  all  on  his  own  bare  authority  !" — Disser.  on  Irish  History. 

"  The  Irish  is  the  only  nation  in  Europe,  which  is  not  indebted  to  the  Romans 
for  lano-uatre  and  letters.  Indeed  their  Gadeiii.ic  or  Celtic  dialects  approaches 
nearer  the  oricrinal  language  of  the  Patriarchs,  Gomer  and  .Tapeth.  than  any  other 
spoken.  There  is  no  doubt  but  the  Srotch  and  Welsh  borrowed  their  language 
from  the  Irish  when  they  were  colonies  of  Ireland." — Liii,id"s  Oriuin  of 
Language. 

'•  The  Irish  language  appears  to  have  been  familiar  to  the  Gauls  and  Carthagi- 
nians, before  the  Christian  era.  Its  idiom  is  soft  and  harmonious,  so  that  like  the 
Italian  it  is  well  adapted  to  give  expression  to  grief  and  the  gentler  passions  of 
our  nature." — Cambden. 


65 

or  O'Niels,  whose   noble   acliieveinents  and   heroic  virtues,  reflect 
glory  on  the  annals,  and  renown  of  our  country. 

NiAL,  the  celehraied  hero  of  the  nine  iiost;!<>e«,*  who  compelled 
Scoiiand  t(j  renounce  her  ancient  nanie  of  "■Albania,''^  and  assume 
tiiat  of  Scuta  minor,  iutiie  fifth  century,  was  the  jjreat  projfenitor  of 
tiiis  family,  and  the  lineal  representative  descendant  of  Hcrcmon, 
the  son  of  Milesius.  in  dun  time  we  shall  give  a  genealogy  uf  the 
northern  and  southern  Hy-Nials. 


CHAPTER  VIIT. 


The  three  sons  of  Heremon,  Muimhne,  Luighne,  and  Laishne,  agree  to  sway 
the  sceptre  of  sovereignty  alternately.  The  concord  and  fraternal  affection  ichich 
distinguished  their  reigns.  Laishxe  is  opposed  by  the  sons  uf  his  ancle,  Ilcber  : 
the  success  of  their  revolt:  they  gain  possession  of  the  throne,  from  ichich  they 
are  soon  expelled  by  Irial,  the  son  of  Heremon.  The  reign  of  [rial — his  institu- 
tions and  victories  : — his  successor,  Eithrial,  who  is  detliruned.  Coxmaol,  the 
son  of  Hchtr  ascends  the  throne,  of  which  he  is  in  his  turn  dispossessed  by 
TiGFiER.vMAs,  of  the  Hcrcmoniun  line.  The  government  of  this  Priiice ;  his 
sumptuary  laws,  and  regulations  for  the  distinction  of  colour  ;  his  encovragcmcnt 
of  arts  and  manufactures  ;  his  adoration  of  an  idol.  The  origin  and  progress  of 
the  Irish  Druids.     .1.  M.  273U. 

The  three  sons  of  Heremon,  Muimhne,  Luighne,  and  Laishne, 
religiously  obeying  the  dying  injunctiofis  of  their  royal  f.ither,  and 
profiting  by  tlteir  experience  of  the  disaster  whicii  civil  dissension 
brouglir  upon  their  house,  unanimously  agreed  before  their  brother 
Irial,  the  arch-druid  and  prophet,  to  sway  the  sovereign  authority 
successively  a  year  each.  This  compact  being  solemnly  confirmed 
and  ratified,  Muimhne,  the  eldest  brother,  was  invested  with  the 
royal  insignia,  and  on  the  termination  of  his  year,  his  next  brother, 
Luighne,  ascended  the  throne.  During  his  year  of  administration, 
Muimhne  died  at  his  country  palace,  in  Connaught,  an  event  which 
was  deeply  lamented  by  his  brothers,  who  loved  and  esteemed  him 
for  his  valor,  and  the  many  amiable  qualities  that  adorned  his  mind. 

As  soon  as  the  period  of  Laishne's  turn  to  assume  the  preroga- 
tives and  duties  of  royalty  arrived,  he  mounted  the  throne  ;  but 
scarce  had  the  ceremonies  of  his  inauguration  been  ended,  than  his 
cousins,  the  S(ms  of  Heber,  revolted,  and  raising  their  insurrection- 
ary standard,  it  was  quickly  joined  by  numerous  adherents,  at 
whose  head  the  disalfected  chiefs  njarched  to  the  very  gates  of  the 
royal  palace. 

The  monarch  and  his  brother  made  formidable  preparations  to 
resist  the  assault  of  rebellion.  An  engagement  soon  ensued  at -4/y/- 
Laclhron,  iii  the  county  of  Wexf»)rd,  which  ended   in  the  death  of 

*  "  He  was  called  the  "  hero  of  the  nine  hostages,''  because  he  compelled  nine 
nations  to  send  him  hostages.  No  Monarch  carried  the  glory  of  the  Irish  arms 
farther  than  Nial.  He  drove  the  Romans  out  of  Caledonia,  and  pursued  them  to 
the  banks  of  the  Loire  in  Gaul."— Hutchinson. 

9 


66 

the  monarch  and  his  brother,  as  well  as  in  the  discomfiture  of  their 
army.  The  rays  of  fortune  once  more  illuminated  the  clouded 
prospects  oftlie  house  of  lleber;  but  liow  seldom  is  the  sunshine  of 
that  prosperity  which  is  g'ained  by  unjust  conquest,  unobscured  by 
the  mists  of  vicissitude.  The  power  which  is  wrested  by  ambition's 
physical  force,  is  generally  of  an  instable  and  precarious  tenure. 
The  victors  enjoyed  the  kingdom  but  one  year,  or,  according  to 
some  authorities,  only  three  months,  when  tliey  were  attacked  and 
defeated  by  Irial,  the  projjhet  who  was  appointed  high  priest  by  his 
father,  Ileremon,  on  the  death  of  the  arch-druid  Amhergin.  Our 
annals  say  nothing  particular  of  the  short  and  unfortunate  reign  of 
the  sons  of  Heber.  Tlie  victorious  prophet  mounted  the  throne  by 
the  general  consent  of  the  Irish  people,  who  expected  much  from 
the  prudence,  wisdom  and  clemency,  which  were  the  distinguishing 
traits  of  his  character.  His  administration  proved  that  the  national 
hopes  were  well  founded.  The  abuses  which  corrupted  the  govern- 
ment of  his  predecessors,  were  removed  by  the  salutary  reform  that 
he  introduced  ;  and  justice  and  impartiality  svvayed  his  councils, 
and  produced  in  consequence  the  happiest  results.  His  reign  shed 
lustre  on  the  nation.  He  raised  several  stately  edifices,  both  mili- 
tary and  religious,  extended  the  commerce,  and  materially  improved 
the  agriculture  of  the  country.  After  he  had  crushed  internal  sedi- 
tion, he  was  subsequently  obliged  to  repel  the  attack  of  a  numerous 
band  of  African  invaders,  who  made  a  descent  upon  the  southern 
coast.  In  his  first  battle  with  the  invading  foe,  at  Tcanmlmighe* 
in  Fingall,  in  the  county  of  Dublin,  he  totally  defeated  them,  and 
killed  with  his  own  liand  their  chief  commander,  Eeichtghc.  After 
a  glorious  reign  of  ten  years,  he  died,  and  was  succeeded  by  his 
son  EiTHRTAL,  A.  M.  2765.  This  young  prince  inherited  the  genius, 
and  imbibed  the  principles  of  his  royal  father,  whose  dying  entreaties, 
he  religiously  observed  as  the  rules  of  his  conduct  and  government. 
Our  historians  characterize  him  as  a  sage  and  a  hero.  Having  no 
domestic,  or  foreign  enemy  to  annoy  him,  he  devoted  the  beginning 
of  his  reign  to  the  cultivation  of  letters  and  the  arts.  Under  his 
paternal  government,  the  benign  blessinirs  of  peace  dift'used  happi- 
ness and  prosperity  through  Ireland.  Eiturial  wrote  the  history 
of  his  ancestors,  from  the  ^reat  Pheiiius  down  to  his  own  days. 
According  to  Colgan  and  INIolloy,  this  work  of  our  royal  historian 
existed  in  the  archives  of  Tara,  until  St.  Patrick,  in  the  too  ardent 
glow  of  his  Christian  zeal,  committed  it  to  the  flames  with  the  rest  of 
our  antique  works. 

OTIalloran  conjectures  that  this  prince  sent  an  Hyperborean 
Scythian  embassy,  at  the  head  of  which  was  Albaris,  to  Athens: 
"  That  such  an  embassy,"  says  our  Livy,  "  arrived  in  Greece, 
cannot   be  doubted.     It   was  a   wise  measure,  to  renev/  friendship. 


*  Now  called  Skerries,  a  little  fishing  town,  on  the  .sea  coast,  in  the  barony 
of  Balniddery,  County  of  Dublin,  at  the  distance  of  17  miles,  N.  E.  of  the  metropo- 
lis. The  village  itself  is  inconsiderable  ;  but  it  deserves  some  importance  from  its 
harbor,  and  the  beauty  and  grandeur  of  the  domains  in  its  vicinity.  There  is  not 
much  historic  association  connected  with  Skcrrjes,  excepting  the  invasion  men- 
tioned in  the  text,  and  the  landing  of  Sir  Henry  Sydney,  Queen  Elizabeth's  Lord 
Deputy  of  Ireland,  at  tiiis  port,  on  the  I'^th  September.  XTylb. 


07 

extend  commerce,  and  the  glory  of  his  people,  not  only  there,  but 
in  Asia  ;  and  this  will  explain  why  the  memory  of  these  transactions 
were  preserved  even  in  Eg'ypt,  in  the  days  of  Solon."*  Although 
Eithrial  might  be  emphatically  ])ronounced  the  father  of  his  people  ; 
but  still,  as  virtue  and  generosity  cannot  avert  the  malice  of  treason, 
his  cousin  Conmaol,  the  youngest  son  of  Heber,  formed  a  conspira- 
cy against  this  good  king,  by  which  he  lost  his  crown  and  life,  in 
the  twentieth  year  of  his  reign,  in  the  battle  of  Rahonen,  in  Leinster. 

The  fallen  monarch  having  no  issue,  his  conqueror  found  no  im- 
pediments obstructing  his  way  to  the  throne,  and  victory  threw  a 
lustre  over  the  darkness  of  his  ingratitude.  He  was  solemnly  in- 
augurated on  the  stone  of  destiny,  by  a  full  convocation  of  the  Druids 
and  the  states  of  the  kingdom.  The  Psalter  of  Cashel  represents 
him  in  the  most  brilliant  light  of  eidogium.  The  royal  historian 
attributes  to  him  all  those  virtues  that  give  additional  splendor  to 
regal  station.  "  lie  it  vv.ts,"  says  t!ie  venerable  Cormac,  "  that 
killed  with  his  own  hand  Eithrial,  tl.c  son  of  Irial,  the  prophet,  in 
revenge  for  the  blood  of  his  father.  He  it  was  that  fought  and  won 
forty-live  battles  against  the  posterity  of  Heremon,  he  it  was  whom 
victory  followed  as  his  shadow,  and  whose  arms  were  always  crown- 
ed with  glory  and  conrpiest."  We  have  no  doubt  but  he  was  brave 
and  intrepid,  for  he  quelled  several  insurrections,  vanquished  the 
Erneans  and  Martiiieans,  tlie  remains  of  the  ancient  lidgcr,  in  seve- 
ral engagements  ;  until  at  length  his  hour  coming,  he  fell  by  the 
sword  of  Ileher,  in  the  battle  of  Aonach  Macha,  in  Meath,  after  a 
reign  of  thirty  years.  "His  burial  place,"  says  O'Halloran,  "  yet 
goes  by  the  name  of  Feari-Coninaol,''''  or  the  grave  of  the  "  Prince 
of  Chiefs." 

His  death  again  gave  the  reins  of  government  jnto  the  hands  of 
the  Heremonian  dynasty.  Tighernmas,  the  son  of  Follam,  the  son 
of  Eithrial,  the  son  of  Irial,  the  prophet,  the  son  of  Heremon,  was 
saluted  supreme  monarch.  As  a  warrior  and  a  statesman,  he  early 
gave  decisive  proofs  of  his  abilities.  By  his  valor  in  the  field,  he 
defeated  the  insurrectionary  armies  of  the  Heberians  in  twenty- 
seven  pitched  battles  ;  and  iiy  his  liberal  and  sagacious  policy  in  the 
cabinet,  he  at  once  endeared  himself  to  his  friends,  and  extorted  the 
respect  of  his  enemies.  He  attained  a  higher  eminence  of  popular- 
ity than  any  of  his  predecessors  since  the  reign  of  Heremon. 
Finding  himself  thus  too  exalted  to  be  disturbed  by  the  intrigues  of 
the  partizans  of  the  Heberian  family,  he  devoted  his  whole  attention 
to  the  promotion  of  national  happiness.  Literature,  arts,  and  agri- 
culture, flourished  under  his  fostering  auspices,  and  a  new  spirit 
seemed  to  have  animated  the  kingdom,  while  the  genius  of  the 
sovereign  manifested  itself  in  the  general  prosperity  which  prevailed. 

*  We  should  give  some  degree  of  belief  and  credit  to  the  investigations  of  our 
antiquarians,  which  prove,  that  Aaria  and  Ogygia  were  given  in  connnon  to 
Egypt  and  Ireland  ;  and  to  that  other  most  ancient  and  universally  allowed  tradi- 
tion of  our  historians,  of  the  marriage  of  Scota,  the  daughter  of  Pharaoh,  with  a 
predecessor  of  the  Scots;  which  evidently  convinces  us,  that  there  had  been  a 
conmierce,  and  an  alliance  of  a  very  ancient  date,  carried  on,  and  mutually  main- 
tained between  the  Egyptians  and  our  Iberian  ancestors. — O'Fi.aherty. 


68 

Tlie  reign  of  this  monarch  is  very  much  celebrated  by  our  bards  and 
historians,  as  the  code  of  laws  that  were  enacted  in  it  have  formed 
a  conspicuous  epoch  of  Irish  history.  His  ordinances  relative  to 
THE  COLOURS  of  the  fjarments  worn  by  princes,  nobles,  bards,  and 
peasants,  deserve  particular  illustration  from  the  historian. 

By  tliis  leirjslative  en;ictn)ent,  which  our  annalists  call  the  law 
OF  COLOURS,*  princes  of  the  blond  royal  were  allowed  to  have  stnen 

*  This  law  did  more  towards  gaining  esteem  and  respect  tlian  all  the  golden 
trappings  of  the  East,  and  3'et  cost  nothing.  It  produced  a  noble  emulation  among 
men  of  letters,  who  on  approving  themselves  skilled  in  the  Fileacht,  i.  e.  the  arts 
and  sciences  of  the  land,  received  the  vesture  of  six  colours. 

The  dress  of  the  ancient  Scots  (the  Irish)  was  plain  as  their  manners.  The 
great  were  apparelled  in  much  the  same  manner  as  the  lower  ranks,  allowing  only 
for  the  fineness  of  the  texture,  and  the  vnriet}^  or  rather  number,  of  ihe  colours. 

The  fashion  of  this  vesture  was  so  admirably  adapted  to  the  manners  of  a  martial 
nation,  that  it  received  very  little  change  through  all  ages.  It  helped  to  display 
action,  and  exhibited  the  actor  in  the  most  advantageous  manner.  It  bears  a 
perfect  resemblance  to  the  costume  of  the  ancient  Greeks.  One  piece  covered 
the  legs  and  tliighs  of  the  wearer  closely.  The  Braccon,  or  vest,  was  fastened 
with  g  ilden  clasps,  and  so  conveniently  contrived,  as  to  cover  the  breast  better 
than  any  modern  garment,  wliile  the  close  sleeves  of  a  flowing  mantle  gave  the 
soldier  all  the  advantages  he  could  require  in  the  use  of  arms.  Over  the  whole, 
they  wore  a  FallvrtT^  or  wide  cloak,  which  covered  them  from  the  sun  and  rain  in 
time  of  inaction,  as  in  time  of  war  it  served  them  for  a  bed  to  repose  on  in  their 
field  tents.  I  have  seen  a  representation  of  these  dresses,  in  the  carving  on  the 
king  of  Connaught's  (Feidlim  O'Connor)  tomb,  in  the  abbey  of  Roscommon  ;  and 
I  am  certain  that  tlie  remains  of  this  species  of  dress  are  still  preserved  in  the 
highlands  of  Scotland." — O'Connor. 

•'  Tliough  the  garb  of  the  ancient  Irish  was  simple  in  its  fashion,  yet  the  mate- 
rials of  which  it  was  composed  were  of  the  most  costly  quality.  Their  kings  wore 
mantles  of  an  immense  size,  generally  nine  ells  of  yellow  and  purple  silk,  which 
were  studded  with  gems  and  precious  stones.  Their  helmets,  shields,  and  ensign 
staffs,  were  of  pure  gold,  as  the  country  abounded  with  that  precious  metal." — 
Vai.lancev. 

"  The  military  dress  of  the  ancient  Irish  was  fashioned  after  the  vesture  of  the 
Grecian  heroes,  and  perfectly  corresponded  Vv-ith  the  drapery  which  vi'c  see  in 
the  pictures  of  the  old  masters." — Vide  Scottish  .Irchaologla,  vol.  ix. 

"  The  Irish  kings,  in  battle,  wore  a  golden  crown  on  their  heads,  and  a  star  of 
amethyst  on  their  breasts ;  as  it  was  deemed  inglorious  to  conceal  their  rank  in  a 
garb  unbecoming  their  high  stations." — Pikkerton's  Inquiry  into  tlix  History  of 
Scotland. 

'•  In  the  pagan  ages,  the  Irish  soldiers  never  made  use  of  coats  of  mail ;  the 
shield  alone  was  all  their  defensive  armor  for  the  body  ;  their  chief  offensive 
weapons  were  the  sword,  javelin,  and  arrow.  Their  infantry,  after  the  Christian 
era,  were  of  two  orders,  heavy  and  liglit-armed  :  the  first  were  called  GaUoglachs , 
(i.  e.  heavy  armed  soldiers)  armed  with  a  highly  burnished  helmet  and  coat  of 
mail,  bound  with  iron  rings.  They  were  also  girded  with  long  swords,  and  occa- 
sionally, they  fought  with  a  most  keen  battle-axe.  Their  light-armed  infantry 
(called  Kcherns)  fought  with  bearded  javelins  and  short  daggers." — Dissert,  on 
Irish  History. 

"  Tlie  Irish  soldiers  looketh  very  warlike,  and  their  dress  rcsemblcth  the  ancient 
Grecian  vesture.  They  are  tall  and  masculine,  with  fierce  visages;  they  have 
three  kinds  of  weapons  in  use  ;  short  bright  lances,  two  javelins,  and  broad  battle- 
axes,  extremely  well-tempered.  Against  the  force  of  these  weapons,  neither 
helmet  nor  cuirass  is  sufficient  defence.  I  saw  the  Irish  king's  body  guard  in 
D'ubline,  and  tliey  resembleth  a  band  of  Giants,  inasmuch  as  their  stature  and 
strength  much  surpasseth  our  soldiers." — C.\MnKr..\.sis. 

"  O'Neil's  guards  which  the  Irish  call  Gulloirhichs.  are  certainly  in  appearance 
equal  to  the  pictured  representation  of  Ca^sar'.s  favorite  legion,  and  their  dress  is 
superb  and  imposing." — Sir  Philip  Sidney's  letter  to  Queen  Elizabeth. 

"  Thf  Irish  soldiers  are  jnen  of  great  sUiturc,  of  more  l)\aji  ordinary  strength  of 


69 

colours  in  their  jjarmeiits  ;  the  monarch  was  always  known  by  his 
mantle  of  yellow  and  purple,  for  green  was  not  in  those  days  the 
national  colour  ;  the  vesture  of  the  druids,  ollatnhs,  bards,  and  artists, 
was  variegated  by  six  dies  ;  that  of  the  nobility  and  kni<:hts  by  five  ; 
of  bralarhs,  or  keepers  of  open  houses,  by  four;  of  commanders  of 
battalions,  three;  of  private  srentlemen,  two;  and  of  peasantry  and 
soldiers,  one.  Tiie  provisions  of  tliese  laws  were  observed,  for  aues, 
with  the  inn>t  inviolahle  sacredness  and  rebellious  attention.  "This 
custom  of  makiny',*'  savs  O'Hailoran,  "  various  colors  in  clothes 
honorable,  we  find  to  be  extremely  ancient.  Thus,  "wc  read  in 
Genesis  that  '  Jacob  loved  Joseph  more  tlian  all  his  children,  because 
he  was  the  son  of  his  old  '<\<xe,  and  he  made  him  a  coat  of  in  any  colors.'' 
This  same  law  we  bnd  est;d)bsiied  in  Cliina,  from  the  most  remote 
antiquity." 

Indeed,  we  have  the  authority  of  foreign  historians  to  say,  that 
the  ancient  Irish  carried  the  art  of  dyeing  to  Tyrian  perfection  ; 
and  their  colours  were  as  unfadin<r  as  they  were  vivid  and  durable. 
These  colours,  we  are  told  by  Bishop  Nicholson,  were  all  of  vegeta- 
ble production.  In  Irish  poetry,  red,  purple,  and  crimson  robes  are 
fre(|uently  mentioned;  but  yellow  Avas  the  royal  colour,  and  the 
liverv  of  honour  and  pre-eminence.  In  consequence,  the  silks,  stuffs, 
and  linens  of  this  die  were  brilliant  in  the  extreme.  The  mate- 
rials used  in  the  composition  of  this  colour  were  extracted  from  a 
plant  well  known  in  Ireland,  called  the  ]Jtiidh-more,  or  great  yellow, 
which  is  still  an  article  of  commerce.  This  imprinted  a  dye  bright 
and  lasting,  which  resi^ted  at  once  the  action  of  rain  and  sun-beams. 
The  purple  and  crimson  were  obtained  from  a  species  of  moss 
growing  on  rocks  and  stones  in  different  parts  of  the  kingdom,  de- 
nominated by  Nicholson,  in  his  natural  history,  the  "  Lichenoides 
Saxntile,  tinctorium  foliis  pnrpurcif,  and  Muscus  tinctorius  crnstae, 
mocio  pctris  admascens  of  Ray,"  called  by  our  Irish  botanists,  Corcair 
and  Arccll.  The  crimson  was  extracted  from  the  corcair  or  finer 
kind,  resend)ling  a  thin  white  scurf,  which  grows  on  sea-side  rocks 
in  everv  part  of  Ireland.  Persons  of  rank  dyed  their  garments  in 
this  etVusion,  and  Ware  says,  that  the  secret  of  imparting  such  a 
beautiful  crimson  colour,  in  its  original  lustre  was  not  known  in  his  days 
to  any  person  in  Ireland.  Great  quantities  of  this  moss  are  gathered 
in  the  county  of  Kerry,  and  sold  to  the  dyers  in  London  and  Dublin, 
who  prefer  it  to  the  orchil  imported  from  the  Canaries  and  Azores. 
The  ancient  Irish  also  produced  from  it  and  a  mixture  of  a  plant 
called  the  "  ladies''  bed-straw,''''  or  the  Irish  Croiv  lean,  a  beautiful 
gold,  orange,  and  scarlet  colour.  The  black  colour,  which  distin- 
guished the  apparel  of  the  peasantry,  was  composed  of  the  juice  of 
hog  mire  and    white  water   lily,  and  the  dye   was   so   excellent   and 

binb,  powerful  swordsmen,  but  at  the  same  time  altogether  sanguinary  to  us, 
{Saxons.)  and  by  no  means  inclined  to  give  quarter.  Their  weapons  are  one  foot 
in  length,  resembling  double-edged  hatchets,  almost  sharper  than  razors,  fixed  to 
shafts  of  more  tlian  ordinary  length,  with  which,  v.'hen  they  strike,  they  inflict  a 
dreadful  wound.  Before  any  one  is  admitted  into  O'Neil's  corps,  he  swears,  in 
the  most  solemn  manner,  that  he  will  never  flinch,  or  turn  his  back  wiien  he 
comes  into  action." — Stanihurst,  de  Rcb.  Hihern.  p.  41,  42. 


70 

glossy,  that  neither  thne  nor  wcath.er  could  tarnish  it  as  long  as  a 
piece  of  the  cloth  remained.  Tliere  is  an  herb  grows  on  tlie  rocks 
of  Magilligan,  in  the  county  of  Derry,  which,  when  properly 
prepared,  produces  the  finest  jjeach-hlossom  colour.  In  a  word,  it 
appears  that  onr  ancestors  could  produce  all  colours,  except  blue, 
fiom  our  native  growth.*  According  to  Nicholson,  the  ancient 
Irish  ladies  dyed  linen  of  a  heautifid  bright  crimson  colour,  which 
they  made  by  a  preparation  of  cochleae,  a  species  of  shell-fish  that 
abounds  on  the  coasts  of  Wicklow,  Dublin,  and  Wexford.  The 
extract  taken  from  this  shcl!-fish,  when  applied  to  the  linen,  produc- 
ed first  a  fine  sea-green,  then  an  azure  blue,  afterwards  a  deep 
j)urple-red,  and  all  in  a  few  hours,  when  exposed  to  the  sun.  But 
after  washing  the  cloth  in  hot  water,  and  soap,  the  purj)le  became 
an  exquisite  and  brilliant  crimson,  Avhich  nothing  could  change. 
"  The  fish  was,"  says  Nicholson,  in  his  natural  history  of  Ireland, 
"  a  species  of  perriwinkles,  which  is  still  used  in  dyeing  by  the 
people  of  Wexfiird  and  Wicklow.  The  ancient  Irish  are  said  to 
have  dyed  much  of  this  colour,  which  must  have  destroyed  great 
quantities  of  the  fisli,  as  not  above  six  or  seven  drops  of  liquid  can  be 
obtained  from  each  winkle,  and  that  by  adiflicult  process  :  the  shell 
is  not  to  be  broken,  the  vein  lying  transversely  in  a  furrow  iiext  the 
head  is  to  be  pierced  hy  a  bodkin,  when  a  few  drops  of  white  milky 
liquor  issues.  The  Tyiian  die,  so  much  celebrated  by  antiquity,  is 
thought  to  have  been  the  production  of  a  similar  species  of  muscles." 
But  it  is  time  to  return  from  our  digression,  and  resume  the  thread 
of  our  narrative. 

The  monarch  caused  several  mines  to  be  opened,  and  their  pro- 
duce to  be  wrought  by  skilful  artists. t  Some  goblets  have  been  found 
in  the  Bog  of  Allen,  which  were  made  in  the  reign  of  Tighernmas, 
and  their  sculptured  devices  and  beautiful  workmanship,  afford  a 
proof  of  the  proficiency  of  the  ancient  Irish  in  the  fine  arts.  It  is 
to  this  sovereign  our  historians  also  impute  the  invention  of  vats,  for 
dying  purple,  yellow,  and  green.     Tighernmas,  however,  contrary 

*  The  Irish  have  herbs  for  diet,  for  counteracting  witchcraft,  for  physic,  for 
dyeing,  (an  art  in  whicli  tliey  once  excelled  all  Europe,)  and  almost  for  all  uses." — 
Vide  Innis's  letter  to  the  Bishop  of  Derry,  published  in  the  Tra7isac.  of  the  G(eUc 
Society,  Edinburgh,  1727. 

t  The  mountains  of  Ireland  are  full  of  mines  and  minerals.  Gold  and  silver 
must  have  been  very  plenty  in  this  country  in  ancient  times,  as  all  the  knights 
wore  golden  helmets  and  chains,  and  a  shield  of  the  same  precious  metal.  A  bit 
of  a  bridle,  of  solid  gold,  of  ten  ounces,  which  was  found  in  digging  in  some 
grounds,  was  sent  as  a  present  to  Charles  I.  by  the  Earl  of  Straftbrd. 

The  same  nobleman  sent  tilso  an  ingot  of  silver  to  the  royal  mint,  from  the 
mines  of  the  county  of  Tipperary,  which  weighed  three  hundred  ounces  ;  and  in 
his  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  he  says,  "  that  the  lead  mines  in  Munster  were 
so  rich,  that  every  load  of  lead  had  in  it  forty  pounds  of  tine  silver."  There  are 
several  considerable  colleries  in  many  parts  of  the  kingdom,  probably  enough  to 
supply  all  Europe  with  coals ;  but  for  want  of  government  encouragement,  they 
are  neglected.  Besides  these,  there  are  numerous  iron  mines  and  lead  mines  in 
the  island.  There  is  one  lead  mine,  in  the  county  of  Antrim,  so  rich,  that  from 
every  thirty  pounds  of  lead  one  of  silver  is  yielded.  In  fine,  nature  designed 
Ireland  for  the  operations  of  art  and  agriculture ;  and,  though  she  is  unfortunately 
poor,  she  has  exhaustless  wealth  in  her  own  bosom,  but  under  the  hermetic  seal 
of  English  policy. — Warner. 


71 

to  tlic  advice  and  sii|i])lication  of  the  Druids,  introduced  a  species 
ot'norsliip  whicli  tliey  pronounced  idolatrous.  The  Druids,  regard- 
less of  his  power,  every  where  denounced  his  heresy,  and  predicted 
tiie  vengeance  of  the  true  national  deities,  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars, 
against  the  devoted  nionarcii. 

The  kinoj  felt  indignant,  but  dur.-.t  not  punish  men  who  were 
revered  as  the  ministers  of  Heaven.  To  show,  however,  his  con- 
temjjt  of  their  idle  threats,  he  erected  a  famous  idle  at  Brefteny,  in 
the  county  of  Leitrim,  called  Crom-Cruadh,  "the  same  god,"  says 
Dr.  Keating,  "  that  Zoroaster  adored  in  Greece."  On  the  eve  of 
SamJndn,  or  jNovember,  which  was  the  time  ai>propriated  to  the 
worship  of  the  moon,  the  king",  no  longer  acknowledging  the  brijrht 
rays  of  that  deity,  "as  light  from  Heaven,"  with  his  family,  nobles, 
and  soldiers,  repaired  to  the  plain  of  Bretteny,  for  the  purpose  of 
oiVering  divine  honors  to  his  false  God.*  The  Druids  taking  their 
station  on  a  neighbouring  hill,  witnessed  the  heretical  ceremony  with 
horror  and  indignation.  But  scarcely  had  the  monarch  knelt 
before  the  idol,  scarcely  had  the  flames  ascended  from  the  burnt 
offerings,  when  the  most  awful  thunder  began  to  roar,  and  in  another 
moment  the  dreadful  lightning  annihilated  the  idol,  and  made  burned 
victims  of  Tighernmas  and  all  his  attendants.  When  the  Druids 
saw  the  destruction  with  which  divine  wrath  swept  away  idolatry, 
they  set  up  a  shout  of  exultation.  We  give  this  ludicrous  fiction  as 
we  find  it,  in  all  our  ancient  histories,  as  an  amusing  fable  foisted 
by  the  pious  fraud  of  the  Druids  into  our  annals.  The  popular  tradi- 
tion of  Leitrim  still  points  out  the  scene  of  this  invented  catastro])he, 
and  gives  it  the  name  of  Mcagh-slcackta,  or  the  valley  of  worship. 
Before  the  reign  of  this  victim  of  divine  vengeance,  the  sun,  moon, 
and  stars,  were  the  only  objects  of  religious  adoration ;  objects 
"which,  though  virtually  as  unworthy  of  human  homage  as  the  shape- 
less matter  that  is  moulded  into  form  by  the  art  of  man,  still  raise 
the  nnnd  beyond  the  narrow  limits  of  terrestrial  existence,  and 
equally  impress  us  with  the  solemnity  of  religion,  and  the  awful 
sublimity  of  boundless  and  infinite  creation. 

Tighernmas  according"  to  Keating  and  O'Halloran,  who  follow  the 
authority  of  the  annalist,  Ginlla  Caoinhain,  who  flourished  in  the 
tenth  century,  reigned  fifty  years. 

Before  we  close  this  chapter,  we  will  endeavour  to  reflect  some 
light  of  investigation  on  the  darkness  that  conceals  the  origin  of  one 
of  the  most  noted  religious  orders  of  antiquity,  we  mean  the  Druids. 
The  laudability  of  the  atten)])t  will  excuse  its  defects.  Let  us  take 
a  retrospective  view  of  the  first  ages  of  the  world,  and  explore  the 
rude  policy  of  their  incipient  designs,  and  we  shall  often  behold  grand, 
strange,  and  unexpected  events  arise  from  the  simplest  causes;  we 
shall  behold  the  moral  imitate  the  physical  world ;  and   we  shall 

'  Breffknv,  or  the  country  ol'sinall  liills,  ibniierly  compri-hcndcd  the  counties 
of  Leitrim  Jiud  Cavnu,  and  a  district  of  Lonirford,  and  was  owned  by  tiie  regal 
septs.  O'Ronrke,  O'Reilly',  0'Farrell,0'I5ra(ly,  O'Curry,  O'Sheridan,  M'Kernan, 
and  IM'Gaurall,  until  the  reign  of  the  Eno-lish  Mossalina.  Elizabeth,  who  basely 
despoiled  thein  of  their  patronionial  estates.  We  will  have  occasion  again  to  say 
more  of  Brclleny. 


frequently  return  from  the  intellectual  pursuit,  if  not  enriched  and 
enlightened  with  all  the  acquisition  of  knowledge  that  inquiry  can 
impart,  at  lenst  editied  and  blessed  with  all  the  pleasure  whirli  imag- 
ination can  bestow.  In  countries  covered  with  ettrnal  forests,  as 
we  must  suppose  the  greater  portion  of  the  e.irlh  to  have  been 
shortly  after  the  flood,  the  first  Planters  would  naturally  settle  in 
those  parts  that  were  more  open,  and  best  adapted  for  agriculture. 
Among  these  first  planters  there  might  be  found  a  few,  who  smitten 
with  sacred  love  of  meditation  and  the  silence  of  the  shades,  would 
naturally  shun  the  vulgar  commerce  of  mankind  and  retire  among 
the  sombre  oaks,  to  commune  with  the  genius  of  solitude  ;  and  study 
the  philosophy  of  religion  in  the  impressive  characters  of  nature. 
Blessed  with  that  wisdom,  with  which  contemplation  invests  the 
mind,  and  which  indeed,  in  the  bustle  of  public  life  is  seldom  to  be 
found,  Rara  avis  in  tn-ris,  they  would  naturally  fix  their  habitation, 
when  they  had  imbibed  the  first  principles  of  morality  and  natural 
religon.  Here  the  beacon  of  silence  would  cast  a  steady  radiance 
on  their  understandings,  while  free  from  the  tempest  of  the  passions. 
Here  they  would  be  consulted  by  those  who  had  less  experience  in 
the  duties  imj)osed  upon  humanity,  by  the  light  of  reason,  and  the 
admonitions  of  that  interior  monitor,  which  directs  all  those  who  are 
attentive  to  its  counsels  as  well  in  the  palace,  as  in  the  cottage  ;  as 
well  in  the  hustle  of  society,  as  in  the  privacy  of  retirement  ;  as  well 
amid  the  turbulent  and  ungovernable  commotions  of  a  seditious 
populace,  as  in  the  dreary  and  sequestered  solitudes  of  the  Arabian 
wild.  Such  men  would  attract  attention  and  command  respect  ; 
such  men  would  surely  be  consulted  in  matters  of  state,  and  ptdjlic 
interest,  and  on  all  extraordinary  occasions  ;  nor  would  they  long 
stand  in  need  of  disciples  and  followers  to  assist  them  in  the  dis- 
charge of  the  various  and  important  duties  imposed  upon  them,  by 
their  superior  knowledge,  and  endowments.  Consequently  these 
disciples  would  draw  wisdom  from  the  fount  of  instrtution  and  with 
mirids  and  passions  elevated  by  philo>o|)hy  to  the  summit  of  reason, 
they  would  soon  become  a  distinct  order  of  men,  and  be  at  the  head 
of  all  affairs  both  in  church  and  state.  Thus  they  would  be  philo- 
sophers by  Profession — Priests  by  the  veneration  paid  to  them — 
Judges,  by  the  choice  of  the  people — Poets,  from  the  warm  and 
pathetic  feelings  which  are  inspired  by  the  contemplation  of  nature — 
and  Historians  from  their  learning,  and  the  active  part  they  would  be 
obliged  to  take  in  the  aftairs  of  state.  To  secure,  however,  that 
veneration  and  esteem  which  they  would  wish  to  procure  by  the 
sanctity  of  their  lives,  the  brilliancy  of  their  attainn.ents,  and  their  iso- 
lated retreat  from  the  world,  they  would  still  avoid  a  general  intercourse 
with  the  people  ;  they  should  do  so  because  that  a  conformity  of 
proceding  would  be  necessary  to  preserve  that  respect  which  origi- 
nated in  the  belief  of  their  superior  piety  and  qualifications,  while 
aware  that  the  character  should  be  sustained  to  the  last,  without 
being  lessened  by  inconsistency  ;  and  experience  itself  would  soon 
inform  them  that  a  communion  with  the  world  would  speedily  bring 
them  into  contempt.  That  such  an  order  of  men  would  arise  from 
such  circumstances,  is   indeed,  more   than  probable  ;  and  will,  we 


73 

doubt  not,  appear  ^vith  new  evidence  to  the  cautious  reader  the 
more  he  examines  it. 

If  such  was  tiie  origin,  such  certainly  was  the  order  of  tlie  ancient 
Druids.  They  were  in  Ireland  from  the  days  of  Ileremon,  to  the 
introduction  of  Christianity.  Priests,  Judges,  Philosophers,  Poets, 
and  Historians,  and  their  manner  of  life  exactly  corresponds  to  the 
supposition  we  have  made. 

The  Irish  arch-Druid  had  great  power  and  authority,  and  his 
person  was  sacred  and  inviolable.  He  was  chief  of  the  literati,  and 
high  pontiff  of  religion.  As  this  was  the  next  station  to  the  sovereign 
himself,  an  eminent  place  of  the  most  important  trust  and  responsi- 
bility, it  was  uniformly  conferred  on  a  branch  of  the  royal  tree,  as 
this  history  will  show.  This  was  also  the  custom,  as  Ledwich  tells 
us,  in  Scythia  and  Tyre. 

Pliny  informs  us  that  their  places  of  worship  were  surrounded  by 
groves  of  oak,  and  that  they  were  not  permitted  to  sacrifice  out  of 
them.  He  also  tells  us  that  the  oak  was  held  in  such  reverence  by 
the  Roman  Druids,  that  it  was  supposed  to  be  sacred  to  the  Deity. 
"We  likewise  read  in  Ovid,  that  all  the  Druids  assembled  at  the  cut- 
ting of  the  Misletoe,  and  commenced  the  performance  of  their  myste- 
ries.* Julius  Caesar,  in  his  commentaries,  gives  us  a  view  of  the 
Druids  in  Gaul,  in  his  days,  whom  he  represents  secluded  in  the  dark 
recesses  of  oak  forests,  cultivating  the  abstrusest  sciences,  and 
penetrating  the  sublimest  mysteries  of  nature,  and  anticipating  the 
discoveries  of  Pythagoras,  and  Newton.  It  is  manifest,  that  woods 
and  forests,  were  intimately  interwoven  in  their  system  of  religion. 
We  have  already  stated  that  the  first  name  of  Ireland,  which  stands 
upon  record,  was,  "  Inis  tin  Blifiodhbhuklhe'''  or  the  woody  Island. 
The  Irish  Druid  worshipped  one  supreme  Being,  not  in  temples  as 
the  Greeks  and  Romans,  but  in  Groves  consecrated  to  him.  They 
believed  in  a  future  state  of  rewards  and  punishments,  which  should 
be  regulated  by  the  Deity  according  to  their  conduct  in  this  life. 

*  The  Druids  of  Gaul,  according  to  Pliny,  held  nothing  so  sacred  as  the  Misle- 
toe, and  the  trees  upon  which  it  grew.  They  selected  groves  of  this  wood  for 
religious  purposes  ;  nor  did  they  perform  any  sacred  office  without  garlands  of  its 
leaves,  from  whence  they  derived  their  name  of  Druids.  This  was  done  on  the 
sixth  day  of  the  moon ;  a  day  so  much  esteemed  by  them,  that  they  have  made 
their  months  and  ages  (which  consisted  of  about  thirty  years)  to  take  their  begin- 
ning from  it.  The  Misletoe  when  found  was  collected  with  great  ceremony. 
Havinc  prepared  their  feasts  and  sacrifices  under  the  oak,  two  white  bulls  were 
tied  to  it.  A  Priest  clad  in  white  robes  ascended  the  tree,  and  cut  off  the  Misletoe, 
and  let  it  fall  into  a  white  garment  which  another  Druid  spread  to  receive  it. 
They  then  sacrificed  their  victims. 

The  Misletoe,  continues  Pliny,  administered  as  a  potion,  is  believed  to  have  a 
charm  for  preserving  female  chastity,  and  for  counteracting  the  effects  of  poison. 

"  The  Gaulish  Druids  had  their  Priestes.scs  and  Prophetesses,  and  some  of  those 
females  were  in  high  repute  among  the  Gauls,  and  bore  great  sway  in  their  govern- 
ment. If  the  Druids  tried  female  virtue  by  ordeal,  the  Jews  too  had  the  ^'waters 
ofjcalousi/,"  to  assure  them  of  the  fidelity  or  infidelity  of  their  wives." — Universal 
Hist. 

"  The  Irish  Druids  were,  according  to  Bedc,  and  other  authorities,  much  more 
learned  than  those  of  Gaul,  as  the  former  were,  as  far  as  I  can  gather  from  histor- 
ical evidence,  well  versed  not  only  in  the  sciences,  but  in  the  philosophy  and  litera 
ture  of  Eofypt  and  Greece." — Vide  Mallet's  J\orthcrn  .Antiquities. 
10 


74 

They  always  raised  their  iraracnse  altars  of  stone,  on  the  summit 
of  high  hills,  on  which  they  generally  offered  their  bloody  and 
expiatory  saciifices. 

They  built  many  stupendous  temples,  which  they  used  as  colleges 
for  the  initiation  and  instruction  of  their  novices,  but  not  as  places 
of  worship,  as  they  thought,  wiih  the  ancient  Persians,  that  it  was 
absurd  and  unworthy  the  Author  of  all  being  and  places,  to  make 
sacrificial  oblations  to  him  within  walls  raised  by  human  hands,  or 
under  any  roof  except  the  dome  of  Heaven.  The  god  Bel  or  Belus 
they  worshipped  by  consecrated  fires,  which  they  lit  on  every  first 
of  May,  on  the  highest  hills  in  the  Island.  On  the  celebration  of 
this  holy  ceremony,  called  in  Irish,  Bel  tinne,  or  the  fire  of  Belus, 
every  other  fire  in  the  kingdom  was  extinguished,  and,  after  the 
solemnities  were  over,  the  people  were  obliged  to  apply  to  the  Druids 
for  consecrated  fire  to  light  their  household  hearths. 

That  the  sway  of  the  Druids,  and  the  despotic  power  which  they 
exercised  over  the  superstitious  fears  of  the  Heathen  Irish  were  det- 
rimental to  the  liberties  and  happiness  of  the  people  must  be  admit- 
ted. Such  was  the  preponderance  of  this  pov»'er,  that  several  of 
our  monarchs  sunk  under  it. 

Whenever  any  one  was  bold  enough  to  refuse  submission  to  their 
decisions,  either  in  civil  or  religious  matters,  he  was  seized  and  im- 
mediately immolated  as  a  victim  on  their  altar.  In  the  course  of 
this  history,  we  will  adduce  instances  of  their  having  dethroned 
kings,  and  of  even  putting  an  immediate  stop  to  an  engagement, 
when  both  armies  were  furiously  rushing  to  the  onset.  They  were 
regarded  as  the  vicegerents  of  Heaven,  and  looked  upon,  in  conse- 
quence, as  the  dernier  appeal  in  all  cases  ;  and  their  terrible 
excommunication,  a  punishment  which  was  considered  by  the  ancient 
Irish  as  the  most  infamous  and  degrading,  was  the  lot  of  those  unfor- 
tunate recusants,  that  disobeyed  the  mandates  of  the  tyrannic 
theocracy.  "  The  Irish  Druids  not  only  presided,"  says  Warner, 
''  at  their  religious  rites,  but  no  public  transaction  passed  without 
their  approbation  ;  nor  was  the  greatest  malefactor  put  to  death 
without  their  consent.  Tiiey  were  not  only  the  most  noble  and 
considerable  people  of  tiieir  country,  to  whose  care  was  committed 
the  education  of  their  youth  and  the  Kings  and  Princes  children, 
but  it  was  a  notion  prevalent  in  those  times,  that  they  had  a  commu- 
nication with  Heaven  by  way  of  divination,  soothsaying  and  the 
magic  art."  The  Irish  Druids  were  certainly  a  body  of  men  whose 
erudition  embraced  the  widest  scope  of  literature  and  the  arts;  and 
St.  Patrick  himself  bears  an  honorable  testimony  to  their  proficiency 
in  the  classic  languages,  and  their  profound  knowledge  of  metaphy- 
sical philosophy.  Borlase,  who  was  no  friend  of  our  country, 
candidly  acknowledges  that  the  British  and  Welsh  Druids  were  only 
the  disciples  of  the  Irish  Pontifis  whom  they  obeyed  as  the  Metro- 
politans of  the  druidical  order.  We  hope,  we  shall,  in  the  progress 
of  this  history,  be  able  to  advance  satisfactory  and  conclusive  argu- 
ments in  support  of  the  opinion,  that  Ireland  was  not  only  the  chief 
seat,  but  the  very  fountain,  whence  emanated  the  stream  of  Euro- 
pean Druidism.     In  the   next  chapter   we   will  give  a  detail  of  the 


principles,  form  of  worship,  and  ritual  of  the  pagan  religion  of  the 
ancient  Irish. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

The.  RcUgiun  and  form  of  worship  of  the  Pagan  Irish. —  The  reigns  of  Eochaidh, 
Ccarmna,  and  Sobhuircc,  Eochaidh  II. — Fiachadh,  Eochaidh  III.  jiongas,  Eadhna, 
Rotkcnchta,  Scadhna,  Fiachadh  II.  Muinhcamkoin,  and  Mdcrgoid. —  Ollamh 
Fodhla,  his  gloriovs  reign,  institutions,  and  legislative  ordinances :  and  the 
National  ^issemhhj  at  Tar  a. 

A.  M.  28G5.  The  Celtic  religion,  of  the  ancient  Irish,  was  in 
many  respects  similar  to  that  of  the  Jewish  Patriarchs.  They 
worshipped  one  Supreme  Being,  in  the  sacred  groves,  consecrated 
to  him  :  they  offered  victims  to  him,  and  other  sacrifices  of  expia- 
tion. Their  ritual  was  remarkable  for  its  awful  simplicity.  They 
worshipped  the  Sun  by  the  name  of  Bel,  and  the  Moon,  which  they 
placed  next  to  the  Sun,  in  reverence  for  its  attributes  and  nocturnal 
glory.  The  class  of  Druids,  who  offered  the  lunar  sacrifices,  were 
called  Samnotlici ;  they  inculcated  the  doctrine  of  transmigration,  and 
maintained  that  the  soul  must  be  purified  in  difierent  bodies,  before 
it  could  enter  the  celestial  mansions  of  happiness.  The  religious 
festival  of  the  INIoon  was  celebrated  on  the  first  of  November.  The 
temple  of  the  Moon  was,  we  are  told,  an  immense  pile,  whose  ruins 
are  still  to  be  seen  at  Talchta,  in  the  County  of  Mcath.  Here,  on 
every  eve  of  November,  the  votaries  of  Cynthia  assembled  in  multi- 
tudes, to  oft'er  adoration,  and  receive  the  consecrated  fire  oi  Samhuin^ 
or  the  Moon,  from  the  Druids  ;  for  it  was  deemed  an  act  of  enormous 
impiety  to  kindle  tiie  winter  hearths  from  any  other,  than  the  divine 
flame  of  the  holy  altars  of  Samhuin.  The  tax  levied  from  every 
house  for  the  Moon-fire  brought  immense  revenues  to  the  Druids. — 
Tlie  Gauls  and  Britons  derived,  according  to  Bede,  the  principles 
of  their  theology  from  the  Irish  Druids.*  The  learned  Charles 
O'Connor  says,  "  Our  ancestors  worshipped  Bel,  or  Beleus  as  God 
of  the  sun,  orfire,f  and  so  did  the  ancient  fire-worshippers  of  Persia, 

*  "  The  ancient  mode  of  worship  adopted  by  the  Celtic  and  Scythian  nations  of 
Enropc,  seems  evidently  to  have  originated  in  Ireland.  This  much, at  least,  is  cer- 
tain, that  the  religion  of  tlie  Gauls,  as  delivered  by  Cffisar,  an  indisputable  authority, 
and  such  accounts  as  other  writers,  Greek  and  Roman,  have  furnished  to  us,  are 
in  the  fullest  manner  elucidated  and  confirmed  by  Irish  history." — O'Halloran. 

"  The  religion  of  tlie  Gauls  was  founded  on  the  same  theological  principles,  as 
those  practised  in  the  ritual  of  the  heathen  Irish.  What  the  original  Celtic  religion 
was,  we  learn  not  only  from  Irish  liistory  ;  but  from  the  concurrent  testimony  of 
foreign  authors  also,  that  it  was  the  same  with  that  of  the  old  patriarchs.  They 
worshipped  one  Supreme  Being,  not  in  temples,  but  in  groves  of  oak,  which  being 
open  at  the  top  and  sides,  were,  in  their  opinion,  more  acceptable  to  the  divine  and 
unconfined  being,  whom  they  adored.  They  believed  in  a  future  state  of  rewards 
and  punishments,  suitable  to  their  behaviour  in  this  life.' — W.\R.Nr,u. 

1  "  .W«f/irfl5,  the  sun,  whicli  was  worshipped  by  the  idolatrous  Persians; — that 
word,  however,  signifies  fire  in  the  literal  serrse.     Mitera.«  ia  certainly  called  fire 


70 

by  the  name  of  Mithras:  and  Apollo,  I  take  to  be  only  a  corruption 
of  Beleus,  being  among  the  Greeks  and  Romans  the  God  of  the  sun, 
and  consequently  one  of  their  deities  borrowed  from  the  old  Celts." 
This  hypothesis  strengthens  the  historical  supports  of  our  country 
being  the  hyperborean  Isle  of  the  ancients.* 

In  our  last  chapter,  we  narrated  the  fatal  circumstance  that  grew 
out  of  the  idolatry  of  Tighernmas  and  deprived  him  of  life,  and 
kingdom.  Some  writers,  among  whom  are  the  acute  OTIaherty, 
and  the  learned  Lynch,  contend,  that  there  was  an  interregnum  of 
seven  years,  after  the  death  of  tliis  Prince.  We,  however,  on  the 
authority  of  Dr.  Keating,  and  O'Halloran  dissent  from  an  opinion, 
which  is  not  sustained  by  a  concurrence  of  historical  evidence. 
Neither  the  regal  list  of  GioUa  Caomhain,  the  psalter  of  Cashel,  nor 
the  Bruodin  chronicle,  makes  any  allusion  to  such  a  chasm  in  our 
sovereign  supremacy.  An  interregnum  of  seven  years,  would  be  in- 
consistent with  the  genius  of  the  Milesian  constitution.  We  do  not 
think  it  probable,  that  a  crown  for  which  there  were  so  many  rival 
candidates,  and  which  even  the  lawful  monarch  could,  often,  only 
retain  by  force  of  arms,  would  remain  in  obeyance,  for  such  a  period, 
without  exciting  the  ambition,  or  tempting  the  struggles  of  the  pro- 
vincial kings.  In  some  instances,  indeed,  the  elected  king  is  not 
acknowledged  as  supreme  monarch,  or  Ard  Righ,  (supreme  King) 
by  our  annalists,  who  bestowed  on  them  the  appellation  of  Gafra 
Sabrach,  or  monarchs  not  legally  chosen  by  general  consent. 
"When  we  reflect,"  says  O'Halloran,  "on  the  nature  of  the  succes- 

by  the  Scythians,  from  whom  the  Irish  are  descended,  as  well  as  the  Persians. 
The  similarity  of  language  and  ancient  mode  of  worship  of  the  Persians  and  Irish 
confirm,  in  some  degree,  the  pretensions  of  the  latter  to  an  eastern  origin." — 
Toland's  Hist,  of  the  Druids. 

"  We  may  remark  here  by  the  way,  that  the  Scots  (as  the  Irish  were  originally 
called)  in  the  extremity  of  the  west,  had  descended  fron  the  same  Scythian  ances- 
tors with  the  Persians,  in  almost  the  extremities  of  the  cast,  as  is  demonstrable  not 
only  from  similitude  of  theology,  but  of  language  also,  the  strongest  evidence  for 
the  origin  of  any  nation;  thus  Caors,  fire,  is  Cyr  in  Persian.  Cios,  a  stipend  or 
tribute,  is  Gas  or  gaz  in  Persian  " — Boxhornius. 

*  "  The  Scots  brought  tiiis  religion  from  Spain,  before  it  received  any  consider- 
able alterations  from  the  intercourses  with  the  Tyrians,  Phoenicians  and  other 
nations,  who  settled  in  that  country.  It  is  without  dispute,  from  the  glory  and 
renown  which  the  heathen  ministers  of  this  religion  gained  throughout  all  Europe, 
that  the  name  of  ''lERNE,"or  sacred  Isle,  was  given  to  Ireland." — Disser.  on 
Irish  Hist,  page  DS. 

"  Diodorus  Seculus  has  preserved  an  account  out  of  Hecuteus,  a  very  ancient 
author  of  a  northern  Island,  little  less  than  Sicily,  situated  over  against  the  Celtae, 
and  inliabited  by  those  whom  the  Greeks  called  Hyperboreans.  '■  It  is,"  says  he, 
"  fruitful,  pleasant  and  dedicated  to  Apollo.  That  God,  for  the  space  of  nineteen 
years,  used  to  come  and  converse  with  them,  and,  which  is  more  remarkable,  they 
could,  as  if  they  had  the  use  of  Telescopes,  show  the  moon  very  near  them.  They 
had  a  large  grove,  and  temple  of  a  round  form  to  which  llie  Priests  frequently 
resorted  with  their  harps  to  chaunt  the  praises  of  Apollo,  their  great  deity." 
"  The  situation  of  the  Island,  opposite  to  the  Celtae,  who  were  the  inhabitants  of 
Britain,  and  Gallia; — its  being  compared  with  Sicily  in  size  ; — its  being  dedicated 
to  Apollo,  i.  e.  the  sun,  which  planet  the  Iri.'^h  certainly  worshipped  ;  the  descrip- 
tion of  their  temples,  which  were  ahvaj-s  round  ;  and  the  mention  of  their  harps  ; 
are  all  so  many  concurring  circumstances  which  seem  more  than  probable,  that 
this  could  be  no  other  country  than  Ireland." — Vide  Dr.  Smith's  History  of  the 
county  of  Cork,  Vol.  I.  page  207. 


77 

sioti  ;  that  tlie  nation,  from  the  Prince  to  the  peasant  was  divided 
into  classes  ;  that  honour  and  dignities  were  hereditary  in  families  ; 
and  that  in  times  of  the  greatest  distress,  particularly  during  the 
Danish  wars,  these  customs  prevailed  ;  in  fact  the  constitution  ceased 
as  soon  as  they  were  discontinued,  we  must  douht  the  prohability  of 
such  an  interregnum."  Be  this  as  it  may,  the  succeeding  monarch 
was  EocHAiDH,  son  ofDatrcof  the  royal  line  of  Ith.  Whether  it 
was  conquest  or  election  raised  him  to  the  throne,  we  are  not  in- 
formed. He  was  surnamed  Edghachach,  or  of  the  many  coloured 
robe,  because  his  silken  mantle  was  as  variegated  as  the  rainbow. 
He  is  neitlier  distinguished  for  virtues  nor  vices  in  our  annals.  All 
that  we  are  told,  is  that  after  a  disturbed  reign  of  four  years,  he  was 
slain  by  Cearmna,  of  the  line  of  Ir.  The  homicide,  in  conjunction 
with  his  brother  Sobhairce,  assumed  sovereign  power.  TIjey,  like 
many  of  their  predecessors,  made  a  partition  of  the  kingdom. 

The  southern  division,  from  Drogheda  to  Limerick,  was  governed 
by  Cearmna  ;  the  northern,  from  the  Boyne  to  Londonderry,  by 
SoBHAiRCE.  They  were  united  by  affection  and  policy,  but  after  a 
turbulent  reign  of  forty  years,  they  were  defeated  and  slain,  at  the 
battle  of  Tara,  by  Eochaidh  Faobharglas  (or  the  green  blade)  of 
the  royal  dynasty  of  Heber. 

This  Prince  ascended  the  Irish  throne,  A.  M.  2909.  He  caused 
several  forges  to  be  erected  for  the  fabrication  of  martial  weapons. 
He  filled  all  his  arsenals  with  arms,  and  the  appellation  of  Faobhar- 
glas was  given  him,  from  his  having  discovered  the  art  of  giving 
different  colours  to  sword  blades.  We  are  informed  that  the  points 
of  his  javelins,  spears,  and  scimitars  were  green.  Li  the  psalter  of 
Cashel,  he  is  distinguished  by  the  title  of  Faobhardhcarg,  or  the  king 
of  the  bloody  edge,  intimating  the  prowess  of  his  sword  in  cutting 
down  his  enemies  in  battle.  lie  invaded  Scotland,  punished  the 
Picts  for  assisting  the  late  kings  of  the  house  of  Ir,  and  after  oblig- 
ing them  to  pay  tribute  and  give  him  hostages,  bound  them  by  oatli 
never  to  interfere  again  in  the  elections  of  the  Irish  monarchs. 

He  returned  to  Tara  in  triumph,  but  the  Hebereans  conspired 
against  him,  and,  with  their  followers,  attacked  him,  and  succeeded 
in  vanquishing  his  army  and  killing  himself,  at  the  battle  of  Gorman, 
in  Meath. 

FiACHADii  Lahhriiine,  the  chieftain  of  the  victorious  Hebereans, 
was  invested  with  the  royal  purple,  A.  M.  2929.  The  epithet  Zofe/t- 
ruine,  was  given  him  from  Inbher  Labhruine,  a  river,  that  suddenly 
made  its  appearance  in  his  reign.  It  is  also  recorded  that  Lough 
Erne,  in  the  county  of  Fermanagh,  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and 
picturesque  lakes  in  Europe,  overflowed  its  bounds  in  this  reign, 
and  deluged  an  extensive  scope  of  the  country,  belonging,  then,  to 
the  Ernaans  of  the  Belgic  tribe,  from  whom  this  noble  sheet  of 
water  derives  its  name.  In  our  topography  of  the  counties  of  Sligo, 
Fermanagh  and  Cavan,  we  shall  describe  the  enchanting  Islands, 
with  which  Loch  Erne  is  interspersed,  and  the  romantic  domains 
with  which  its  limpid  waters  are  fringed. 

FiACHADH  was  a  Prince  of  martial  genius,  and  great  capacity  for 
government.     lie  defeated  the  Hebereans  in  four  successive  engage- 


78 

ments,  and  afterwards  embarked  willi  liis  son  Anngus,  for  Scotland, 
where  lie  soon  quelled  an  insurrection  of  the  Picts,  from  whom  he 
exacted  the  usual  tribute.*  But  neither  his  virtues,  nor  his  valour 
could  guard  his  throne  from  the  machinations  of  conspirators. 
EociiAiDii,  the  grandson  of  the  monarch  of  that  name,  raised  the 
standard  of  revolt  and  gave  battle  to  Fiacliadh,  on  the  plains  of 
Bealgadin,  where  the  brave  king  fell  covered  with  glory,  after  a 
reign  of  twenty-seven  years.  The  defeat  and  death  of  the  heroic 
Fiachadh  gave  the  victor,  Eochaidh  III.  the  son  of  Maferbhis,  the 
son  of  Eochaidh  11.  possession  of  the  Irish  crown.  He  was  surnamed 
Mumho,  from  his  strength  and  power ;  and  it  is  from  him  that 
Munster  derives  its  name,  as  tlie  psalter  of  Cashel  testifies.  His 
reign  makes  no  great  figure  in  our  annals.  He  lost  his  power  as  he 
gained  it,  by  insurrection.  Aongus,  the  son  of  Fiachadh,  at  the  head 
of  his  adherents  brought  the  king  to  an  engagement,  at  Cliach,  where 
the  royal  troops  were  routed  and  the  monarch  slain,  A.  M.  2975. 
The  accession  of  Aongus,  who  was  distinguished  by  the  appellation 
of  the  Ol-Bhucidhaicli,  or  the  invincible  victor,  to  the  throne,  was 
hailed  by  the  universal  acclamation  of  the  Irish  people.  He  had 
talents  fit  to  shine  in  the  field  and  in  the  cabinet.  In  the  beginning  of 
his  reign,  the  Damnonii  of  Connaught  made  an  attempt  to  shake 
off  his  authority  ;  but  he  soon  suppressed  this  rebellion,  and  reduced 
the  insurgents  to  subjection. 

He  i)ursued  a  legion  of  the  rebels  to  Britain,  whither  they  had  fled 
in  hopes  of  obtaining  succours  from  the  Picts  ;  and  succeeded,  not 
only  in  annihilating  them,  but  in  chastising  also  the  Picts  for  giving 
them  reception,  contrary  to  the  faith  of  treaties. 

He  must,  indeed,  have  met  a  determined  opposition  from  the  revolt- 
ed Belgae,  and  their  allies  the  Picts,  as  our  historians  say  that  they 
fought  30  pitched  battles  with  him,  before  they  had  yielded  to  his 
subjection.  On  his  return  home,  flushed  with  victory,  he  was  obliged 
to  march  to  Thomond  and  Fermanagh,  to  chastise  the  disaffected 
Eriiaans,  and  Fomorians.  Having  thus  crushed  domestic,  and  sub- 
dued foreign  enemies,  he  turned  his  thoughts  to  the  internal  improve- 
ment of  his  kingdom.     He  caused  ten    woods   to  be  cut  down,  and 

*  "This  gallant  king  and  his  son  Aongus,  engaged  the  Scottish  Picts,  and  the 
old  Britons  that  inhabited  Mlania,  and  defeated  them  in  every  action.  The  effect 
of  these  victories  was  an  entire  conquest  of  the  country,  and  a  reduction  of  that 
war-like  people,  the  Caledonians,  as  well  as  the  Picts,  to  pay  homage  to  the  crown  of 
Ireland.  For  though  the  Picts  had  from  the  time  of  Heremon,  been  tributaries  to 
the  Irish,  for  the  space  of  230  years  after  the  Milesians  first  possessed  themselves 
of  the  Island,  yet  the  Scots  never  owned  themselves  under  subjection,  till  they 
were  conquered  by  Fiachadh  Lahhruinc ,  who  compelled  the  whole  kingdom  of 
Scotland  to  obedience,  and  forced  the  inhabitants  to  pay  an  annual  tribute." — 

KKATI^■G. 

"  Indeed  all  our  own  old  historians  admit  tliat  we  were  for  ages  before,  and 
after  the  birth  of  Christ,  tributary  to  the  crown  of  Ireland." — Laing's  Hist  of 
Scotland. 

"  That  Scotland  was  acolony  of  Ireland  cannot  be  denied.  The  evidence  of  his- 
tory is  too  strong  to  be  disputed  by  us.  Dr.  Blair,  witli  all  his  genius  and  national 
enthusiasm,  has  failed  in  his  attempt  to  remove  the  landmarks  of  Scottish  and 
Irish  history." — Disser.  on  the  origin  of  the  Scythian ,  Irish  and  Picts.  Edinburgh, 
17L)l».     Vol.  I.  page  97. 


79 

tlie  soil  wliicli  tliey  had  covered,  to  be  cultivated.  Durinfj  bis  reign, 
it  is  said,  tbat  an  overflowing  of  tbc  ocean  separated  Eaba  from 
Rosketa,  in  Carberiy,  in  tbe  county  of  Sligo.  But  in  tbe  eigbteenth 
year  of  bis  reign,  Eaduna  Airgiitheacii,  tbe  son  of  Eocbaidb 
Mumbo,  caused  a  defection  of  bis  people,  wbich  eventuated  in  bis 
overthrow,  and  death  in  battle.  The  conqueror  Eadhna  ascended 
tbe  throne.  He  received  the  appellation  of  Airghthcach,  or  the 
silver,  from  his  having  bestowed  many  shields  and  targets  of  pure 
silver  on  his  oflicers  as  a  reward  for  their  merit  and  intrepidity  in 
his  Avars. 

This  monarchs  war  chariot,  all  our  historians  say,  was  composed 
of  silver,  and  rendered  still  more  costly  by  the  lavish  embellishments 
of  art  with  which  it  was  ornamented.*  The  Abbe  McGeogbegan, 
however,  conjectures  that  tbe  epithet  Airghtheach  might  have  been 
derived  from  bis  riches,  as  he  amassed  immense  wealth  from  con- 
quests and  tributes.  We  have  no  account  of  his  campaigns,  after 
bis  accession  to  the  throne.  In  tbe  twenty-seventh  year  of  bis  reign, 
in  attempting  to  quell  tlie  insurrection  of  Rotheaciita,  the  grandson 
of  Aongus,  his  army  was  destroyed  and  himself  slain  at  Raighne,  in 
Leinster,  A.  M,  30-20. 

The  success  of  tbe  insurrection,  put  tbe  reins  of  royal  authority 
into  the  bands  of  its  leader. 

There  is  nothing  particular  related  in  our  annals  of  Rotbeacbta, 
but  that  he  fell  by  the  hand  of  Seadhna,  his  successor,  at  tbe  battle 
of  Cruacban,  in  Connaugbt,  after  a  reign  of  twenty-five  years. 

Tbe  victorious  Seadhna,  of  tbe  line  of  Ir,  succeeded  to  the  crown, 
A.  M.  3045,  but  after  a  short  reign  of  five  years,  undistinguished  by 
any  exploit  or  act  of  beneficence,  he  was  barbarously  cut  off  by  bis 
own  son  Fiachadh  at  Ratlicruaclian,  assisted  by  hired  African 
assassins. 

Tbe  vile  parricide,  with  hands  still  reeking  with  tbe  blood  of  his 
parent,  seized  the  sceptre,  A.  M.  3050.  His  atrocious  deed  rendered 
him  an  object  of  general  detestation,  and  conscious  guilt  kept  bis 
niind  in  daily  alarm.  He  never  went  out  of  tbe  recesses  of  bis 
palace,  without  being  surrounded  by  his  guards.  He  obtained  the 
name,  or  adjunct  oi Fiosgothach,  from  his   having  made  wine  from 

*  '•  Certain  it  is  that  the  Irisii  military,  indeed,  Hke  all  true  sons  of  the  blade, 
placed  their  (greatest  glory  in  the  splendour  and  richness  of  their  arms.  This 
HoUnus,  otherwise  no  admirer  of  the  Irish,  fully  confesses.  That  they  also  fought 
in  chariots  highly  ornamented,  cannot  be  doubted  ;  because  our  history  abounds 
with  accounts  of  them,  and  the  beauty,  spirit,  and  even  the  names  ot  the  very 
horses  employed  in  them  are  not  forgot.  Wo  have  seen  when  different  coloured 
l)Iades  were  introduced  l)y  Eochaidh,  and  this,  and  the  detail  of  our  Carcads,  or 
chariots  of  war,  will  fully  explain  the  description  which  Florus  gives  us  of  Botuitus, 
in  the  Allobrogian  war,  '•  who  added  splendour  to  the  triumph,  being  drawn  in 
his  silver  chariot  with  his  arms  of  different  colours,  such  as  lie  fought  with." — 
O'Halloran. 

'•  The  order  of  battle  among  the  old  Irish  soldiers  is  not  sufficiently  explained 
by  the  prints  and  manuscripts  that  have  fallen  into  our  hands;  but  this  we  are 
assured  of,  that  their  Carcads^  or  military  chariots,  were  of  great  use  ;  by  creating 
confusion,  and  breaking  the  rank.s  of  an  enemy,  in  plains  of  too  great  an  extent. 
So  expert  were  they  in  this  kind  of  exercise,  that  great  feats  are  recorded  of  sonic 
of  our  ancient  military  ciiarioteers.  The  chariots  of  Connal  Kearnagh,  and 
CuchuUin  have  been  immortalized  l)y  Ossian. —  Diss,  on  Irish  Hist,  page  66. 


80 

certain  flowers,  with  vvliich  Ireland,  it  is  said,  abounded  in  those 
days.  O'Halloran  is  of  opinion,  that  the  culture  of  vines  was  much 
improved  at  this  time  ;  and  that  conjecture  is  still  borne  out  more 
strongly  by  the  authority  of  other  antiquarian  writers.*  But  notwith- 
standing the  precaution  o^  Fiachadh,  and  the  vigilance  of  his  guards, 
divine  vengeance  at  length  overtook  him,  in  the  twentieth  year  of 
his  reign. 

In  an  engagement  with  Muinheamhoin,  of  the  royal  stock  of 
Heber,  he  lost  his  life  and  throne,  A.  M.  3070. 

The  Victor,  as  usual,  ascended  the  throne  of  his  predecessor,  by 
the  unanimous  consent  of  a  people  who,  for  twenty  years,  groaned 
under  the  despotism  of  a  cruel  implacable  tyrant.  Muinheamhoin 
began  his  reign  under  the  most  flattering  national  auspices,  and  his 
government  daily  developed  the  beneficial  effects  of  the  justice  and 
clemency  which  constituted  its  basis.  The  blessings  of  peace  pro- 
moted national  happiness  and  prosperity.  He  was  the  founder  of 
the  royal  order  of  the  golden- collar,  which  became  afterwards  so 
honorable,  that  no  Prince  could  presume  to  ascend  the  throne  of 
Ireland,  who  did  not  belong  to  it.  He  who  aspired  to  this  exalted 
order,  besides  being  of  noble  birth,  should  also  give  the  following 
proofs  of  chivalric  dexterity,  before  he  could  be  admitted  a  member 
of  it.  A  buckler  was  attached  to  a  post,  in  the  middle  of  a  plain, 
and  according  to  the  number  of  lances  that  the  candidate  broke 
against  it  in  running,  he  was  more  or  less  honoured,  and  if  he  was 
at  his  first  essay,  fortunate  enough,  in  breaking  the  prescribed 
number,  he  in  that  case  gained  his  admission,  and  the  Herald  at 
arms  then  recommended  him  to  the  king,  before  whom,  and  the 
knights,  he  was  to  exhibit  other  feats  of  chivalry,  in  the  court  of 
tournament,  where  the  monarch  invested  him  with  the  collar. 
Froissard  informs  us,  that  the  same  ceremony  was  obser\ed  at  the 
reception  of  a  king's  son  into  this  illustrious  order,  and  as  they  were 
sometimes  admitted  at  a  very  tender  age,  they  were  furnished  with 
lances  of  a  weight  proportioned  to  their  strength.  At  the  age  of 
seven  3'ears,  the  Princes  were  inducted  in  the  military  academy  at 
Tara,  where  they  were  regularly  instructed  in  military  discipline. 
The  first  arms  put  into  their  hands,  in  the  academy,  were  a  lance 
and  sword  ;  at  ten  years  of  age,  they  were  exercised  in  casting  a 
javelin  at   a  mark,  at   which,  in  process  of  time  they  became   so 

*  "  That  the  Milesians  introduced  the  vine  in  Ireland  there  can  he  no  dispute  ; 
from  the  accounts  which  we  have  in  old  poems,  and  genealogies,  of  the  vast  quan- 
tities of  wine  wjiich  were  used  at  their  feasts  and  entertainments."  We  have  no 
authority  of  their  having  imported  any  wine. — Leslie's  Irish  Sijlva.  Dublin  1735. 
Paae  177. 

"The  culture  of  the  vine  was  so  much  regarded  by  the  ancient  Irish  that  the 
Brehons  promulgated  a  special  law  for  the  protection  and  encouragement  of  the 
vine-fields." — Vide  J.  C.  Walker  s  Rise  and  Progress  of  Gardening,  in  Ireland. 

"  It  seems  clear  to  me,  that  wine  was  formerly  made  amongst  us.  The  venera- 
ble Bcdc,  in  his  Ecclesiastical  history,  affirms  that  wine  was  very  plenty  in  Ire- 
land, and  should  his  testimony  want  further  support,  we  find  Irish  words  for 
everything  relative  to  this  precious  fruit;  As  Fior.-Jitihuin,  which  signifies  a 
vine-yard,  F/o7i-DJo.«,  a  wine  press,  Fion-Chaor,  a  grape,  »fcc.,  so  that  it  is  with 
some  reason  I  assert,  that  about  this  time  the  culture  of  vines  was  much  improved 
in  Ireland.  — O'Halloran. 


81 

expert  as  to  transfix  a  brazen  shield  at  every  aim.  After  becoming 
proficients  in  this  exercise,  they  then  practised  the  Cran-Tubal  or 
sHng,  from  which  tliey  could  dart  balls  with  great  force  and  preci- 
sion. Having  acquired  a  perfect  mastery  over  these  weapons  ;  at 
fourteen  they  mounted  the  war  chariot,  armed  with  the  long  spear 
and  heavy  battle  axe,  and  as  soon  as  they  could  sufficiently  govern 
their  coursers,  and  dri\e  them  through  various  evolutions  with  quick 
celerity,  with  one  hand,  and  wield  the  spear  and  battle  axe,  alternately, 
with  the  other,  they  were  admitted  to  the  honour  of  knighthood,  and 
assigned  a  command  in  their  father's  army. 

Let  it  not  be  supposed  from  this  statement,  that  all  their  time  was 
devoted  to  the  study  of  arms  :  on  the  contrary,  they  were  also 
obliged  to  be  conversant  with  general  literature  and  science  ;  for  it 
is  a  historical  fact,  that  poetry  was  such  an  essential  branch  of  edu- 
cation among  the  Irish  Princes,  that  every  king,  ere  he  ascended 
the  throne,  was  necessitated  to  compose  the  funeral  song  of  his  pre- 
decessor, and  sing  it  to  his  harp. 

MuiNHEAMHoiN,  also  causcd  helmets  to  be  made,  ornamented  with 
pure  gold,  which  he  distributed  among  the  bravest  of  the  military 
and  the  most  meritorious  of  the  nobles.*  Dr.  O'Halloran  informs 
us,  that  the  gold,  in  the  front  of  the  helmet,  was  in  the  form  of  a 
crescent ;  that  he  had  seen  several  of  them  ;  and  had  one  for  a  con- 
siderable time  in  his  possession,  which  weighed  tliree  ounces. 
Indeed,  in  the  course  of  this  history,  we  shall  have  ample  opportu- 
nities to  dilate  on  the  vast  quantities  of  gold,  silver,  and  precious 
stones,  which  were  possessed  by  the  old  Irish.t 

The  reign  of  this  Prince,  which  was  a  continued  scene  of  peace, 
and  internal  improvement,  lasted  but  five  years,  he  was  carried  off 
by  the  plague,  A.  M.  3075.  He  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Aldergoid, 
a  Prince  of  whom  little  is  recorded,  except  that  he  invested  the 
Bards,  and  Ollamhs  (Doctors)  with  new  powers  and  dignities,  and 
as  an  honorary  mark  of  distinction,  he  ordered  them  to  wear  gold 

*  "  The  ancient  Irish  nobility,  before  the  arrival  of  the  English,  were  the  Righ, 
JVeimcd,  Toifcach,  Tiarna  and  Flath.  The  first  was  the  provincial  king;  the 
second  the  chief  of  a  large  district ;  the  third  a  military  leader ;  and  the  last  the 
ruler  of  a  Rath."  (The  Raths  are  large,  lofty  and  circular  motes,  composed  of 
stone,  bedded  in  lime,  and  clay,  and  generally  encompassed  with  a  high  rampart. 
Their  number  in  Ireland  is  innumerable.  In  many  of  them  are  caves,  and  circu- 
lar chambers  of  spacious  extent.  They  are  in  general  so  situated,  that  a  corres- 
pondence, by  telegraphic  signals,  could  be  expeditiously  circulated  from  one  to 
another,  throughout  the  country.  Antiquarians  are  not  agreed  as  to  the  epoch 
of  their  erection;  but  we  shall  treat  of  these  mounds  elsewhere,  in  this  work.) 
"  This  order  of  nobility  held  in  a  chain  of  subordination  by  feudal  tenures,  from  the 
Jlrd  Righ,  or  supreme  monarch  of  the  Isle." — Anthilogia  Hib.  Vol.  I.  page  38. 

Every  tribe  had  its  legitimate  chief  or  head  of  a  clan,  among  whom  the  country 
was  divided.  The  principal  chieftains  of  Ireland,  on  the  landing  of  Henry  II. 
were — McCarthy,  Prince  of  Desmond  ;  O'Brien,  Prince  ofThomond;  Kinselagh, 
Prince  of  Leinster,  as  the  descendant  of  Cahir  the  great;  Urial,  or  Uladh,  under 
the  O'Donlevys  and  McIVIahon's ;  Clan-Coleman,  chieftains  of  Meath ;  the 
O'Neil's  and  O'Donnels,  Princes  of  Ulster;  and  the  O'Connor's,  Princes  of  Hy- 
Fiacra,  or  Connaught. — Disser.  on  Irish  Hist,  page  I7G. 

t  "  The  ancient  Irish  were  very  fond  of  gold  ornaments,  and  utensils.     Spenser 
relates  that  they  used  golden  bridle  bits,  stirrups,  spurs,  petronels.  drinking  cups, 
and  candlesticks,  even  in  his  day,  when  they  were  suffering  under  the  grinding 
laws  of  Queen  Elizabeth." — Vallancey. 
11 


rings  on  their  fingers.  From  allowing  the  poets  and  artists  to  deck, 
their  hands  with  rings,  he  got  the  appellation  of  Aldergoid,  as  we 
are  told  by  the  Psalter  of  Cashel.  For  Failgc,  or  faine,  signifies  a 
ring  or  gold;  and  doid,  the  hand.  This  was  the  origin  of  wearing  rings 
in  Ireland.  We  believe  the  custom  of  embellishing  the  hand  with  rings 
originated  in  Egypt.  We  read  in  the  Bible  that  Pharaoh,  presented 
Joseph  with  gold  rings,  when  he  interpreted  his  dream.  After  the 
reign  of  Aldergoid,  the  custom  of  wearing  rings,  in  Ireland,  remained 
ail  honorary  distinction.  AVhen  the  monarch  appointed  his  poet 
Laureate,  he  placed  a  ring  on  his  finger,  with  his  own  hands.  We 
are  told  by  historians,  that  in  the  eighth  century,  when  Claude  Cle- 
ment, and  John  Scot,  both  Irishmen,  and  the  founders  of  the  univer- 
si:y  of  Paris,  were  appointed  regents  of  the  Colleges  of  Pavia,  and 
Paris,  by  Charlemagne,  they  first  introduced  the  Birede,  or  Doctor's 
cap,  and  the  gold  ring,  by  which  distinctive  investments  they  preced- 
ed all  ranks,  but  the  nobility. 

In  the  twelfth  year  of  his  reign,  the  Irish,  instigated  by  Eochaidh, 
the  son  of  Fiachadh,  of  the  house  of  Ir,  broke  out  in  rebellion  against 
Aldergoid,  who  on  coming  to  an  engagement  with  the  insurgents, 
was  killed  at  the  battle  of  Tara,  A.  M.  3087. 

After  this  victory,  Eochaidii  took  possession  of  the  throne.  His 
coronation  presented  one  of  the  most  splendid  spectacles  that  was 
ever  witnessed  in  Ireland ;  all  the  Druids,  Bards,  Warriors,  Nobles, 
and  Knights  in  the  kingdom  were  present  at  the  august  and  pompous 
ceremony.  Being  a  Prince  of  extensive  attainments  and  a  lover  of 
literature,  and  the  arts,  at  his  inauguration  he  assumed  the  Bardic 
habit,  and  the  name  of  Ollamh  Fodhla,  or  the  Doctor  of  Irelarid. 
"  Fodhla,'^  says  O'Flaherty,  "  was  the  name  given  to  Ireland  by  the 
Gaodhals,  or  Iberian  Scots."  The  reign  of  this  Prince  commenced 
about  sis  hundred  years  before  the  Christian  era.  His  literary 
talents,  and  legislative  wisdom  are  emblazoned  by  our  historians  in 
the  most  brilliant  picture,  that  the  genuis  of  Irish  poetry  could  paint. 

Annalists  and  Bards  have  pronounced  his  apotheosis  and  arrayed 
his  fame  with  the  splendour  of  "  every  virtue  under  heaven."  Tho 
salutary  laws  which  he  enacted,  the  judicious  institutions  he  establish- 
ed, the  encouragement  he  gave  to  genius,  and  the  beneficial  reforms 
he  eftected,  in  every  branch  of  the  government,  must  ever  keep  his 
name  buoyant  on  the  flood  of  historical  panegyric.  It  is  not,  then, 
too  much  to  say  that  his  reign  constitutes  the  most  memorable  epoch 
in  the  Milesian  annals.  For  until  his  sagacity  and  judgment  reme- 
died the  evils  of  ages,  the  Milesians  could  not  be  said  to  possess  a 
government  under  the  wholesome  and  wise  restriction  of  impartial 
laws  and  civil  policy. 

The  first  great  measure  of  his  reign  was  to  establish  a  National 
Convention  at  Tara.*     The  national  assembly  consisted  of  the  pro- 

*  "  Tara  was  the  royal  seat  of  the  kings  of  Ireland,  and  the  principal  court  of 
legislation  from  the  days  of  this  renowned  monarch,  down  to  the  reign  of  Dcrmod 
O'Carroll,  A.  D.  560,  so  that  the  Fes,  or  parliament,  continued  its  sittings  from 
time  to  time  there,  through  a  series  of  more  tlian  eleven  hundred  years.  Since 
the  year  of  Christ,  500,  our  national  assemblies  were  removed  from  Tcamorc,  and 
kept  occasionally  in  other  parts  of  the  Island,  patrimonially  subject  to  the  north 


83 

vincial  Kings,  Nobles,  Druids,  Brehons,  Bards  and  Artists.  This 
parliament  was  convened  three  days  before  the  great  feast  o{ Samlmin 
(or  the  Moon)  and  the  two  first  days  were  spent  in  making  visits, 
the  third  in  celebrating  the  rites  and  festivities  of  the  moon  in  tlie 
grand  temple.  The  Druids  having  performed  the  sacred  mysteries, 
the  temple  was  illuminated,  and  tlieir  deities  invoked  to  look  with 
a  propitious  eye  on  the  national  councils.  The  three  succeeding 
days  were  devoted  to  joy  and  festivity  ;  all  the  people  mingled  in  the 
general  carnival  without  distinction. 

On  the  fourth  day,  the  Esquires  of  the  nobility,  being  summoned 
,  by  the  sound  of  a  trumpet,  appeared  at  the  Portico  of  the  grand  hall, 
and  delivered  up  the  sliields  and  ensigns  of  their  chiefs,  to  the  depu- 
ties of  the  great  marshal  of  the  crown. 

These  shields  and  banners  were  placed  according  to  the  rank  of 
their  different  owners,  by  the  king  at  arms,  on  stands  appropriated 
for  them,  in  the  senatorial  hall.  All  these  banners,  by  order  of  the 
monarch,  had  the  family  coat  of  arms  emblazoned  upon  them,  but  as 
we  intend  to  devote  part  of  the  next  chapter  to  the  armorial  bearings 
and  heraldic  devices  of  the  Irish  Princes,  we  will  not  enter  into  a  detail 
here.  Soon  after  the  target  bearers  of  the  general  officers  were 
called  by  a  second  blast  of  the  trumpet  to  deliver  up  their  targets. 
As  soon  as  these  were  arranged,  all  the  heralds  stationed  themselves 
on  a  gallery  before  the  grand  portico,  and  gave  a  royal  flourish  of 
trumpets,  when  immediately  after,  the  gorgeous  procession,  headed 
by  the  supreme  monarch,  arrayed  in  his  royal  robes,  and  supported 
by  his  standard  bearers,  commenced ;  the  Queen,  supported  by  two 
Princesses,  having  her  train  borne  by  fifty  maids  of  honour,  followed 
by  the  hundred  virgins  of  the  moon,  moved  after  the  king  in  the 
order  of  march  ;  then  came  the  four  provincial  kings,  followed  by  the 
Druids,  Nobility,  Bards,  Knights,  Esquires  and  Soldiers.  The 
entrance  of  the  assembly  was  announced  by  sacred  odes  set  to  a 
grand  variety  of  musical  instruments.  3Iiodh  Ciiarta,  (or  the  house 
of  kings  and  nobles,)  the  great  chamber  of  the  national  representa- 
tives, was  three  hundred  feet  long,  thirty  cubits  high,  and  fifty  in 
width.  It  had  access  by  fourteen  doors,  which  opened  on  several 
adjoining  apartments,  fitted  up  for  the  kings  and  deputies  of  each 
province. 

The  monarch's  throne  was  placed  in  the  centre  of  the  hall,  under 
a  richly  ornamented  canopy  of  yellow  and  scarlet  silk.  Behind  the 
throne  there  was  a  gallery  for  the  accommodation  of  the  Queen, 
Princesses,  ladies,  and  the  virgins  of  the  moon.     The  space  that  in- 

and  south  Hy-Nials.  Tara,  for  some  wicked  proceedings  (of  which  great  national 
councils  give  but  too  many  instances)  was  formally  pronounced  accursed  by  the 
Arch-Bishop  of  Armagh  and  his  suffragans,  and  no  monarch  of  Ireland  sat  there, 
after  the  period  we  have  mentioned,  down  to  the  dissolution  of  the  monarchy, 
under  Roderick  O'Connor."' — Disscr.  on  Irish  Hist. 

All  that  now  remains  of  the  once  magnificent  palace  of  Tara — of  the  hall  of  the 
national  assembly,  and  of  its  stupendous  Druidical  college,  is  a  ruined  castle 
on  the  summit  of  a  hill,  and  the  moss-clad  fragments  of  an  ancient  abbey  on  the 
neighbouring  eminence  of  Skreene,  in  the  county  of  Mcath.  Such  are  the  relics, 
not  like  those  of  Perscpolis  or  Jerusalem,  "  grand  even  in  desolation,"  of  the  regal 
residence  of  a  thousand  Irish  kings. — Author. 


84 

tervened  the  back  of  the  throne,  and  the  gallery,  was  occupied  by 
the  seat  of  the  king  of  Connaught,  over  whom  four  knights  held  a 
green  and  purple  canopy,  emblazoned  with  his  arms  ;  as  well  as  with 
parallel  rows  of  benches  for  the  Ollamhs,  or  Doctors.  The  particu- 
lar reason  for  placing  the  king  of  Connaught  in  the  back  ground,  is 
not  sufficiently  explained  by  any  account  extant.  OTlaherty  cnn- 
jectures  tliat  the  cause  was  owing  to  the  king  of  Connaught  being 
of  the  Belgic  race,  and  coiiseqnently,  not  entitled  to  so  eminent  a 
station,  in  the  assembly,  as  the  Milesian  Princes. 

The  king  of  Leinster's  throne  fronted  the  monarch,  whose  face 
was  turned  to  the  west.  The  kings  of  Ulster  and  Munster  occupied 
thrones  on  the  right  and  left  hand  side. 

Long  benclies  were  erected  for  the  other  orders  of  the  state.  Of 
these  benches  the  Druids,  the  Bards,  and  Brehons,  took  the  first  ;  next 
to  these  sat  the  hereditary  marshal,  standard  bearers  and  treasurer  ; 
then  the  nobility,  knights,  beatachs,  and  representatives  of  towns  and 
cities.  On  one  side  there  was  a  gallery  for  the  convenience  of  the 
deputies  of  the  Picts,  Brigantes  of  Britain,  and  oih.er  strangers. 
Such  was  the  order  of  the  sittings  of  the  great  National  Conven- 
tion of  Tara,  which  for  ages  after  met  triennially.  The  object  of 
this  legislative  body  was  to  regulate  the  affairs  of  the  state  ;  to  frame 
a  new  code  of  laws  ;  and  to  repeal  such  as  were  found  inconsistent 
with  the  good  of  the  subject ;  and  which  might  have  been  enacted 
through  the  ignorance  of  former  legislators,  or  derive  prescriptive 
authority  from  the  caprice  of  custom.  A  salutary  revision  of  old 
laws,  and  the  enactment  of  new  ones  occupied  the  first  deliberations 
of  tliis  senate. 

They  took  cognizance  of  every  thing  connected  with  the  state. 
Foreign  alliances,  peace,  and  war,  and  a  rigorous  examination  of 
the  national  records,  were  matters  of  primary  consideration.  All 
their  decisions  were  reduced  by  the  recording  Brehons  into  verse, 
and  after  being  properly  attested,  registered  in  the  royal  archives.* 

*  '-The  Brelion  Fileas,weie  commissioned  to  set  down  in  writing  every  remark- 
able transaction  worth  recording,  that  happened  in  the  kingdom,  as  well  as  in  the 
neighbouring  states,  agreeably  to  the  truth  of  tlie  facts; — and  lest  any  error,  or 
false  insinuation  should  creep  in  or  be  introduced,  they  were  bound  in  the  general 
convention,  or  in  the  presence  of  the  chief  monarch,  and  a  select  committee  of 
the  nobility  and  Druids,  to  produce  their  writings  every  three  years,  when,  after 
a  diligent  examination,  and  having  expunged  every  fact,  which  appeared  either 
uncertain  or  of  doubtful  authority,  from  the  record,  and  none  preserved  but  what 
was  sanctioned  by  the  votes  of  all  as  worthy  of  the  great  Psalter  of  Tara ;  so 
called  because  it  was  compiled  in  verse  to  aid  the  memory,  and  to  guard  against 
corruptions  and  falsifications." — Primate  Usher. 

"  To  remedy  the  great  evil  of  fictitious  history,  the  productions  of  the  historio- 
graphers were  examined  in  the  great  Fes  or  parliament  of  Tara.  Historical 
calumny  was  punished  by  a  standing  law.  Thus  the  vast  uncertainties  to  which 
the  history  of  a  free  and  divided  people,  is  ever  liable,  were  in  a  good  degree  pre- 
vented by  the  dread  of  legal  inflictions." — Dissert,  on  Irish  Hist. 

"  Jn  this  manner  tiie  ancient  Irish  preserved  the  anecdotes  of  every  public 
transaction  that  was  of  importance  enough  to  be  delivered  down  to  the  world;  and 
it  was  a  care  perhaps  peculiar  to  these  people.  The  authors  who  had  the  insolence 
to  impose  upon  posterity,  either  by  pervcrtingmattersof  fact,  or  representing  them 
in  partial  and  improper  colours,  to  the  unmerited  reproach  of  any  character  were 
solemnly  degraded  from  the  honour  of  sitting  in  the  national  assembly." — 
Warner. 


85 

"What  time  tlie  parliament  of  Tara,"  says  the  learned  O'Connor, 
"took  up  in  despatcliing  the  multiplicity  of  aftairs  laid  before  them, 
and  what  their  order  of  debate,  and  voting,  we  could  not,  by  all 
inquiries,  hitherto  learn.  What  we  know  for  certain  of  Irish  legis- 
lation, m:iy  be  brought  within  a  small  compass.  The  forms  of  the 
admirable  constitution  establisiied  by  Ollainh  Fud/ila,  were  observed, 
even  in  the  distractions  of  civil  war.  Their  sessions  were  triennial  ; 
and  in  ratifying  their  ordinances,  they  took  up  six  whole  days, 
before  tlie  monarch  gave  them  the  royal  assent."  In  this  high  court 
the  provincial  kings  were  obliged  to  answer  to  the  comjilaints  of 
their  subjects,  and  become  responsible  to  the  laws.  If  any  prince 
proved  refractory,  every  order  in  the  state  was  to  send  in  a  certain 
quota  of  men,  who  in  conjunction  with  the  forces  of  the  monarch, 
brought  him  to  subjection. 

This  great  legislator  also  enacted  a  law  against  the  crime  of  rape, 
by  which  the  delinquent  was  to  sufter  death,  without  liberty  to  make 
an  appeal  to  royal  clemency. 

The  same  punishment  was  inflicted  upon  any  one  who  molested 
any  of  the  women  of  the  [irovincial  Queens,  during  the  session;  or 
who  should  assault  or  annoy  a  member  of  parliament  going  to,  or 
coming  from  the  hall  of  assembly.  In  order  to  give  females  the 
respect  and  regard  which  they  deserved  in  society,  the  provincial 
Queens  were  empowered  by  the  laws  of  this  legislator,  to  discuss  on, 
and  devise  regulations  for  the  benefit  of  their  sex,  in  an  assembly 
which  was  called  Griannan  na  NingJican,  or  the  sacred  council  of 
the  ladies. 

There  were  also  assemblies  here  of  an  inferior  nature,  a  particu- 
lar court  of  justice  was  appointed  to  receive  appeals  from  the  pro- 
vinces against  the  petty  despotism  of  subordinate  chiefs,  which  was 
called  Realta  na  Fhilcadh,  or  the  decision  of  justice.  All  the  records 
of  the  kingdom  underwent  a  strict  and  critical  examination,  and  the 
antiquarians  became  subject  to  the  severest  penalties,  if  they  were 
convicted  of  falsehood,  or  of  poisoning  by  slander,  the  current  of 
historical  accuracy.  An  abstract  of  all  the  provincial  records  waa 
registered  in  the  "  Senachas  More,''''  or  the  great  story  of  antiquity, 
and  then  deposited  in  the  archives  of  Tara.  This  famous  Psalter 
commenced  with  the  origin,  exploits  and  migrations  of  the  Milesians, 
written  by  Ollamh  himself.  But  besides  this  general  repository  of 
Irish  affairs,  every  province  was  obliged  to  keep  a  separate  history, 
whence  arose  the  Psalter  of  Cashel,  the  Psalters  of  Armagh,  and 
Tuam  ;  the  books  of  Lealh-Cuin,  Dromsneachta,  Glendaloch,  of 
conquests  and  invasions.  This  monarch  likewise  established  at  Tara 
a  university  called  3Inr-Ollamhan,  or  the  college  of  Doctors  ;  and 
invested  such  as  took  their  degrees  here,  with  a  privilege  of  taking 
precedence  of  all  others  of  the  same  rank,  in  the  kingdom.  Such 
were  the  institutions  of  this  enlightened  and  learned  legislator — 
institutions  foimded  on  the  soundest  principles  of  justice  and  equity, 
and  which  the  nation  always  looked  upon  as  the  great  and  sacred 
charter  of  their  liberties.  After  an  auspicious  reign  of  forty  years — 
a  reign  ennobled  by  royal  virtue,  and  rendered  immortal  by  the 
performance  of  acts  of  justice,  of  philanthropy  and   general  utility, 


86 

our  great  legislator  died  at  the  palace  of  Tara,  A.  M.  3122,  full  of 
years  and  glory  ;  leaving  a  rich  and  prosperous  kingdom  to  his 
son,  without  a  rival  to  question  his  right  of  succession. 


CHAPTER  X. 

The  reigns  of  Fion,  SlanoU. — Irish  Heraldry : — Milesian  Banners  and  J)rmorial 
Bearings . —  The  accession  of  Gicde  to  the  throne: — The  reign  of  Fiachadh  III. — 
of  Beorngall — of  O'Lioll — of  Siorna  and  Kothcachta. 

A  great  Prince  seldom  has  a  great  son,  as  the  evidence  of  history 
demonstrates.  The  sons  of  Pompey  and  Constantine  the  Great, 
neither  inherited  the  valour,  the  magnanimity,  nor  expanded  intel- 
lect of  their  illustrious  fathers.  Had  the  son  of  Napoleon  lived,  and 
been  raised  to  that  throne  on  which  his  illustrious  father  shed  such 
radiant  glory,  it  is  probable  that  he  would  not  have  displayed  tlie 
genius  or  heroism  of  his  great  and  magnanimous  sire. 

Our  celebrated  law-giver,  Ollamh  Foclhla,  was  succeeded  by  his  son, 
FioNN,  whom  the  Irish  annalists  designated  Fionn  Sneachdach,  in 
consequence  of  the  unusual  quantities  of  snow  that  fell  every  suc- 
ceeding winter  during  his  reign. 

This  Pi'ince  is  represented  to  have  been  mild  and  condescending 
in  his  behaviour,  but  much  addicted  to  amatory  gallantry;  so  that 
his  court  exhibited  a  continued  scene  of  luxury  and  intrigue.  The 
cares  and  duties  of  governing  the  nation  devolved  upon  his  minis- 
ters, while  he  himself  ingloriously  lolled  on  the  soft  lap  of  beauty. 
After  a  reign  of  twenty  years,  a  reign  only  distinguished  for  profli- 
gacy, and  demoralizing  vices,  he  died  of  a  fever,  occasioned  by 
excess  of  voluptuous  pleasures,  at  Tara,  A.  M.  3142.  Leaving  no 
legitimate  issue,  his  brother  Slainteacli  (the  all  healthy)  was  called 
to  the  throne  by  the  unanimous  wishes  of  the  nation. 

The  appellation  of  the  all  healthi/  was  bestowed  upon  him,  because 
no  virulent  or  epidemic  distemper  broke  out  in  Ireland,  during  his 
administration.  He  commenced  his  reign  by  making  the  most 
salutary  reforms  in  the  system  of  government,  from  which  he  lopped 
off  all  the  cankering  abuses,  that  crept  into  it,  during  the  injudicious 
administration  of  his  brother.  He  summoned  the  estates  to  Tara, 
and  caused  many  plans,  designed  by  his  father,  to  be  carried  into 
effect.  The  laws  of  Heraldry  were  put  in  active  operation.  Every 
noble  family  had  to  furnish  an  attested  and  authenticated  account 
of  its  pedigree,  and  genealogies,  from  the  days  of  Milesius,  which 
after  having  undergone  the  most  scrutinous  inquiry  from  the  Chro- 
nologers  and  antifprnrian  Heralds,  was  registered  in  the  records  of 
nobility  at  Tara.  Such  nobles  as  adduced  the  requisite  proofs  of 
their  Milesian  descent,  were  assigned  a  coat  of  arms,  allowed  to 
assume  badges  of  distinction,  and  emblazon  their  shields  with  symbolic 
devices.  The  warriors  adorned  their  helmets  with  a  crest,  which 
generally  represented  some  savage  beast,  or  fierce   bird  of  prey  ; 


87 

these  emblematie  fio;ures,  and  high  waving  piumes  distinguislied  ihe 
different  leaders  in  battle,  and  served  at  once  to  encourage  their 
soldiers  and  dismay  their  enemies.  The  chiefs  who  signally  distin- 
guished themselves  by  valour  in  a  particular  battle,  were  granted 
permission  by  the  king,  to  delineate  their  banners  with  representa- 
tions of  the  trees  and  herbage  that  grew  in  the  field  of  fight,  as 
glorious  symbols  of  their  gallantry.* 

The  royal  banner  of  our  Milesian  monarchs,  which  displayed  its 
emblazoned  quarterings  to  the  terrified  Romans,  at  the  battle  of 
Cannae,  and  on  the  hills  of  Caledonia,  and  the  wall  of  Severus, 
presented  a  dead  serpent  suspended  from  the  miraculous  rod  of 
Moses.  The  cause  of  this  device  on  our  royal  ensign,  is  owing  to 
the  Hebrew  prophet  having,  as  we  have  already  recorded,  cured  the 
wound  which  the  bite  of  a  serpent  had  inflicted  on  the  neck  of 
Gadelus. 

The  harp,  as  we  heretofore  mentioned,  was  borne  on  the  banner 
o(  Slaingc,  the  Belgic  chief,  and  first  monarch  of  Ireland;  and  tlie 
Milesians  continued  the  national  emblem  until  the  con(|uest  of  the 
Island.  The  misunderstanding  that  occurred  between  the  two 
Milesian  Princes,  Heber  and  Hercmon,  as  related  in  our  preceding 

*  "  Our  Irish  annals  are  very  particular  in  accounting  for  tlie  arms  and  devices 
borne  by  several  eminent  persons,  and  the  most  flourishing  nations.  They  inform 
us  that  Hector,  the  Trojan  liero,  bore  sable,  two  lions  combatant,  or  that  Osiris 
bore  a  Sceptre-royal  ensigned  on  the  top  with  an  eye ; — Hercules  bore  a  lion  ram- 
pant, holding  a  battle  axe  : — the  arms  of  tlie  kingdom  of  Macedon  were  a  wolf — 
Anubcs  bore  a  dog;  the  Scythians,  who  remained  in  the  country  and  made  no 
conquests  abroad  as  the  Gadelians  did,  bore  a  thunderbolt; — the  Egyptians  bore 
an  ox;  the  Phrygians  a  swine  ;  the  Tliracians  painted  the  god  Mars  upon  their 
banners;  the  Romans  an  eagle,  and  the  Persians  bows  and  arrows.  The  old  poet 
Homer,  relates,  that  several  curious  devices  were  raised  on  the  shield  of  Achilles, 
such  as  the  motions  of  the  sun  and  moon,  the  stars  and  planets,  a  sphere  with  the 
celestial  bodies,  the  situation  of  the  earth,  the  ebbing  and  flowing  of  the  sea,  with 
other  uncommon  decorations  and  ornaments  that  rendered  it  beautiful  and  surpris- 
ing. Alexander  the  Great  bore  a  lion  rampant,  and  ordered  his  soldiers  to  display 
the  same  arms  upon  their  shields,  as  a  distinguishing  mark  of  their  valour  and 
military  achievements  : — Ulysses  bore  a  Dolphin,  and  the  Giant  Typhon  belchino- 
out  flames  of  fire  :  the  arms  of  Perseus  was  a  Medusa's  head  ;  Antiochus  chose  a 
lion  and  a  white  wand  for  his : — Theseus  bore  an  ox,  and  Seleucus  a  bull  : — 
Augustus  Cffisar  bore  the  image  of  Alexander  the  Great;  but  soinetimes,  he  laid 
tliat  aside,  and  used  the  sign  Capricorn ;  at  other  times  he  blazoned  a  globe,  or  the 
helm  of  a  ship,  supported  commonly  by  an  anchor  and  dolphin." — Keating. 

"The  author  of  the  Lcahhar  Lcai/tr/,  treating  upon  this  subject,  gives  this  account 
of  the  coat  of  arms  of  tlie  twelve  tribes  of  Israel : — the  tribe  of  Reul)en  had  a 
mandrake  painted  upon  their  banners;  Simeon,  a  spear ;  Levi  the  ark;  Judah  a 
lion  ;  Issachar  an  ass  ;  Zebulon  a  ship  ;  Napthali  a  deer  ;  Gad  a  lioness  ;  Joseph 
a  bull ;  Benjamin  a  wolf;  Dan  a  serpent ;  and  Asher  a  branch  of  vine." — Ogygia. 

"  There  was  no  nation  where  heraldic  distinctions  were  more  strictly  regulated 
than  in  Ireland.  When  a  chieftain  distinguished  himself  against  the  enemy,  his 
name  and  exploit  were  immediately  entered  into  the  records  of  his  house,  to  be  trans- 
mitted down  from  father  to  son  ;  and  by  that  means  to  inspire  the  several  branches 
of  the  family  with  an  emulation  to  imitate  such  a  great  example. 

The  yellow  banner  emblazoned  with  the  dead  serpent,  and  the  rod  of  Moses,  was 
borne  by  the  standard  bearer  of  Roderick  O'Connor,  when  that  last  monarch  of 
Erin  had  an  interview  with  Henry  II." — Warner. 

"  The  origin  of  Heraldry  among  us  is  undoubtedly  very  remote ;  I  think  it  at 
least  coeval  with  military  institutions,  and  that  it  has  preceded  those  of  chivalry. 

The  business  of  the  Senachie,  or  antiquarian,  was  to  preserve  the  pedigrees  of 
families  only,  whilst  that  of  the  Marascal,  or  Herald,  was  to  blazon  their  arms,  and 
determine  their  rank." — O'Halloran. 


88 

pages,  concerning  the  possession  of  a  famous  poet  and  a  masterly 
musician,  who  came  in  their  suit  from  Spain,  on  being  amicably- 
adjusted  by  the  decision  of  the  arch-Druid,  Amhergin,  who  assigned 
the  musician  to  Heber,  and  the  poet  to  Heremon.  The  brothers,  to 
commemorate  this  happy  concordance  and  settlement  of  their  difler- 
ence,  quartered  the  harp  on  their  ensigns,  with  the  serpent  and 
wand. 

Forages  the  standard  of  Erin,  wliich  spread  its  brilliant  quarter- 
ings  in  the  breezes  that  bent  alpine  oaks,  and  shook  Caledonian 
thistles,  continued  emblazoned  with  these  armorial  devices  of  our 
pristine  greatness.  But  alas  !  that  banner  of  glory  which  dazzled 
Roman  legions  with  the  thunder  flashes  of  victory,  has  been  rent 
by  English  oppression,  and  the  gorgeous  escutcheon  on  which 
martial  renown  had  pictured  the  heroic  deeds  of  our  Cuchullins, 
McMornies,  Fingals,Ossians,  O'Neils,  McCarthys,  O'Briens,  O'Don- 
nels,  and  O'Connors,  has  been  crumbled  into  the  dust  of  oblivion 
by  the  ruthless  hand  of  the  Saxon  despoilers. 

The  provincial  kings  bore  their  own  proper  and  peculiar  arms. 
The  king  of  Munster's  banner,  before  the  reign  of  Brian  Boroihme, 
displayed  on  a  field  azure,  three  eastern  diadems  proper.  When 
Brian  assumed  sovereign  sway  over  the  two  Munsters,  he  caused  his 
shield  to  be  emblazoned  with  three  lions  passant,  and  his  royal 
banner  [)resented  on  a  wreath  of  green,  a  naked  arm  issuing  out  of 
a  cloud,  both  proper,  brandishing  a  sword  pearl,  the  pomel  and  hilt 
topaz,  supported  by  two  lions  guardant.  This  is  the  coat  of  arms 
still  borne  bv  the  Marquis  of  Thomond,  who  is  lineally  descended 
from  '•  Brian  the  brave."  The  arms  of  Ulster  are  on  a  green  field, 
a  lion  rampant,  double  queved  gules;  but  the  O'Neil's  crest  was  a 
bloody  hand  grasping  a  crown,  from  which  they  were  denominated 
the  Nials  of  the  red  arm,  or  "  Craohh-ruadh.''''  The  armorial  ensign 
of  Connaught  exhibited — party  pearl-pale,  argent  and  sable  ;  on  the 
argent  side,  a  demi-eagle  spread  sable  ;  and  on  the  field,  sable,  a 
hand  and  arm  hnldini;  a  sword  erect.  The  arms  impressed  on  some 
of  the  coins  of  king  Roderick,  which  are  in  the  museum  of  Trinity 
College,  Dublin,  diftered  from  the  above  as  they  represent  Jupiter 
a  Cavalier  completely  armed.  According  to  Sir  James  Ware, 
Malachy,  king  of  Mcath,  bore  a  banner  of  purple  in  1014,  at  the 
battle  of  Clontarf,  which  represented  a  king  enthroned  in  majesty, 
with  a  lily  in  his  hand,  in  a  field  Saturn. 

Leinster's  coat  of  arms  exhibited,  on  a  field  vert,  an  har[)  strung 
argent.  At  the  tilts  and  tournaments  held  in  the  court  of  chivalry  at 
Tara,  the  ensign  that  floated  over  the  canopy  of  the  monarch,  dis- 
played a  bleeding  hind,  wounded  by  an  arrow,  under  the  arch  of  an 
old  castle  ;  but  this  flag  was  oidy  unfurled  at  the  chivalric  games. 
The  arms  of  McCarthy  ftlore.  Prince  of  Desmond  and  Cork,  were 
quartered  on  a  Grecian  shield,  which  was  supported  on  either  side 
by  an  oUamh  and  knight.  The  crest  of  this  illustrious  family  was  a 
globe  surmounted  by  the  harp  and  crown.  Yellow,  blue  and  purple 
were  the  royal  colours  of  Ireland.  O'Donohoe,  the  Prince  of  Ril- 
larney,  bore  a  crimson  banner,  on  which  were  painted  in  green  and 
gold,  a  crown  supported  by  two  foxes.     But  it  is  time  to  close  a 


89 

detail  that  can  only  interest  the  antiquarian,  who  wishes  to  blow 
away  the  dust  that  obscures  the  l)rilHancy  of  the  Milesian  escutcheon, 
and  to  search  tiie  Htrculancum  ruins  of  Irish  history,  for  the  antique 
g'ems  and  venerable  monuments  which  lie  buried  in  the  lava  of 
Danish  and  English  devastation,  and  despotism.* 

The  nation  enjoyed  peace  and  prosperity  under  the  wise  and 
beneficent  administration  of  Slanoll  ;  and  his  meekness  and  mild- 
ness endeared  him  to  his  subjects,  from  whose  affections  he  was 
however  torn  by  death,  in  tlse  seventeenth  year  of  his  reign.  A 
silly  story  is  told  by  Dr.  Keating,  of  this  monarch's  corpse  having 
been  disinterred,  forty  years  alter  his  demise,  and  found  pure  and 
incorrupted,  though  no  process  of  embalming  had  been  used  to 
preserve  it. 

Our  history  is  silent  respecting  the  art  of  embalming;  so  that  we 
may  conclude  the  ancient  Irisli  did  not  resort  to  the  Egyptian  prac- 
tice of  preserving  the  form  of  their  departed  friends  in  the  tomb. 

GiEDE,  surnamed  Oll-Glor-m-bcal,  from  his  strong  and  l^onorous 
voice,  the  youngest  son  of  Ollainh  Fodhla,  ascended  the  throne  of 
his  departed  brother,  A.  M.  3159.  His  reign  was  disturbed  by  the 
pretensions  of  Fiachadh,  his  nephew,  who  at  length  succeeded  in  his 
ambitious  designs,  and  slew  the  monarch  in  a  general  engagement, 
which  happened  in  the  sixteenth  year  of  his  reign.  Fiachadh  III. 
after  vanquishirig  and  killing  his  uncle,  assumed  sovereign  sway. 
As  soon  as  the  scej)tre  was  within  his  grasp,  he  evinced  a  disposition 
to  sit  down  under  the  laurels  of  his  late  victory,  and  cultivate  the 
arts  of  peace.  He  erected  a  sumptuous  palace  at  Kells,  in  the 
county  of  Meath,  and  became  a  liberal  patron  to  conmierce  and  agri- 
culture.t     He  \Vas  the  first  monarch  that  caused  wells  to  be  opened, 

*  "  In  tlic  grand  banqueting  hall  at  Tara,  every  nobleman's  rank  and  dignity 
were  known  by  the  armorial  bearings  on  his  shield,  which  the  Herald  fixed  on  the 
wall  exactly  over  the  seat  which  he  was  to  occupy  at  the  feast.  This  regulation 
prevented  all  disputes  about  precedency,  and  marked  the  gradation  of  Princes, 
Nobles,  and  Gentlemen." — Vallaxcev. 

t  "  Kell.s  is  a  large  and  respectable  town,  situated  on  the  river  Blackwater,  in 
the  county  of  Meath,  at  the  distance  of  thirty-nine  miles  N.  W.  from  Dublin.  It 
was  a  place  of  consequence,  as  appears  by  Colgan's  topography,  before  the  birth  of 
Christ ;  and  several  of  the  Irish  monarchs  resided  there.  Before  the  invasion  of 
Henry  II.  Kells  or  Kenlis,  which  signifies  the  iiigh  fort,  was  part  of  the  patrimony 
of  the  O'Finallans:  but  the  Saxons  dispossessed  the  original  proprietors,  and 
Henry  bestowed  Kells  upon  Hugo  De  Lacy,  in  1173.  De  Lacy  built  a  castle 
here,  the  ruins  of  which  still  remain.  It  was  in  this  castle  he  entertained  O'Rourke, 
Prince  of  BrefFeny,  when  that  chivalric  chieftain  came  to  remonstrate  with  the 
Enorlish  Deputy  on  the  aggressive  incursions  made  by  his  soldiers,  under  Griffith, 
into  the  territorities  of  east  Meath.  To  settle  the  dispute  that  had  arisen,  O'Rourke, 
who  justly, dreaded  trcacliery,  insisted  that  Lacy,  Fitzgerald  and  Griffith  should 
repair  with  him  to  a  hill  in  tlie  vicinity  of  Kells,  where  he  would  alone  confer, 
according  to  the  custom  of  his  ancestors.  To  this  proposition,  the  Englisli  chiefs 
readily  assented ;  but  no  sooner  had  the  brave  and  noble  minded  O'Rourke  opened 
tlie  debate,  than  the  three  Englishmen  seized  him,  and  basely  assassinated  him  on 
the  spot.  De  Lacy  afterwards  bestowed  Kells  on  his  son-in-law,  Gilbert  Nugent, 
whose  descendants  in  process  of  time  became  Earls  of  West  Meath.  In  A. 
D.  3."J0,  St.  Coluniba,  the  Irish  apostle  of  Scotland,  founded  an  abbey  in  Kells,  for 
regular  canons.  This  town  was  made  an  Episcopal  see  in  the  thirteenth  century, 
when  a  cathedral  was  built  in  it  by  Walter  Lacy,  as  well  as  an  abbey  for  Crouched 
Friars,  followino-  the  order  of  St.  Augustine,  whom  he  richly  endowed,  on  condi- 

12 


90 

and  marble  fountains  for  issuing  spring  water,  to  be  built  in  Ireland. 
But  he  was  not  long  suffered  to  repose  in  the  tranquil  shades  of 
peace  ;  as  his  cousin  Bearngall,  the  son  of  his  predecessor,  regard- 
ing him  as  an  usurper  of  his  rights,  kindled  an  insurrection  wliich 
ended  in  the  defeat  and  death  of  the  monarch,  A.  M.  319G,  after  a  reign 
of  twenty  years.  The  success  of  Bearngall  at  once  avenged  his 
father's  deatli,  and  gave  to  him  possession  of  the  throne  of  Ireland. 

As  soon  as  he  attained  the  summit  of  his  ambition,  he  gave  the 
rein  to  his  despotic  disposition.  He  banished  all  the  adherents  of 
his  predecessor  out  of  the  kingdom  ;  and  in  order  to  cut  olf  all  the 
pretenders  to  the  crown,  he  commenced  a  lierce  and  tyrannic  per- 
secution against  his  relatives,  who  were  of  the  posterity  of  Itii  ;  and 
by  terror  and  force  succeeded  in  driving  their  chiefs  to  exile  in 
Albania.  But  his  despotism  was  gradually  sapping  the  pillars  of  his 
own  arbitrary  power. 

The  rebellious  arm  of  Olioll,  the  son  of  Slanoll,  hurled  him  from 
the  throfte  to  the  tomb,  in  the  tenth  year  of  his  oppressive  reign. 
Olioll,  on  ascending  the  throne,  manifested  a  disposition  to  govern 
his  people  according  to  the  behests  of  justice,  and  spirit  of  the  con- 
stitution. But  his  intentions  were  blasted  in  the  bud,  in  the  twelfth 
year  of  his  reign,  by  the  tempest  of  insurrection,  raised  by  Siorna  of 
the  royal  race  of  Heremon,  who  succeeded,  once  more,  at  the  battle 
of  Nobber,*  in  wresting  the  supreme  power  from  the  dynasty  of 
Ollamh  Fodhla.  Olioll  and  all  iiis  leaders  were  killed  in  the  engage- 
ment. Thus  were  the  sage  and  benign  ordinances  and  institutions 
of  the  great  Ollamh  Fodhla  dissolved  and  subverted  by  civil  broils, 
and  the  ruthless  intrigues  of  ambition. 

SioRNA,  having  obtained  possession  of  a  crown,  in  pursuit  of  which 
he  had  to  wade  through  an  ocean  of  blood,  resolved  therefore  to  hold 

tion  that  they  should  for  ever  daily  offer  up  a  mass,  in  the  churches  of  St.  Mary, 
St.  Columba,  and  St.  Catharine,  for  his  soul,  and  the  soul  of  his  wife. 

In  1(353,  Thomas  Taylor  who  was  secretary  to  Sir  William  Petty,  when  the  latter 
went  to  Ireland,  to  make  what  is  called  the  •'  Doicn  Survey."  In  1C60,  Taylor 
purchased  from  Nugent,  Lord  Delvin,  the  town  and  vicinity  of  Kells.  In  1713, 
his  grandson,  Robert  Taylor  was  created  a  Baronet,  by  Queen  Anne.  In  17G0,  his 
son  Thomas  was  raised  to  the  peerage,  by  the  title  of  Baron  Headford  in  the  county 
of  Meath.  His  descendant  is  now  Marquis  of  Headford.  The  fine  mansion  and 
beautiful  domain  of  Headford,  in  the  environs  of  Kells,  present  architectural  gran- 
deur, and  charms  of  Sylvan  scenery,  that  in  beauty  and  landscape  attractions, 
have  few  equals  in  Ireland,  or  any  other  country.  In  the  Protestant  church,  we 
observed,  a  few  years  ago,  a  very  beautiful  monument,  erected  by  Sir  Thomas 
Taylor,  in  1737  (we  think)  to  the  memory  of  his  wife.  It  is  a  large  Sarcophagus 
of  grey  Galway  marble,  resting  on  three  eagles  claws;  from  it  springs  a  pedestal 
supporting  an  altar,  rearing  two  Corinthian  pillars,  which  sustain  a  Roman  urn  of 
Italian  marble,  exquisitely  sculptured.  About  a  mile  beyond  the  town,  in  the 
commons  of  Lloyd,  there  is  a  very  lofty  tower  erected  by  the  late  Earl  of 
Bective,  from  the  top  of  which  a  most  extensive  and  diversified  prospect  can  be 
commanded. 

*  NoBBER  is  a  pretty  rural  village,  in  the  county  of  Meath,  which  will  be  more 
famous  in  the  records  of  genius,  for  giving  birth  to  our  great  musical  composer, 
Carola\,  than  it  is  in  Irish  history,  for  being  the  scene  of  a  sanguinary  battle. 

The  vicinity  of  Nobber  is  rendered  beautiful  and  picturesque  by  the  residences, 
and  domains  of  Lord  Gormanstown,  at  Whitewood,  of  General  Bligh  at  Brittas, 
and  of  Mr.  Cruise,  at  Cruisetown,  where  Carolaii  first  borrowed  inspiration  from 
the  lips  of  love,  and  gave  his  heart  as  a  hostage  to  the  captivating  charms  of 
Bridget  Cruise. 


91 

in  a  tenacious  tenure,  tlie  darling  object  that  lie  gained  with  so  much 
difficulty  and  danger.  He,  consequently,  to  secure  the  prize,  adopted 
such  measures  as  he  and  his  advisers  deemed  best  calculated  for 
crushing  faction,  and  guarding  his  tlirone  from  the  hostile  attacks 
of  pretenders.  This  he  could  only  accomplish  by  keeping  constantly 
on  foot  a  military  force.  Having  assiduously  endeavoured  to  ingra- 
tiate himself  witli  the  army,  he  soon  became  very  popular  among 
them.  His  military  skill,  and  prepossessing  manners,  seemed  to 
have  destined  him  to  command,  while  they  served  to  give  him  a 
preponderating  influence  in  the  camp,  and  in  the  council.  Against 
such  a  monarch,  treason,  for  a  while,  durst  not  raise  a  menacing 
finger.  At  length,  however,  he  was  secretly  apprised,  that  the 
Irians,  or  posterity  of  Ir,  were  sowing  the  seeds  of  disaffection  in 
Ulster.  Considering  that  a  flame  of  sedition  was  more  easily  extin- 
guished than  a  blaze  of  revolt,  he  quickly  put  himself  at  the  head  of 
his  devoted  army,  and  marched  into  Ulster.  The  Irian  chiefs  hear- 
ing of  his  approach,  lost  no  time  in  concentrating  their  adherents,  in 
order  to  put  themselves  in  a  bold  defensive  attitude,  and  oppose  a 
formidable  front  to  the  hostile  hosts,  that  threatened  them  with 
slavery  and  oppression. 

The  Irians  made  those  preparations  which  a  brave  people,  who 
prize  their  liberties  dearer  than  life,  ought  to  make  to  resist  an 
invader  who  would  only  requite  a  tame  submission,  by  yoking  the 
abject  dependants  crouching  to  him,  in  the  car  of  slavery.  An 
engagement  soon  took  place,  at  Aras  Keilter,   now   Dowupatrick  ;* 

*  DowNPATRicK,  the  capital  of  the  county  of  Down,  is  one  of  the  most  ancient 
cities  in  Ireland,  and  consequently  its  past  glories  make  a  distinguished  figure  in 
Irish  history.  The  majestic  and  reverend  ruins  of  its  seven  churches,  and  numerous 
abbeys  proclaim  its  pristine  greatness,  and  architectural  grandeur.  It  was  made  a 
Bishop's  see  by  St.  Patrick,  who  built  the  large  cathedral,  A.  D.  44-5,  whichis  now 
a  heap  of  hoary  ruins,  where  only  the  owl  chants  the  vesper  antliem. 

At  his  own  request,  expressed  before  his  death,  which  memorable  event  happen- 
ed on  the  17th  of  March,  493,  St.  Patrick  was  buried  in  the  chancel  of  this  cathe- 
dral. His  remains  were  afterwards  enclosed  in  a  magnificent  tomb,  erected  by 
MuRTAGH  O'NiAL,  mouarcli  of  Ireland,  A.  D.  .500.  To  this  tomb,  to  which 
several  kings  and  queens  made  pilgrimages  of  devotion,  and  splendid  gifts  of  piety, 
were  subsequently  transferred  the  remains  of  St.  Columba,  and  St.  Bridget,  as  the 
inscription  which  was  read  by  Geraldus  Cambrensis,  in  1173,  recorded. 

"  Hi  tres  in  Diino  tumulo,  tumulantur  in  uno, 

Brigida,  Patricius  atqnc  Coliimha  Pius." 
Which  has  thus  been  translated  by  the  celebrated  Bishop  Coyle. — 

"  In  Down  three  saints  one  grave  doth  fill, 

Bridget,  Patrick  and  Columb-Kille." 
The  richness  of  the  shrines  of  these  saints  attracted  the  rapacity  of  Turgesius, 
the  cruel  Danish  tyrant,  who  defaced  the  monument,  and  carried  oft' the  ornaments 
and  costly  vessels  of  the  sacred  sepulchre,  A.  D.  851.  When  John  De  Courcey, 
captured  Downpatrick,  in  1186,  he,  to  impress,  more  strongly,  the  Irisli  with  an 
exalted  idea  of  his  sanctity,  and  of  the  reverence  in  which  he  held  the  relics  of  their 
saints,  caused  the  tomb  to  be  elegantly  repaired,  and  embellished  with  all  the 
beauties  of  architecture  and  sculpture.  A  solemn  funeral  service  took  place  on 
this  occasion,  in  the  Cathedral,  at  which  Cardinal  Vivian,  legate  of  the  apostolic 
see  ;  the  Bishop  of  Armagh,  his  suffragans,  as  well  as  the  Bishop  of  London,  and 
many  other  ecclesiastical  dignitaries  assisted.  Colgan  and  Harris  say  that  this  im- 
posing religious  ceremony,  was  the  most  sublime  spectacle  which  had  ever  been 
witnessed  in  Ulster,  and  that  it  had  the  efllect  of  multiplying  the  friends  of  the 
English  amazingly  in  Ireland.     In  1203,  king  John  becoming  jealous  of  the  power 


9'2 

but  in  spite  of  the  valour  and  iiitrepiility  of  the  gitllaut  Irian?,  the 
military  genius  of  the  king,  and  discipline  of  his  troops  gave  him  a 
decisive  victory,  which  prostrated  tiie  hopes  of  the  Ultonians. 
Flushed  with  success,  and  animated  with  ambition,  tiic  monarch  ther> 
turned  his  arms  against  Loagaire,  the  son  of  Lnghaidh,  of  the  race 
of  Heber,  who  with  his  forces,  and  a  band  of  Carthaginians,  his 
allies,  were  marching  to  the  assistance  of  the  Irians.  This  army, 
though  strongly  posted  on  a  rocky  eminence,  which  was  swept  on 
one  side  by  the  sea,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Rillough,*  he  spiritedly 

and  popularity  which  De  Courcey  possessed  in  Ireland,  issued  a  commission  to 
Hugh  Ue  Burgo,  and  Walter  De  Lacy,  to  arrest  De  Courcey  on  a  charge  of  high 
treason ;  but  though  they  quickly  proceeded  to  execute  the  gratifying  orders  of 
the  king,  witli  which  they  hoped  to  crush  a  rival,  they  could  not  effect  their  object 
without  resorting  to  treachery.  They  succeeded,  however,  by  bribes  and  promises 
to  corrupt  the  fidelity  of  his  foUovi^ers  and  attendants.  De  Courcey  was  in  the 
constant  habit  of  offering  up  liis  prayers,  every  morning,  in  the  Cathedral,  before 
the  shrine  of  St.  Patrick.  While  he  was  one  day  in  this  actof  devotion,  De  Burgo 
and  Lacy,  with  a  chosen  band  of  assassins,  attacked  and  killed  some  of  his  retinue. 
The  brave  unarmeci  chieftain  seeing  himself  thus  beset  with  danger,  immediately, 
with  his  usual  prowess,  wrested  a  large  wooden  cross  from  the  aisle,  with  which 
he  so  heroically  defended  himself,  that  he  soon  killed  thirteen  of  his  cowardly 
assailants;  but  at  length  he  was  overpowered  by  the  strength  of  numerical  force, 
and  conveyed  as  a  prisoner  to  London,  where  he  was  confined  in  the  tower.  In 
its  proper  place  we  shall  relate  more  of  the  adventures  of  tlie  illustrious  Baron  of 
Kinsale.  The  sec  of  Down  was  united  to  that  of  Connor,  in  the  county  of  Antrim, 
A.  D.  1442,  when  the  Bishop  assumed  the  title  of  the  Bishop  of  Down  and 
Connor.  Leonard  Lord  de  Grey,  while  Lord  Deputy  of  Ireland,  plundered  and 
profaned  in  1538,  the  Cathedral  of  St.  Patrick,  which  sacrilegious  act  was  set 
forth  in  the  articles  of  his  impeachment,  bi^fore  he  was  beheaded,  A.  D.  1541. 
We  will  have  occasion,  in  the  course  of  this  history,  to  speak  often  of  Down- 
patrick, — for  it  has  been  the  scone  of  important  historical  events.  The  ruins  of 
the  priory  of  Malachy,  founded  by  Malachy  O'Morgair,  Bishop  of  Down,  A.  D. 
llo8,  those  of  the  priory  of  St.  John  tlie  Baptist,  erected  by  De  Courcey,  1186,  as 
well  as  those  of  an  abbey  of  Cistertian  monks,  and  a  friary  of  the  Franciscan  order, 
are  still  remaining  as  evidences  of  the  ancient  piety,  and  architectural  celebrity  of 
Downpatrick.  Its  modern  buildings  are  very  creditable  to  the  taste  of  its  spirited 
inhabitants.     The  court  house  is  a  large  and  elegant  Ionic  structure. 

Downpatrick  is  a  large  borough  and  market  town,  agreeably  situated  on  the  S. 
W.  branch  of  the  lake  of  Strangford,  at  the  distance  of  ninety-four  miles  from 
Dublin.  The  environs  of  the  town,  are  beautified  with  a  pleasing  variety  of  wood 
and  water,  and  the  houses  and  cultivated  grounds  that  arc  interspersed  through  an 
extensive  landscape  of  green  hills,  and  pastoral  glens,  impart  the  vivid  tints  of  the 
picturesque  and  romantic  to  the  sylvan  scene. 

Adjoining  the  town  there  is  one  of  those  high  Raths,  or  mounds,  which  are  so 
common  in  Ireland  ; — its  conical  height  is  sixty-three  feet,  and  its  circumference 
is  twenty-one  hundred.  It  is  circumvested  with  three  concentric  ramparts,  one 
of  which  is  thirty  feet  broad.  We  must  not  forget  to  mention,  that  the  noble 
vestiges  of  Sauj,  monastery,  which  was  the  favorite  abode  of  St.  Patrick,  arc  still 
to  be  seen  near  the  town.  Tliere  is  a  limpid  well  springing  up  through  a  rock,  at 
this  monastery,  which  tradition  records,  was  excavated  by  the  Saint's  own  hands. 
On  every  Patrick's  day,  the  peasantry  of  Down,  came  a  great  distance  to  drink, 
what  they  consider,  the  miraculous  water  of  the  holy  well. 

^  KiLLOur.ii  stands  on  the  north  of  St.  John's  Point,  in  the  bay  of  Strangford. 
It  has  the  advantage  of  a  fine  commodious  harbour,  where  large  ships  can  safely 
ride  quite  close  to  the  quay.  It  is  a  neat  flourishing  town,  where  trade  and  indus- 
try accumulate  wealth  for  the  inhabitants.  Their  fish  market  is  one  of  the  best  in 
Ireland.  There  is  a  remarkable  well  here,  called  St.  Scordin's;  and  its  water 
cannot  be  equalled  for  pellucidness,  or  lightness.  It  gushes  out  of  a  high  rocky 
bank,  like  streams  of  dissolved  crystal.  Killough  is  also  celebrated  for  a  rocky 
oblong  cavcDi,  from  whence,  at  the  ebbing  and  flowing  of  the  tide,  a  strange 
noise  is  heard,  somewhat  resembling  the  sound  of  a  huntsman's  horn. 

In  the  neighbourhood  of  this  town,  there  are  some  pretty  domains  and  country 


93 

attacked,  and  succeeded  in  dislodging  them.  The  C'arthaoiniaii 
chief,  Ciasral,  was  killed  in  the  conflict  by  the  king's  hand,  and 
luany  of  his  soldiers,  in  their  endeavour  to  escape  to  their  shipping, 
were  drowned. 

After  these  exploits,  which  reflected  such  glory  on  his  arms,  the 
monarch  returned  in  triumph  to  Tara.  But  to  prove  the  instability 
of  royal  power,  and  that  the  firmest  throne  rests  but  on  a  slippery 
foundation,  Siorna  was  slain  while  attempting  to  quell  a  revolt  in 
Meath  by  his  successor,  Aillin  Rothcachta,  in  the  twenty-first  year 
of  his  reign.  Our  historians  have  warmly  lauded  the  wisdom, 
prudence,  and  eminent  martial  talents  of  Siorna.  He  was  designat- 
ed Suoghalach,  or  the  long-lived,  from  his  having,  if  we  can  credit 
the  book  of  Lecan,  attained  the  great  age  of  one  hundred  and  fifty 
years. 

RoTHEACHTA  II.  WHS  jjroclaimcd  sovereign  ;  but  not  by  the  voice 
of  the  people,  who  were  warmly  attached  to  the  person  and  govern- 
ment of  the  late  king,  whose  death  they  deeply  bewailed.  To 
Rotheachta  II.  our  historians  attribute  the  invention  of  Avar-chariots, 
which  throws  a  great  halo  of  memorable  notoriety  on  the  era  of  his 
reign,  A.  M.  3244.  These  superb  chariots,  being  winged  with  sharp 
scythes  and  grappling  hooks,  were  calculated  to  do  dreadful  execu- 
tion in  battle.  We  have  already  alluded  to  the  expertness  and 
bravery  of  the  Irish  charioteers,  and  knights,  who  fought  with  long 
spears  in  these  kind  of  chariots.  The  Gauls,  in  the  year  of  Rome, 
456,  employed  Irish  artists  to  build  war-chariots  for  them,  which 
they  subsequently  and  eflbctually  employed  against  the  Romans,  as 
Csesar  tells  us. 

After  a  reign  of  seven  years,  distinguished  by  the  progress  of  the 
arts,  and  the  blessings  of  peace,  Rotheachta  was  killed  by  lightning, 
while  hunting  in  the  forest  of  Tara. 

villas,  among  the  most  attractive  of  which,  are  the  ornamented  manor,  and  macr- 
nificent  and  superb  mansion  of  Lord  Clifford.     Here  we  have  admired — 

"  The  cultur'd  garden,  richly  grac'd, 

With  all  the  labored  charms  of  taste  ; 

The  calm  deep  grove,  the  limpid  tide, 

The  verdant  mead,  and  landscape  wide." 
Bdlec  and  Holhjmount  have  also  rural  fascinations,  that  have  been  consecrated 
by  the  voice  of  scng,  and  celebrated  by  the  pencil  of  genius. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

Reflections  on  the  dissensions  and  intestine  commotions  of  the  ancient  Irish  ; — their 
true  cause  dcjincd.  Tlie  icigns  of  Elim,  Giallucha.  and  Art.  The  ancient  mode 
of  fortification.  Reigns  of  JS'uadh,  Breasrigh.  and  Eochaidh  IV.  The  intercourse 
between  Ireland  and  Carthage  in  ancient  times.  The  accession  of  Fion,  Seadhna 
II.  Simon-Breac,  Duach,  and  Muiredheach,  to  the  Irish  throne.  The  reign  of 
Eadhna  II.  and  a  dissertation  on  the  mines  and  minerals  of  Ireland. 

The  reader  wlio  has  honoured  the  preceding  chapters  of  this 
history,  with  a  perusal,  must  have  been  sur])rised  at  the  fatal  feuds 
and  bloody  strife  that  scattered  tlie  unnatural  and  sanguinary  mise- 
ries and  calamities  of  civil  war  through  Ireliind,  for  a  period  of  near 
three  centuries.  But  though  the  gloomy  records  of  those  internal 
divisions,  and  melancholy  discords,  detail  events  tb.at  shock  and 
sicken  humanity,  they  are  not  still  without  numerous  parallels  in 
the  history  of  every  other  nation  in  Europe.  This  assertion  is 
raised  by  Voltaire,  Hume,  Robertson,  and  Sir  Walter  Scott,  to  a 
pinnacle  of  truth,  which  is  too  elevated  for  the  assaults  of  objection. 
These  historians  furnisli  us  with  horrid  recitals,  equalling  certainly,  in 
the  cruelty  and  barbarity  which  they  unfold,  the  most  atrocious  deeds 
that  stain  our  annals,  of  their  Princes  murdering  each  other,  in 
order  to  succeed  to  sovereign  power.  We  find  the  royal  rivals  of 
Scotland  and  England,  even  in  comparatively  enlightened  periods, 
guilty  of  inhuman  enormities  and  stupendous  wickedness,  in  their 
sanguinary  career,  to  the  gaol  of  regal  authority,  which  surpass  the 
blackest  and  most  barbarous  crimes  that  have  been  imputed  by  his- 
tory, to  the  heatlien  kings  of  Ireland.  The  ancient  Irish  princes 
were  idolatrous  worshippers  of  military  glory  and  heroic  courage; 
these  were  the  divinities  to  whom  they  sacrificed  tlie  love  of  life,  and 
every  selfish  consideration.  For  the  moment  a  chieftain  betrayed  a 
symptom  of  pusillanimity  in  the  martial  field,  he  was  debased;  his 
name  was  obliterated  from  the  emblazoned  record  of  the  valiant, 
and  the  herald  broke  his  escutcheon  and  trampled  his  banner  in  the 
dust,  in  the  presence  of  all  his  companions  in  arms.  To  evade  this 
degradation,  the  chivalric  IMilesians  entered  the  field  of  battle  fully 
resolved  to  conquer  their  adversaries,  or  fall  in  the  struggle  covered 
with  glory  ;  as  life  without  victory  was  not,  in  their  opinion,  worth 
preserving.  To  outlive  the  blaze  of  heroic  fame,  after  being  extin- 
guished by  defeat,  was  counted  infamous,  so  that  none  of  the  Mile- 
sian Princes  survived  the  loss  of  a  battle. 

The  Irish  Princes  scorned  to  enjoy  existence  encumbered  with 
the  reproach  of  being  vanquished;  consequently,  with  a  view  of 
consecrating  their  posthumous  fame  to  the  "  light  of  song,"  they 
always  fought  with  the  most  desperate  resolution  and  valour.  "  A 
coward,"  says  Dr.  Warner,  "  was  looked  upon  among  the  Irish,  as 
the  most  ignominious  of  all  characters  ;  and  the  opinion  of  their 
chieftains,  of  martial  valour,  which  was  carried  to  the  highest  pitch 
of  enthusiasm,  made  it  extremely  difficult  to  bring  about  a  recon- 
ciliation after  a  quarrel.     For  each  party  dreaded  the  name  of  a 


95 

dastard,  if  they  made  the  first  overtures  of  peace,  so  no  overtures 
were  made  at  all,  but  the  quarrel  continued  iVoin  father  to  son,  and 
very  seldom  ended  but  with  the  entire  extinction  of  one  of  the 
families." 

Indeed  our  cliieftains  were  always  dislinguislied  for  their  "  longing 
after  immortality,"  and  considered  military  fame  as  the  only  badge 
of  honour  and  eminence  ;  and  hence  they  circumscribed  their  sy&tem 
of  politics  and  religion,  within  the  compass  of  a  short  but  an  emphatic 
motto,  on  their  banners,  "  Glory  is  preferable  to  the  world  !"  * 
Still  their  wars  were  not  the  conflicts  of  savage  barbarians,  in  which 
no  character  can  be  traced  except  those  of  revenge,  havoc,  and 
perfidy  ;  no,  they  exhibited  in  their  fights  magnanimous  feats  of 
chivalry,  and  displayed  that  heroic  courage  which  is  too  generous  to 
yield  to  resentment,  or  stoop  to  the  ignoble  revenge  of  trampling  on 
a  prostrate  foe. 

But  even  if  we  had  no  proofs  on  record,  to  attest  this  chivalric 
prodigality  of  existence,  the  cahimnies  of  Hume  and  Macpherson, 
would  still  evidently  militate  against  the  deductions  of  reason,  and 
the  testimony  of  universal  history,  when  they  endeavour  to  fasten 
on  the  memory  of  our  ancestors  the  degrading  imputation  of  "  savage 
barbarity,''''  and  to  caricature  our  heroes  as  little-minded  assassins, 
like  their  own  Richards,  Henries,  and  Macbeths.t     The  rival  pre- 

*  Constitutional  pride,  joined  to  innate  bravery,  seem  to  have  been  evp:r  the 
characteristics  of  the  Irish  nation.  This  pride,  constantly  fed  hy  the  poems  of 
the  bards,  and  by  the  reflection  of  their  high  antiquity  and  noble  blood,  made 
them  at  all  times,  even  to  our  own  days,  ready  to  sacrifice  every  other  considera- 
tion to  it.  The  unhappy  diflerences  that  first  broke  out  in  Ireland,  in  tlie  very 
infancy  of  the  Milesian  government,  were  constantly  kept  alive  from  the  same 
cause.  The  line  of  Heber,  as  being-  the  elder  branch  of  the  iNIilesian  stock, 
imagined  they  had  an  exclusive  right  to  the  Irish  monarchy.  The  other  branches 
of  the  posterity  of  llerenion  contended,  on  the  contrary,  that  in  a  governnunt 
where  superior  abilities  were  ever  preferred  to  lineal  succession,  their  claims 
were  unexceptionable  ;  as  it  is  often  the  case  in  private  quarrels  between  people 
equally  brave  and  proud,  neither  will  recede  ;  so  with  these,  it  would  be  deemed 
infamy  in  any  successor  to  recede  in  the  least  from  the  pretensions  of  his  house, 
or  to  omit  any  opportunity  of  enforcing  them. 

Yet  even  in  tliese  civil  commotions  (generally  the  most  sanguinary)  there 
were  observed  a  conduct  peculiarly  striking,  which  seemed  to  elevate  their  char- 
acters beyond  those  of  their  neighbouring  nations.  In  a  word,  not  to  multiply 
instances,  but  a  single  example  occurs  in  the  whole  of  our  history,  of  a  Prince's 
surviving  the  loss  of  his  diadem,  and  this  was  Malachy  II.  in  the  commencement 
of  the  eleventh  century  ! — Thus  the  death  of  the  unsuccessful  competitor,  instead 
of  being  a  stain  on  our  annals,  only  higher  blazons  the  national  character  of  the 
Irish  Princes.  Add  to  this  that  ancient  history  in  general,  shows  that  few  gallant 
Princes  died  peaceable  deaths,  which  gave  occasion  to  the  remarks  of  Juvenal : — 
"Ad  generum  Cercris,  sine  caede  et  vulnere  pauci 
Descendunt  reges,  et  sicca  morte  tyranni.''  O'IIai.i.oran. 

t  The  Scottish  historians  look  at  Irish  failings  through  the  false  telescope  of 
prejudice  ;  they  paint  our  virtues  on  miniature  medallions,  and  our  vices  on  broad 
canvass.  They  point  out  the  mote  in  our  eyes,  while  they  forget  having  beams 
in  their  own.  The  path  which  led  to  the  throne  of  modern  Scotland,  was  as 
often  washed  with  the  blood,  and  paved  with  the  carcasses  of  kings,  as  that  of 
Ireland,  as  the  following  evidence  will  testify  : — 

"  The  nobles  were  often  mutinous,  revengeful,  and  ungovernable  ;  so  that  they 
were  apt  to  forget  the  duty  which  they  owed  their  sovereign,  and  to  aspire  beyond 
the  rank  of  subjects.  Never  was  any  race  of  monarchs  so  unfortunate  as  the 
Scottish.  Of  six  successive  Princes,  from  Robert  HI.  to  James  VI.  not  one  died 
a  natural  death." — Rorf.rtson. 


96 

tensions  of  tlie  dynasties  of  Heber  and  Heremon,  we  must  admit, 
like  the  feuds  of  tlie  Houses  of  York  and  Lancaster,  were  for  many 
centuries,  the  prolific  and  pestiferous  source  of  desolation  and  discord 
in  Ireland  ;  and  their  jealousies  and  fatal  disunion,  not  only  frequent- 
ly delu<red  the  country  in  blood,  Init  ultimately  so  debilitated  her 
power  that  she  was  humiliated  to  the  degradation  of  Ijending  the 
knee  of  obeisance  before  the  throne  of  a  foreign  conqueror.  The 
posterity  of  Heber,  as  tlie  elder  branch  of  the  Milesian  race,  claimed 
a  prior  right  to  tlie  sovereign  prerogative  ;  while  the  house  of  Here- 
mon proudly  rested  its  permanent  claims,  not  only  on  the  rights  of 
blood  but  on  the  legitimate  and  indefeasible  right  of  conquest,  so 
that  this  indiscerptible  basis  of  the  Heremonian  pretensions  to  the 
Irish  tlirone,  remained  unmoved  amidst  the  tempestuous  surges  of 
ages,  like  the  solid  and  majestic  rocks,  that  raise  their  ponderous  cliffs 
above  the  raging  waves  of  the  ocean,  until  intestine  treason  and  foreign 
invasion  dissolved  the  monarchy  of  Ireland,  in  1172.  Thus  fell  the 
glories  of  the  O'Neil — thus  did  ruthless  discord  crumble  their  throne 
sceptre  into  dust !  The  voice  of  the  patriotic  bard  no  longer  kindles 
the  sold  of  the  Irish  brave,  nor  hurries  them  to  the  field  of  fame, 
while  burning  with  the  inspiration  of  freedom.  Ah,  no  !  The  soul- 
lifting  muse  of  Moore,  the  patriotic  genius  of  Lady  Morgan,  and 
the  heart-moving  eloquence  of  Shiel,  cannot  awake  the  "  dreamless" 
sleep  of  the  tomb.  The  stars  of  the  red-branch  have  fallen  ;  the  sun 
of  our  glory  is  set,  and  the  battles  of  tlie  Irish  brave  have  terminated 
in  English  subjugation  ! 

The  reader  will  pardon  a  digression  into  which  we  were  led  by 
our  desire  to  wipe  away,  as  far  as  our  humble  efforts  can,  the 
reproach  which  foreign  historians  have  endeavoured  to  fasten  on  the 
memory  of  our  ancestors.  We  wish  to  vindicate  the  conduct  of 
those  who  cannot  speak  for  themselves,  and  extenuate  their  imputed 
faults  by  the  enumeration  of  the  causes  which  produced  them.  But 
let  us  return  to  our  annals. 

RoTHEACHTA  II.  having  been  killed  by  a  flash  of  lightning,  as 
related  in  the  conclusion  of  our  last  chapter,  his  son  Elim  ascended 
the  throne  of  his  ancestors.  Our  annalists  furnish  us  with  no  particu- 
lars of  the  reign  of  this  prince,  except  that  he  was  cut  ofl'  by  the 
sword  of  his  successor  Giallacha,  before  he  had  terminated  the  first 
year  of  his  sovereign  sway.  Giallacha,  who  was  a  brave  and  en- 
lightened Prince,  governed  the  country  with  prudence  and  justice, 
for  nine  years;  at  the  termination  of  which  period,  he  fell  in  an 
engagement  with  Art,  the  son  of  Elim.  Art,  on  taking  possession 
of  the  throne,  assured  the  estates  at  Tara,  that  he  was  determined  to 
rule  over  his  people  in  such  a  manner  as  would  endear  him  to  their 
affections.  The  commencement  of  his  reign  aflorded  proofs  of  the 
sincerity  of  his  professions,  and  every  act  of  his  administration 
demonstrated  the  warmth  of  his  solicitude  for  the  prosperity  of  the 
nation.  Under  his  auspices,  the  arts  liegan  to  revive,  and  the  spirit 
of  the  monarch  seemed  to  have  animated  the  whole  national  mind. 
Agriculture  filled  the  fields  with  the  gifts  of  Ceres  and  Pomona: 
education  expanded  the  powers  of  the  mind,  and  architecture  beau- 
tified the  country  with  military  and  civil  structures. 


97 

It  was  in  the  reifi^n  of  this  Prince,  that  fortifications  were  first 
introduced  in  Irelanil.  Positions  formed  by  nature  for  advantageous 
military  stations,  were  surrounded  by  ram|)arts  and  deep  trendies, 
and  on  an  eminence  in  the  area,  was  raised  a  high  mound,  or  fort, 
called  tlie  Rath.  Near  the  Rath  were  tlie  barracks  for  the  soldiers, 
constructed  of  wood  and  clay,  and  under  it  was  a  cave  formed  of 
stone,  in  which  deep  wells  were  dug  to  supply  the  garrison  with 
water  in  case  of  seige.  Another  species  of  fortification  was  also 
invented  by  this  monarch  for  the  securi'y  of  his  arniies  and  kingdom. 
The  Dun  was  a  rocky  eminence,  wliii  h  was  enclosed  by  entrench- 
ments formed  of  lari>e  rough  stones,  and  mounds  of  earth,  of  a  square 
or  oval  form.  The  name  of  Dun  was  given  by  the  ancient  Irish  to 
any  entrenchment,  whose  area  within  was  raised  high,  in  order  that 
their  archers  and  slingers  might  annoy  an  enemy  more  advantage- 
ously from  its  summit.  All  these  military  stations  were  supplied 
with  spring  water  by  subterraneous  acpieducts.  Our  historians  do 
not  lell  us  the  number  of  fortifications  he  caused  to  be  erected  ;  but 
there  is  no  doubt  that  in  aftertimes  the  Raths,  Duns,  and  Bdbhans* 
were  multiplied  to  a  numerous  aggregate,  as  v/e  believe  there  are 
ten  of  these  immense  mounds  in  every  county  in  Ireland.  From  his 
taste  in  military  architecture,  and  his  skill  in  hydraulics,  he  was 
called  Iinlioc/t,  or  the  source  of  water.  But  all  his  improvements  in 
the  arts,  or  all  his  parental  justice  in  governing  the  nation,  could  not 
secure  him  from  the  arm  of  revolt.  In  the  twelfth  year  of  his  reign, 
NuADH  Fioxn-Fail,  of  the  race  of  Heremon,  raised  the  banner  of 
insurrection,  and  succeeded  in  depriving  the  magnanimous  Art  of 
his  life  and  crown,  at  the  battle  of  Rathlin,  A.  M.  3273. 

NuADH  Fionn-Fail,  after  gaining  the  crown,  displayed  nothing 
in  his  administration  of  fourteen  years,  of  any  moment.  But  at  the 
end  of  that  ])eriod  he  was  roused  from  his  sluggish  apathy  by  the 
rebellion  of  Breasrioh,  the  grand-son  of  Art.  The  competitors,  as 
usual,  decided  their  pretensions  to  the  throne  by  the  issue  of  a  san- 
guintiry  battle,  in  which  the  reigning  monarch  was  vanquished  and 
slain. 

As  soon  as  Breasrigh  was  invested  with  regal  authority,  he 
adopted  every  measure  of  prudence  and  policy  to  secure  the  stability 
of  his  government.  He  augmented  his  army,  and  erected  many 
new  fortresses  in  different  parts  of  the  kingdom,  in  order  to  be  pre- 
pared for  the  attack  of  either  a  domestic  or  a  foreign  foe.  In  the 
fourth  year  of  his  reign,  a  considerable  armament   of  Cathaginians 

*  "  The  Bahhan  was  a  defile  or  pass,  secured  with  thick  ditches  of  earth,  im- 
paled with  woode^  stakes,  or  the  branches  of  trees,  and  surrounded  with  a  deep 
trench,  over  which  there  was  a  draw-bridge.  The  Baghuii  was  an  inclosure, 
constructed  of  large  posts  and  wicker-work  to  surround  their  camps  and  secure 
tlicm  from  surprise  :  this  species  of  military  architecture,  as  well  as  the  Inglcidh, 
whicli  were  barriers  of  large  trees  thrown  across  the  roads,  in  order  to  obstruct  the 
progress  of  an  enemy,  originated  in  the  first  century.  The  mote  or  mothn  was  the 
entrenchment  which  encircled  tlie  Dun  :  whence  raothar  in  modern  Irish  signifies 
an  enclosed  park,  and  motluho.  mound.  The  Ban  was  the  rampart  which  enclosed 
the  Dun,  and  generally  situated  within  the  rnotc.  The  Uugli  was  the  cave  or 
cellar  where  the  provisions  were  kept,  and  where  the  garrison  retired  in  case  of 
danger.  Many  of  these  caves  are  still  to  be  seen  in  IreLand." — Hist,  of  the  rise 
and  progress  of  military  architecture  in  Ireland.,  Vol.  II.  page  loO. 

13 


98 

invested  the  northern  coasts,  and  ravaged  many  districts  of  Ulster. 
These  enterprising  people,  at  length  growing  bold  with  success, 
and  more  avaricious  of  increasing  their  booties,  made  excursions  far 
into  the  interior  of  the  country.  The  Irish  monarch,  collecting  all 
his  forces  at  Tara,  speedily  marched  to  the  camp  of  the  invaders, 
Avliich  he  stormed,  and  after  encountering  a  brave  resistance  from 
the  foe,  he  succeeded  in  expelling  them  to  their  ships.  Tiie  arms 
and  spoils  which  he  captured  in  the  Carthaginian  camp,  were  of 
immense  value.  The  victorious  monarch  returned  in  triuniph  to 
Tara,  where  he  caused  the  people  and  the  army  to  join  in  celebrat- 
ing his  success  by  the  exhibition  of  public  games,  processions,  and 
festivities.  After  these  events,  no  occurrence  of  historical  note 
happened  until  the  ninth  year  of  his  reign,  w'lien  an  insurrection, 
planned  by  Eochaidh  IV.  of  the  line  of  Ith,  summoned  him  to  the 
martial  field  of  Carnchluahi,  in  Meath,  where  he  fell  by  the  sword 
of  his  successor.  The  reign  of  Eochaidh  IV.  which  lasted  but  one 
year,  forms  a  memorable  epoch  in  our  annals,  by  the  destructive 
plague  that  then  visited  Ireland,  and  swept  away  half  its  population. 
But  fearful  and  fatal  as  the  epidemic  calamity  was,  it  did  not  still 
deter  ambition  from  aspiring  to  the  crown. 

FioNN,  the  son  of  Bratha,  of  the  dynasty  of  Ir,  collected  a  force, 
with  which  he  attacked  and  defeated  the  monarch,  who  fell  in  the 
first  engagement  with  his  rival,  A.  M.  3297.  The  conqueror  Fionn, 
after  a  reign  of  twenty  years,  undistinguished  in  history,  was  in  his 
turn  slain  in  battle,  by  his  successor,  Seadhna  Jonoraice,  who 
mounted  the  throne,  A.  M.  3318.  He  received  the  appellation  cf 
Jonoraice,  in  consequence  of  his  being  the  first  monarch  of  Ireland 
that  regulated  the  fixed  pay  of  the  army  by  a  royal  ordinance.  He 
was  a  prince  eminent  for  his  literary,  as  well  as  his  military  talents. 
The  treatise  which  he  wrote  on  military  discipline  and  tactics,  was 
as  remarkable  for  the  graces  of  its  style,  as  for  the  depth  of  martial 
knowledge,  that  pervaded  that  admired  composition,  which  remain- 
ed for  ages  subsequently,  as  a  standard  of  military  jurisprudence, 
for  the  Irish  army. 

He  caused  many  forges  to  be  established  for  the  fabrication  of 
arms,  after  the  fashion  of  the  lances  and  swords  of  the  Carthaginians. 
Many  of  the  swords  of  this  fabric,  which  have  been  found  in  several 
bogs  iu  Ireland,  bore  such  an  exact  and  surprising  similarity  to 
those  discovered  buried  in  the  plains  of  Cannae,  and  now  deposited 
in  the  British  Museum,  that  several  learned  antiquarians  before  whom 
both  swords  have  been  assayed  and  analyzed,  have  declared  that 
they  must  have  come  frona  the  same  mint.  "  They  are,"  says  the 
report  of  the  London  Assay  Master,  A.  D.  1789,  "  a  mixture  of  cop- 
per, iron,  and  zinc.  They  take  an  exquisite  fine  polish,  and  carry  a 
very  sharp  edge,  and  are  firm  and  elastic.  They  are  so  peculiarly 
formed,  as  to  resist  any  kind  of  rust,  as  appears  by  two  presented  by 
Lord  Milton,  which  were  dug  up  in  the  bog  of  Cullen,  county  of 
Dublin,  after  lying  there  for  many  ages."* 

*  '•  Sir  Lawrence  Parsons,  in  his  learned  and  elcirant  del'ence  of  tlic  ancient 
history  of  Ireland,  observes,  that  at  an  early  period  of  the  world,  the  Phoenicians 
made  a  settlement  in  Ireland,  and  immediately,  or  by  degrees,  completely  subjugat- 


99 

Notwithstanding  the  beneficial  institutions  of  Seadhna,  and  the 
justice  of  his  government,  he  was  doomed  to  experience  the  same 
fate  as  his  royal  predecessors,  witli  the  memorable  exception  that  the 
manner  of  his  death  was  signally  ditlerent  and  nnprecedently  cruel 
and  inhuman.  He  was,  while  unarmed,  taken  by  surprise,  by  Simon 
Breac,  or  the  speckled,  who,  with  a  refinement  of  cruelty  equal  to 
the  barbarity  of  him  who  stretched  his  victim  on  his  lacerating  bed, 
caused  the  unhappy  monarch's  limbs  to  be  rent  asunder  by  a  machine, 
which  he  had  constructed  to  gratify  his  diabolical  vengeance. 

This  sanguinary  and  relentless  tyrant,  after  an  oppi-essive  reign 
of  six  years,  was  totally  defeated  by  Duach,  the  son  of  Seadhna, 
who,  in  accordance  with  the  laws  of  retributive  justice,  inflicted  on 
him  the  same  species  of  torture,  to  which  the  despot  had  consigned 
his  father. 

Duach's  accession  to  the  throne  was  hailed  by  the  unanimous 
approbatioii  of  the  nation,  and  during  a  peaceable,  prosperous,  and 
salutary  reign  often  years,  he  evinced  all  the  royal  virtues  that  can 
shed  lustre  on  a  throne,  or  give  additional  eminence  to  regal  station. 
But  neither  the  magnanimity  of  his  conduct,  nor  the  amiability  of 
his  disposition  had,  in  the  hour  of  revolt,  any  avail  in  averting  the 
arm  of  aspiring  ambition.  Muiredheacii,  the  son  of  the  tyrant 
Simon,  overthrew  and  killed  the  monarch  in  an  engagement,  A.  M. 
3354. 

Muiredheacii  mounted  the  throne  in  direct  opposition  to  the 
wishes  of  the  Irish  people,  who  dreaded  that  he  would  follow  in  the 
despotic  and  sanguinary  career  of  his  arbitrary  father; — but  fortunate- 
ly ere  he  had  time  to  give  the  rein  of  absolute  sway  to  his  tyrannic 
inclinations,  he  fell  a  sacrifice  to  the  just  vengeance  of  Eauhna  II. 
the  son  of  Duach,  "  the  good  monarch,"  as  he  was  emphatically 
denominated  by  the  voice  of  the  nation. 

ed  the  country,  and  established  in  the  Island  their  laws,  religion,  and  language : — 
this  elegant  writer  supports  his  hypotliesis  by  observing,  that  the  Carthaginians 
originally  came  from  Phoenicia  and  spoke  the  PhcEnician  language  ;  that  a  speci- 
men of  that  language  has  been  preserved  by  Plautus,  in  one  of  his  plays,  which 
contains  some  speeches  of  Hanno,  a  Cartliaginian,  in  the  language  of  his  country, 
which  he  says,  appears,  upon  examination,  to  be  the  same  dialect  as  the  Irish. 

In  further  corroboration  of  tlic  eastern  origin  of  the  Irish,  the  discovery  of  Car- 
thaginian swords  in  the  bogs  of  Ireland  has  been  adduced.  General  Campbell  is 
in  possession  of  one  of  the  swords  found  near  Armagh  : — it  is  made  of  brass,  about 
twenty  inches  long,  two  inches  broad,  having  small  holes  in  the  liandle,  supposed 
to  have  been  perforated  for  the  purpose  of  admitting  thongs  to  be  fastened  to  them; 
which  size  and  marks  correspond  precisely  with  the  swords  found  on  the  plains  of 
Cannae,  as  I  have  been  informed  by  an  intelligent  friend,  who  had  an  opportunity 
of  comparing  the  former  with  tiie  latter,  which  he  saw  in  several  of  the  museums 
in  Italy.  The  facts  are  curious,  and  the  deductions  are,  at  least,  ingenious." 
Stranger  in  Ireland. 

'■  Governor  Powmal,  in  his  account  of  Irish  antiquities,  read  before  the  English 
antiquarian  society,  in  1774,  compared  some  old  Irish  swords  found  at  a  great 
depth,  in  the  bog  of  Allen,  with  those  in  the  British  Museum,  and  was  surprised 
at  their  likeness  and  exact  correspondence  in  formation  and  metal." — Vallancey. 

"  But  as  our  annals  particularly  remark  on  the  abundance  of  mines  and  miner- 
als in  our  country,  and  the  ingenuity  of  our  artists,  the  candid  reader  will  agree 
with  me,  I  think,  that  the  Carthaginians  imported  their  swords  from  us  in  the  course 
of  traffic,  as  Ireland  was  in  this  reign,  unequalled  for  the  elegant  fabric  of  arms." 
O'Halloran. 


100 

Eadhn A-Dearg,  (or  the  red,  which  he  was  called  from  his  fresh 
and  ruddy  complexion)  assumed  sovereign  authority  under  the  most 
flattering  auspices;  the  remembrance  of  his  father's  virtues  prepos- 
sessed all  classes  in  his  favour,  and  rendered  him  the  object  of  national 
reverence  and  regard.  The  subsequent  conduct  of  the  monarch 
indeed  realized  the  brilliant  hopes  of  the  people,  and  convinced  them 
that  he  inherited  the  amiable  qualities  of  his  royal  sire,  as  well  as 
liis  crown  and  honours. 

To  this  monarch  our  historians  impute  the  invention  of  current 
coin  in  Ireland.  They  state  that  he  caused  a  mint  to  be  erected  at 
Ross,  in  the  county  of  Wexford,*  where  vast  quantities  of  gold  and 
silver  bullion  were  melted  down  in  the  royal  crucibles.  Ireland 
abounded  with  mines  of  gold  and  silver,  in  ancient  times,  as  the  various 
crowns,  shields,  goblets,  and  armour  of  these  precious  metals,  which 
have  been  discovered  in  different  parts  of  the  kingdom,  demonstrate, 
with  a  force  of  evidence  that  cannot  l)e  impeached. t 

We  are  told  by  Sir  James  Ware,  that  in  the  year  1639,  an  urn 
full  of  the  coins  of  this  monarch,  were  discovered  in  a  Druidical 
cave,  in  the  county  of  Wicklow.  These  coins  were  of  silver,  and  as 
large  as  an  English  shilling;  on  one  side  was  the  impression  of  the 

*  The  village  of  Ross,  which  has  dwindled  to  decay,  is  beautifully  situated  on 
the  confluence  of  the  rivers  Suire  and  Barrow,  in  the  county  of  Wexford,  at  the 
distance  of  89 miles  from  Dublin.  The  country  here  is  romantic  and  picturesque, 
and  the  prospect  that  the  traveller,  who  ascends  Faithleg  hill,  can  command  of  Water- 
ford  harbour,  Tramore  bay,  Duncannon  fort,Ballyhack,  and  Passage,  new  R,oss,  and 
the  extensive  chain  of  mountains  of  Tipperary,  Wicklow,  Kilkenny,  Carlow,  and  the 
Kings'  and  Queens'  County,  brings  within  a  charming  co7ip  d'  ocil.  as  interesting  a 
landscape  as  Italy  can  present.  There  are  several  monastic  ruins  in  Ross,  partic- 
ularly those  of  the  abbey  of  St.  Augustine,  erected  by  Sir  John  Devereux,  A.  D. 
]213.  Near  Ross,  at  Tintern,  are  also  the  magnificent  remains  of  the  abbey  which 
the  Earl  of  Pembroke  founded  in  1200.  The  rich  possessions  of  this  abbey  were 
granted  by  Queen  Elizabeth  to  Colonel  Gore,  whose  descendants  afterwards  were 
created  Earls  of  Ross.  Ross  was  the  scene  of  the  sanguinary  conflict  between  the 
deluded  but  brave  insurgents  of  1798,  and  the  royal  army,  in  which  more  than 
2.000  human  beings  lost  their  lives  ! 

t  '•  In  many  of  the  Irish  bogs  have  been  discovered  numerous  and  ponderous 
ornaments  of  gold  and  silver,  such  as  fibulae,  clasps,  buckles,  bracelets,  anklets, 
sandals,  frontlets,  lunettes,  tankards,  trumpets,  weapons,  and  cups,  several  of  which 
are  of  elegant  workmanship,  and  give  a  high  idea  of  the  wealth,  skill  and  taste  of 
the  ancient  Irish." — Stranger  in  Ireland. 

"  Herodotus  affirms  that  the  Carthaginians  effected  a  landing  in  a  remote  Mian- 
tic  Isle,  a.nd  established  a  colony  in  it;  and  that  vast  quantities  of  gold,  silver,  and 
precious  stones,  were  exported  annually  from  it  to  the  parent  city." — Lynch. 

"  There  can  be  no  doubt  of  the  early  use  of  trade  and  of  money  in  Ireland,  into 
which  it  is  probable  it  was  introduced,  as  soon  as  it  was  frequented  by  the  I'hosni- 
cians.  Before  the  reign  of  Eockaidh  IV.  the  Irish  made  their  payments  of  gold  and 
silver  in  bars  and  ingots,  with  which  their  rich  mines  supplied  them." — .Antiquities 
of  Wales,  Vol.  I.  p.  181. 

"  The  massy  gold  and  silver  chalices,  candlesticks,  plate,  utensils,  ornaments, 
and  images  of  saints,  seized  by  the  crown,  in  tlie  reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  in  the 
Irish  abbeys,  brought  more  than  one  million  sterling  to  the  exchequer." — Cambden. 

"  In  ancient  times,  gems  must  have  been  abundant  in  Ireland,  as  some  golden 
crowns  lately  found  in  digging  in  bogs,  were  enriched  with  large  rubies,  topazes, 
amethysts  and  sapphire  pebbles  of  great  value." — Irish  Geology,  London  Edition, 
1797.  page  59. 

"  Long  before  the  birth  of  Christ,  the  Irish  had  stamped  money,  and  their  artists 
seem  to  have  been  as  unrivalled  in  the  fabrication  of  metals,  as  they  confessedly 
were  in  lignarian  architecture,  and  jaartial  music," — Bishop  Nicholson. 


101 

monarch's  head,  and  on  the  reverse,  Hibernia  bearing  in  her  hand 
the  wand  entwined  with  a  serpent.  Sdme  of  these  coins  are  preserv- 
ed in  the  cabinets  of  the  antiquarians,  and  two  of  them  are  to  be 
seen  in  the  mugeiini  of  the  university  of  Dubhn. 

In  1812,  some  men  who  were  digging  in  a  field  in  Glan7nirc,*  a 
fairy  valley,  in  the  county  of  Cork,  found  an  ancient  gold  coin,  as 
large  as  a  guinea,  which,  by  the  inscription,  appeared  to  have  been 
coined  in  the  reign  of  Cathair,  who  was  monarch  of  Ireland,  A.  D. 
151.  The  impression  on  one  side  was  a  human  iiead  encircled  with 
a  knight's  helmet,  and  on  the  reverse,  a  war-horse  gorgeously 
caparisoned.  We  beheve  that  this  valuable  antique  is  at  present  in 
the  hands  of  the  Earl  of  Shannon.  Every  writer  since  the  days  of 
Gerald  Barry,  who  visited  our  country,  has  admitted  that  her  soil  is 
stored  with  the  most  precious  mines,  and  minerals.  In  ancient  times, 
it  will  be  seen,  these  mines  were  industriously  explored  and  worked 
with  unwearied  spirit  ;  the  cause  of  their  long  neglect  is  owing  to  the 
studied  misgovernment,  and  aggressive  system  of  monopoly,  to  the 

*  Having  occasion  to  speak  of  the  romantic  vale  of  Glanniire,  in  the  text,  we 
think  we  will  enliven  the  interest  of  historical  narrative,  by  giving  a  topographical 
sketch  of  it  to  our  readers.  The  pastoral  valley  of  Glanmire  is  situated  three 
miles  east  of  the  city  of  Cork  ;  a  meandering  rivulet,  after  gliding  smoothly  through 
its  flower  spangled  meadows,  drops  its  tributary  streams  into  the  harbour.  In  this 
secluded  glen,  where  Byron  would  love  to  woo  the  epic  muse,  and  Petrarch  to 
whisper  the  soft  words  of  passion  to  his  Laura,  are  interspersed  two  rural  villages, 
upper  and  lower  Glanmire,  the  latter  of  which,  seated  on  gentle  acclivities,  rising 
above  the  head  of  tlie  creek,  at  the  distance  oi'  a  mile  from  its  conflux  with  the 
harbour,  present  landscape  features,  which  a  Poussin  migiit  contemplate  with 
delight.  Surrounded  on  all  sides  by  an  assemblage  of  verdant  hills,  garnished 
with  wood,  they  form  every  rural  and  picturesque  variety  that  can  unite  in  the 
composition  of  a  pleasing  sylvan  scene.  In  some  places  appear  narrow  glens,  the 
bottoms  of  which  are  filled  with  pellucid  water,  whilst  the  steep  emerald  banks  are 
draped  with  an  umbrageous  tapestry  of  variegated  tints,  that  throw  a  foliaceous 
shade  over  these  grassy  sofas,  which  the  solar  beams  cannot  penetrate.  In  other 
parts,  the  vale  opens  to  form  the  site  of  a  pretty  cheerful  village  overhung  by 
impending  hills  and  undulating  woods,  from  whence  the  green  shore  gradually 
rises  into  large  enclosures,  speckled  with  white  houses,  like  pearls  set  in  emerald. 
In  this  charming  retreat,  where  a  pilgrim  might  give  up  his  soul  to  holy  musings, 
and  a  hermit  look  with  contempt  on  the  vanities  and  pleasures  of  the  busy  world, 
are  several  elegant  villas,  especially  Lota,  which  stands  at  tlie  termination  of  a  fine 
vista,  looking  towards  Cork,  formed  by  rows  of  elm  and  beech  trees.  Before  this 
solitary  Tusculanum,  is  a  fine,  flower-gemmed  lawn,  fringed  by  a  '  garniture  of 
groves,'  while  the  improved  pleasure  grounds  in  the  rear,  consisting  of  a  domain 
of  one  hundred  acres,  add  a  new  and  attractive  beauty  to  the  tout  ensemble  of  the 
landscape,  and  form  a  fine  and  imposing  accompaniment  to  the  sylvan  woods  and 
lawns  of  Dunkettle,  Richmond,  and  Ballyroshien,  on  the  opposite  banks  of  the 
creek. 

The  town  of  Glanmire  contains  about  fifty  houses,  and  a  church,  which  was 
originally  built  by  John  Roche,  A.  D.  1349.  In  the  cemetery  of  this  church,  which 
serves  for  the  sepulchral  ground  of  the  deceased  of  the  whole  parish  of  Caherly,  is 
an  elegant  monument  of  white  marble  ;  commemorative  of  the  virtues  of  Arch- 
deacon CoRKFR,  who  died  rector  of  tliis  parish  in  1739.  On  the  sarcopliagus  of 
the  tomb,  in  full  basso-relievo,  is  a  female  figure  weeping  over  a  sepulchral  urn 
placed  on  a  Roman  pedestal,  the  dodo  of  which  bears  a  medallion  of  the  Arch- 
deacon ;  under  this,  on  a  sliield,  are  the  arms  of  the  deceased,  beautifully  sculp- 
tured, and  above,  in  an  oval  compartment,  within  a  wreath  of  laurel,  is  the  in- 
scription. 

Glanmire  and  the  whole  district  of  country  tlience  to  Youghal,  belonged 
originally  to  the  Irisii  sept  of  the  O'Lehans,  who  were  dispossessed  of  their  patri- 
monial inheritance,  by  the  Barries,  who  were  officers  under  Strongbow. 


102 

evils  of  which  England  has  doomed  Ireland  for  ages; — but  we  hope 
that  HE  who  broke  the  chain  of  religious  restriction,  will  still  farther 
entitle  himself  to  the  eternal  gratitude  of  his  country,  and  form  a 
new  epoch  in  her  history,  by  instigating  a  research  after  the  treasures 
that  are  immured  in  her  mountains  and  plains,  and  draw  from  the 
bowels  of  the  earth,  those  hidden  sources  of  national  wealth,  to 
enrich  the  proprietary  of  the  soil,  extend  commerce,  promote  the 
arts,  give  a  spirit  to  industry,  check  emigration  to  strange  climes  ; 
and  to  supply  the  exigencies  of  the  empire.  This  glorious  task,  we 
fondly  hope,  Daniel  O'Connell  is  yet  destined  to  accomplish. 

Ireland,  which  was  once  distinguished  for  her  agricultural  oper- 
ations, and  excellence  in  the  cultivation  of  the  arts,  as  for  her 
renown  in  arms,  and  fame  in  literature,  has,  by  a  fatal  concatena- 
tion of  internal  discord,  and  English  policy,  been  thrown  back  a 
century  behind  many  countries  which  were  immersed  in  barbarism, 
at  a  proud  era,  when  she  was  the  great  emporium  of  cominerce — the 
luminary  of  science,  and  the  school  in  whose  splendid  focus  were 
concentrated  those  radiant  beams  of  philosophy  and  religion,  which 
dispelled  the  darkness  that  brooded  over  European  intellect,  in  the 
fifth  and  sixth  centuries.  We  trust,  however,  that  English  policy, 
can  no  longer  wield  the  arms  of  injustice  against  the  prosperity  of 
Ireland,  or  bring  the  repercussive  lever  of  monoply  to  bear  upon  her 
interest  and  welfare.  Too  long,  alas !  it  has  been  her  fated  and 
marked  destiny,  to  be,  in  most  public  concerns,  either  cajoled  by 
pretenders,  defrauded  by  knaves,  or  distracted  by  chimerical  dema- 
gogues, in  the  delusive  guise  of  prudent  patriots.  But  at  last,  thank 
Heaven .!  the  able,  skilful,  and  disinterested  pilot,  O'Connell,  has 
steered  the  storm-shattered  bark  out  of  the  shoals  and  quicksands  of 
179S,  and  the  breakers  and  eddies  of  the  disastrous  epoch  of  1803. 
In  addition  to  the  metallic  and  mineral  productions,  on  which  we 
have  already  descanted,  Ireland  is  pregnant  with  coal,  iron,  lead, 
and  copper  mines,  and  the  celebrity  of  her  noble  quarries  of  marble 
is  known  to  every  intelligent  reader. 

The  most  beautiful  specimens  of  this  architective  and  sculptural 
material,  are  found  in  the  counties  of  Waterford,  Kilkenny,  Galway, 
and  Meath.  Blocks  of  great  magnitude,  of  jet  black  marble,  sus- 
ceptible of  the  finest  polish,  are  raised  out  of  the  quarries  of  AVater- 
ford  :  the  characteristics  of  the  Kilkenny  marble  are  hardness,  and 
brilliancy  of  streaks,  which  peculiarly  adapt  it  for  the  purposes  of 
ornamental  architecture  ;  the  Galway  production  is  distinguished  for 
its  pure  whiteness,  as  well  as  for  the  massy  magnitude  of  the  ponder- 
ous pillars  it  has  furnished  to  some  of  the  most  elegant  colonnades  in 
the  kingdom  ;  the  Meath  marble,  of  the  famous  quarry  of  Ardbraccan, 
near  the  town  of  Navan,*  is  esteemed  the   best  in  the  kingdom  for 

*  Navan,  a  considerable  town  in  the  county  of  Meath,  29  miles  from  Dublin,  is 
pleasantly  situated  on  the  conflux  of  the  rivers  Boyne  and  Blackwater,  in  the 
midst  of  a  rich  and  picturesque  country,  whose  scenery  is  diversified  with  baronial 
castles,  monastic  ruins,  and  waving  forests. 

Navan  was  a  place  of  great  note  in  ancient  times.  Mnlachy,  king  of  Meath, 
erected  an  abbey  here,  A.  D.  1008,  and  after  the  invasion,  Hugh  De  Lacy  erected 
and  endowed  another  monastery  in  tliis  town,  which  is  now  a  heap  of  ruins,  as  is 
that  which  was  built  by  Jocelyn  Nangle,  and  dedicated  to  the  holy  virgin,  in  the 


103 

building;  it  is  of  a  beautiful  dove  colour,  and  when  polislied,  it 
developes  a  variety  of  tints  and  veins.  Kildare  House,  formerly  the 
princely  residence  of  the  Duke  of  Leinsler,  but  now  the  Royal 
Dublin  Society  iiouse,  the  Provost's  mansion  at  Trinity  College,  and 
the  Riclimond  Asylum,  are  the  Dublin  edifices  built  of  this  marble. 

But  it  is  high  time  that  we  should  conclude  our  episode  and  resume 
the  thread  of  our  historical  narrative.  The  brilliant  reign  of  Eadhna 
II.  which  was  faithfully  devoted  to  the  patriotic  task  of  promoting 
the  happiness  and  prosperity  of  the  people,  terminated  in  its  twelfth 
year,  when  the  monarch  fell  a  victim  to  the  plague.  The  death  of 
this  wise  and  beneficent  Prince,  was  deeply  bewailed  by  the  whole 
nation,  which  regarded  him  with  reverential  affection  and  enthusias- 
tic devotion. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

TItc  reigns  of  Lughaidh,  Sior-Laimh,  Eochuidli  V. — JWival  Jlrchitccturc  in  Ireland. — 
j\'aval  exploits  at  Dundalk. —  The  jeigns  of  Eochaidli  VI.  and  hishrother  Conuing, 
or  Lughaidh,  and  Art  II. — The  reigns  of  Fiacha,  OlioU.and.  Jlirgeadmhar. — 
The  accession  of  Eochaidh  J  II.,  or  Duach,  and  of  Lughaidh  III.  to  the  Irish 
Throne. 

Prince  Lughaidh,  the  eldest  son  of  Eadhna,  the  late  monarch, 
mounted  the  throne  of  his  ancestors  without  opposition,  A.  M.  3397. 
He  is  distinguished  in  the  royal  genealogy  of  Ireland,  by  the  surname 
of  Jardhohm,  which  signifies,  in  Irish,  the  dark  brown  haired  Prince. 
This  Prince  had  a  soul  inflamed  by  military  ardour,  and  a  passion 
for  glory  ;  and  no  sooner  had  he  grasped  the  sceptre  of  power,  than 
he  promptly  resolved  to  carry  his  bold  ambitious  projects  into  exe- 
cution. He  raised  a  formidable  army,  with  which  l:e  marched  into 
Ulster,  for  the  avowed  purpose  of  compelling  the  Prince  of  that 
Province  to  pay  him  the  usual  tribute.  The  Ultonian  chieftain, 
considering  the  demand  unwarrantable,  appealed  to  his  people,  who, 
at  his  call,  rose,  en  masse,  to  resist  the  aggressive  invader.  A  desul- 
tory system  of  warfare,  attended  by  various  success,  was  carried  on 
for  years  between  the  belligerants  ;  but  at  length,  Prince  Sior-Laimit, 
(or  the  long-handed)  of  the  house  of  Ir,  an  aspirant  to  the  supreme 
monarchy,  warmly  espoused  the  cause  of  the   Ultonians,  and   soon 

twelfth  century.  In  the  cemetery  of  the  latter,  are  tlie  remains  of  many  ancient 
tombs,  whose  sculptural  decorations  present  several  figures  in  alto-relievo.  On 
every  side  of  this  domain-encircled  town,  the  romantic  banks  of  the  Boyne  and 
Blackwater  are  embellished  with  the  castles  of  Ludlow,  Liscarton,  (the  birth-place 
of  the  celebrated  Lord  Cadogan)  Athlumny,  Dunmore,  as  well  as  several  other 
mansions,  among  the  most  elegant  of  which  is  tlie  palace  of  the  Bisliop  of  Mcath, 
at  Ardbraccan,  which  combines  with  classic  taste,  the  beauty  and  jiglitness  of 
Ionic  architecture.  The  marble  that  composes  its  pillared  portico  and  lofty  pediment, 
was  raised  out  of  the  famous  quarry  in  its  vicinit}^  Tliis  superb  structure  was 
built  by  Bishop  Maxwell,  in  178!>,  on  the  ruins  of  the  old  cathedral,  for  Ardbraccan 
was  a  Bishop's  see,  until  the  tenth  century.  The  modern  cathedral  of  the  Bishop- 
ric of  Meath,  stands  near  the  prelate's  residence;  but  it  is  a  plain  building  of  no 
architectural  irrandeur. 


104 

turned  the  tide  of  fortune  in  their  favour.  Lughaidh  was  vanquished 
in  several  skirmishes,  and  obliged  to  retreat  to  Clogiier,*  in  the 
county  of  Tyrone.  Scarcely  had  he  encamped  here,  ere  he  was 
attacked  by  Sior-Laimh,  at  the  head  of  the  Ultonians.  The  battle, 
as  usual,  was  tierce  and  desjjerate,  and  after  a  heroic  resistance,  in 
which  the  courajre  and  valour  of  the  monarch,  shone  with  the  brilliant 
splendour  of  Milesian  cliivalry,  \ictory,  notwithstanding',  declared 
itself  for  the  Ultonians.  The  monarch  and  his  princi|;al  otHcers,  fell 
in  this  sanguinary  and  decisive  conflict.  The  victorious  Sior,  after 
rewarding  liis  Ultonian  allies  for  their  spirit  and  bravery  proceeded 
to  Tara,  where  the  Arch-Druid  placed  the  crown  upon  his  head. 
During  the  whole  jKMiod  of  his  reign,  this  monarch  missed  no  oppor- 
tunity of  oppressing  the  descendants  of  Ileber  ;  but,  at  length,  the 
sword  of  EocHAiDH,  the  sou  of  Lughaidh,  of  the  dynasty  of  Heber, 
terminated  his  life  in  battle,  in  the  seventeenth  year  of  his  regal 
sway.  The  victor,  Eociiaidh  Unarcheas,  or  Eochaidh  of  the  ships, 
was  solemnly  inaugurated  monarch  on  the  stone  of  destiny,  at  Tara, 
A.  M.  3393.  The  appellation  of  Unarcheas  was  bestowed  upon  this 
Prince,  because  during  his  warfare  with  his  predecessor,  Sior,  he  was 
frequently  obliged  to  embark  his  forces  on  board  of  small  skiffs,  or 
Currachs,  rudely  constructed  of  wattles  and  horse-hides,  which  ena- 
bled him  in  the  most  stormy  seasons,  to  escape  to  his  large  vessels, 
which  hovered  round  the  coast,  from  the  pursuit  of  the  royal  army. 

That  Ireland,  even  in  those  early  days,  had  ships  of  magnitude 
and  elegant  naval  architecture,  cannot  be  denied  by  any  one  that 
reflects  on  the  fact,  that  the  art  of  ship-building  was  carried  to  per- 
fection by  the  early  Milesians,  who  had  ships  of  as  great  tonnage  as 
the  Carthaginians.  Tacitus  is  a  conclusive  evidence,  to  demonstrate 
the  fact  of  our  having  large  fleets  at  those  periods,  when  the  still 
bosom  of  the  ocean  had  not  yet  been  furrowed  by  the  keel  of  a 
British  bark.  But  the  species  of  small  boats  of  which  we  have 
spoken,  were  found  more  useful  in  facilitating  the  landing  of  troops 
on  insular  stations,  or  in  hurrying  their  embarkation,  in  creeks  or 
shallows,  so  as  to  escape  the  pursuing  foe,  than  vessels  of  heavier 
burden.  A¥e  are  told  by  Coesar,  that  he  employed  cribs,  or  currachs, 
in  transporting  his  soldiers  over  the  rivers  in  Spain.  In  the  days  of 
this  Prince,  (Eocuaidh)  Ireland,  Carthage,  and  Egypt,  were  the 
tjiree  greatest  maritime  powers  in  the  world. 

*  Clogher,  is  a  considerable  town,  agreeably  situated  on  the  winding  rivers  of 
Launy  in  the  county  of  Tyrone,  at  a  distance  of  104  miles  from  Dublin.  St. 
Patrick  made  Clogher  a  Bisliop's  See,  A.  D.  4G7,  and  ordained  St.  Mac  Cartin,the 
companion  of  his  travels,  as  well  as  his  fellow  labourer  in  the  vineyard  of  Chris- 
tianity, the  first  prelate  of  it.  Our  national  Apostle  remained  two  years  in  Clogher, 
to  superintend  the  erection  of  the  Cathedral,  and  of  the  abbey,  which  he  dedicated 
to  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary.  The  Cathedral  is  still  in  jfine  preservation,  having 
undergone  within  the  last  century,  several  repairs;  but  in  1396,  the  abbey  was 
reduced  by  fire  to  the  heap  of  ruins,  that  now  remains  as  the  monument  and 
sepulchre  of  its  former  architectural  giandeur.  The  tomb  of  the  M'Kennas,  the 
ancient  chieftains  of  Trough,  stands  in  one  of  the  aisles.  James  I.  by  a  royal 
grant,  made  to  George  Montgomery,  Bishoj)  of  Clogher,  invested  this  see  with  all 
the  lands  which  belonged  originally  to  the  abbey. 

The  suburbs  of  this  town  are  enriched  and  embellished  with  the  mansion  and 
domains  of  the  Bishop,  and  Dean  of  Clogher,  and  the  sylvan  groves  of  Fordross 
and  Lisbor vie,  serve  to  impart  additional  tints  of  beauty  to  the  landscape. — Author. 


105 

Bede  has  honorably  admitted,  in  his  Ecclesiastical  history  of 
Britain,  tliat  it  was  to  us  England  was  indebted  for  their  naval  and 
mural  architecture.*  Gildas,  of  Valentia,  in  his  epistle  on  Britain, 
written  A.  D.  560,  states,  "  that  the  Hibernians  had  large  ships  for 
the  purposes  of  war  ;  but  thai,  in  carrying  on  trade,  tliey  conveyed 
their  commodities  over  a  sea  rough  and  tempestuous,  in  wicker  boats, 
encompassed  with  a  swelling  covering  of  ox-hides."  At  the  famous 
naval  battle,  fought  in  the  bay  of  Dundalk,  between  the  Irish  and 
Danes,  in  the  eleventh  century,  the  [)articulars  of  which  we  will 
narrate  in  its  proper  place,  the  Irish  fleet  consisted  of  seventy  large 
ships.  Neither  in  the  voluminous  pages  of  Polybius,  nor  in  the 
whole  eloquent  tomes  of  Gibbon,  can  a  feat  of  such  devoted  heroism 
and  magnanimous  jjatriotism,  be  found,  as  will  parallel  the  romantic 
exploit  of  the  Irish  Admiral,  Fixgall,  at  the  Dundalk  sea-fight. 

Dr.  Warner,  the  liberal  English  historian,  after  giving  a  circum- 
stantial account  of  this  celebrated  marine  conflict,  says  : 

"The  contest  was  hot  and  bloody;  the  chief  admiral  of  the  Irish 
fleet,  Failbue,  fell,  covered  with  blood,  on  the  Danish  ship  which 
he  had  boarded,  and  the  Danish  General  being  convinced,  that  upon 
the  loss  of  his  own  ship,  would,  in  all  probability,  follow  the  loss  of 
all  his  fleet,  exerted  all  his  skill  and  valour,  in  order  to  save  it  :  and 
that  he  might  strike  terror  and  dismay  into  the  Irish,  he  caused  the 
head  of  Failbhe  to  be  cut  otf,  and  exposed  to  view.  Fingall,  the 
Irish  Vice-Admiral,  on  seeing  the  horrid  spectacle,  resolved  to 
revenge  the  death  of  his  late  commander,  and  calling  to  his  men  lo 
follow   him,  they   boarded    the   Dane  with  irresistible  fury.      The 

*  "  On  the  arrival  of  the  Romans,  the  inhabitants  of  Britain  had  i'ew  vessels, 
except  the  small  craft  employed  in  fishing  and  piratical  expeditions,  to  the  neigh- 
bouring countries.  These  vessels  seldom  exceeded  twenty  tons  burden,  were 
constructed  of  frame  timber  work,  cased  with  wicker,  and  lined  externally  and 
internally,  with  hides  of  animals.  The  sails  were  of  skins,  and  cordage  of  thongs. 
They  were  seldom  employed  in  commerce,  which  then,  and  for  a  century  after, 
was  principally  carried  on  in  Irish  holtums. 

The  Romans,  in  some  respects  a  naval  power,  increased  the  shipping,  as  far  as 
related  to  trade  and  commerce,  in  respect  to  number,  but  restricted  the  size  to 
about  seventy-eight  tons  burden,  and  absolutely  prohibited  ships  of  war ;  for  though 
they  had  powerful  fleets  in  the  British  harbours,  for  the  protection  of  the  Island, 
they  were  either  brought  from  Italy,  or  purchased  from  Venetian  merchants ; 
consequently,  on  these  vessels  being  withdrawn,  on  the  departure  of  the  Romans, 
the  Britons  suffered  as  much  in  their  maritime  affairs,  as  in  other  respeets.for  their 
native  vessels  became  an  easy  prey  to  the  Frank  and  Saxon  pirates  at  sea,  and 
were  not  secure,  even  in  their  own  harbours,  which  reduced  the  internal  commerce 
to  its  lowest  ebb,  and  quite  annihilated  the  foreign  trade. 

The  Anglo-Saxons,  in  order  to  oppose  the  Danes,  were  obliged  to  have  recourse 
again  to  naval  architecture,  and  king  Alfred,*  who  had  been  exiled  in  Ireland,  on 
regaining  possession  of  his  kingdom,  invited  over  Irish  ship-builders,  who  construct- 
ed for  him  a  large  fleet.  Some  of  the  vessels  then  built,  had  seventy-six  oars,  and 
were  generally  navigated  by  sixty  or  seventy  sailors.  In  A.  D.  957,  king  Edgar 
liad  a  fleet  of  three  hundred  sail  of  small  ves.sels." — Vide  DondeVs  Inquiry  into  the 
rise  and  progress  of  the  British  jVuTij,  London  edit.  17!)9,  I'ol.  I.  page  97. 

•'  That  the  Irish  had  letters  anciently,  is  nothing  doubtful ;  for  the  Saxons  of 
England  are  said  to  have  had  their  letters  and  learning,  and  learned  men  from  the 
Irish." — S/)rncer's  state  of  Irrl/ind.  ir)48. 

■"  The  Trinces  Alfred  and  Oswald,  were  educated  in  the  College  of  Mayo,  as 
Henry  and  Lingard,  the  English  historians  testify,  by  historical  proofs  that  cannot 
be  subverted  by  the  sophistry  of  scepticism. — Aothor. 

14 


106 

conflict  became  terrible  and  destructive  ;  but  there  beinir  so  many 
fresh  men  to  supply  the  place  of  the  slaughtered  or  disabled  Danes, 
the  Irish  had  no  prospect  of  obtaining  the  victory.  As  unable, 
however,  as  Fingall  was,  to  possess  himself  of  the  Danish  ship,  he  was 
too  valiant  an  Irishman  to  tliink  of  retreating  to  his  own  ;  especially, 
without  the  destruction  of  Situick,  tlie  Danish  Prince,  in  revenge  of 
the  death  of  the  Irish  commander.  lie  took  a  resolution,  therefore, 
in  this  dilemma,  vvhicli  is  not  to  be  equalled  for  determined  bravery 
Qr  romantic  devotedness  of  gallant  patriotism,  in  any  history. 
Making  his  way  up  to  Sitrick,  with  his  sword  against  all  that  oppo- 
sed him,  he  grasped  him  in  his  arms,  and  threw  himself,  with  liim, 
into  the  sea,  and  they  both  perished  together." 

EocHAiDH,  after  his  accession  to  the  throne,  did  nothing,  either  in 
war  or  policy,  worthy  of  historical  note,  until  the  twelfth  year  of  his 
reign,  Avhen  in  attempting  to  subvert  revolt,  he  died  by  the  sword  of 
EociiAiDH  VI.  surnamed  from  his  extraordinary  swiftness  in  running, 
the  Deer-hunter.  This  Prince  was  assisted  in  his  insurrectionary 
war  against  the  last  mmiarch,  by  his  brother,  Conuing-Beg-Oige, 
(or  the  intrepid  youth)  and  in  consequence,  they  became  joint  mon- 
archs  of  Ireland.  Like  some  of  their  predecessors,  they  divided  the 
kingdom  between  them  ;  but  they  were  not  suftered  to  enjoy  the 
sweets  of  sovereignty  long,  without  being  disturbed  by  the  storms  of 
revolt,  and  the  pretensions  of  rivals.  The  territories  of  Eochaidh 
were  invaded  by  Lugiiaidh-Laimh-Dearg,  (or  the  Prince  of  the 
bloody  hand)  who,  on  coming  to  an  engagement  with  the  king, 
defeated  his  forces,  and  slew  himself  in  the  conflict.  The  conqueror 
then  turned  big  arms  against  Conuing,  who,  then  unable  to  resist 
his  victorious  army,  fled  to  Gaul  for  succours. 

LuGHAiDH,  in  consequence  was  raised  to  the  throne  without  further 
opposition.  He  was  designated  the  Prince  of  the  bloody  hand, 
because  that  was  the  symbol  emblazoned  on  his  banner,  and  which 
is  still  the  crest  of  his  posterity,  the  O'Neils.  While  he  was  felici- 
tating himself  with  the  prospect  of  a  peaceable  reign,  his  rival, 
Conuing,  returned  from  Gaul,  at  the  head  of  a  formidable  auxiliary 
force,  with  which  he  succeeded  in  defeating  and  killing  Lughaidh, 
in  the  seventh  year  of  his  administration.  Conuing,  having  derived 
wisdom  in  the  school  of  adversity,  formed  the  determination  of 
governing  his  people  with  matured  wisdom  and  patriotic  justice. 
He  revised  the  laws,  abolished  unnecessary  taxation,  and  adopted 
every  expedient  of  policy  and  prudence,  to  aggrandize  the  nation. 

But  neither  his  virtues  nor  his  patriotism  could  avert  the  destroying 
arm  of  ambition.  He  fell  in  battle  by  the  hand  of  his  successor.  Art 
II.  of  the  Heberian  dynasty,  in  the  tenth  year  of  his  reign,  lamented 
by  the  majority  of  the  Irish  nation,  who  were  unable  to  prevent  his 
fate.  The  translator  of  Keating  gives  the  following  stanzas,  from  an 
Irish  bard,  in  praise  of  his  heroic  qualities  : 

"  CoNuiNO  tho  brave,  with  lovo  of  glory  fired, 
Oppressed  by  force,  triumphantly  expired  ; — 
He  raised  his  courage  for  the  last  debate, 
And  with  a  princely  soul,  undaunted  met  his  fate — 
Slain  by  the  sword  of  Art." 


107 

Art  did  not  long  retain  the  reins  of  power  ;  that  which  gave  them 
into  his  hands,  tiie  sword,  wrested  the  royal  sceptre  from  his  grasp, 
in  the  sixth  year  of  his  reign.  The  battle  that  terminated  his  life 
and  sway,  was  fought  at  Tallanstown,  in  the  county  of  Louth,  A. 
M.  343-2* 

FiACHA,  the  son  of  Muireadheach,  the  conqueror  of  th.e  last 
monarcii,  succeeded  to  the  throne  which  he  possessed  for  a  period 
of  ten  years,  and  then  fell  by  the  hand  of  his  successor,  Olioll, 
who  enjoyed  the  sovereignty  for  the  space  of  eleven  years,  when  the 
sword  of  Airgeadmhar  doomed  him  to  death  on  the  field  of  battle. 

Tlie  oppression  and  cruelty  exercised  by  Airgeadmhar,  naturally 
produced  discontent  and  disaffection  ;  so  tliat  the  moment  Eochaidh, 
the  son  of  OlioIl,  unfurled  the  standard  of  revolt,  it  was  the  signal 
of  a  general  and  simultaneous  insurrection.  The  tyrant,  not  pre- 
jjared  to  resist  the  danger  that  pressed  around  him,  fled  to  Albania, 
to  claim  assistance  from  his  brother-in-law,  the  prince  of  that 
country. 

In  the  mean  while,  Eochaidh  VII.  is  exalted  to  the  throne,  amidst 
the  enthusiastic  acclamations  of  tlie  Irish  people,  who  hailed  him  as 
their  deliverer  from  the  despotic  and  intolerable  yokeof  Airgeadmhai*. 
But  ere  seven  years  had  revolved,  the  despot  returned  with  a 
mercenary  army  of  Albanians,  witli  which  he  carried  terror  and 
dismay  tiirough  Munster.  In  his  devastating  progress,  he  was  joined 
by  DuACH,  the  son  of  Fiachadh,  of  the  family  of  Heremon,  as  well 
as  LuGHAiDH,  and  many  other  malcontents  ;  so  that  his  army  became 
numerous  and  formidable.  The  monarch,  with  all  the  forces  he 
could  collect,  quickly  marched  to  Adair, t  near  Limerick,  where  he 
brought  the  invader  to  an  engagement,  A.  M.  3460.  Both  chieftains 
entered  the  field  of  fate,  with  the  the  resolution  to  either  conquer  or 
die.  Tiie  Irish  annalists  say,  that  there  never  was,  perhaps,  a  battle 
so  gallantly  and  fiercely  contested  as  this  :  it  was  heroic  ambition 
struggling  for  power,  with  a  chivalric  and  resolute  valour,  that  could 
only  be  subdued  by  death.  This  murderous  conflict,  which  was 
ruled  by  carnage  and  destruction,  lasted  from  the  getting  up  to  the 
going  down  of  the  sun,  when,  at  length,  the  brave  monarch  was  pros- 
trated among  the  slain,  which  gave  a  dear-bought  victory  to  Airgead- 
mhar. His  chance  success  in  this  battle,  put  the  sceptre  of  tyrannic 
power  once  more  into  his  hands,  which,  for  sixteen  years  afterwards, 

*  Tallanstown,  is  a  pretty,  rural  village,  situated  on  the  shrubby  banks  of  the 
beautiful  river  Lagan,  in  the  midst  of  the  domain  of  Lord  Louth,  on  the  road  to 
Londonderry,  at  the  distance  of  forty-six  miles  N.  E.  from  Dublin.  Adjoining 
this  rural  village,  there  is  an  ancient  Rath,  or  mound,  which  the  late  Lord  Louth 
caused  to  bo  surrounded  by  a  quick-set  hedge,  and  planted  by  a  variety  of  umbra- 
creous  trees  and  flowering  shrubs,  so  that  it  is  now  one  of  the  most  picttiresqne 
ornaments  in  this  highly  embellished  domain.  About  three  miles  from  Tallans- 
town is  Louth,  the  little  village  from  which  the  county  derives  its  name,  and 
Thomas  Plunkett,  Baron  of  Louth,  his  title.  This  village  was  once  dignified  liy 
piety,  and  renowned  for  its  seven  churches  and  two  abbeys,  all  of  w^liich,  like  the 
architectural  glories  of  Babylon,  are  now  wasting  away  by  the  consumption  of 
time  and  desolation. 

We  will  have  occasion  to  speak  more  largely  of  Louth  when  we  have  brought 
down  our  history  to  the  days  of  St.  Patrick. 

<  We  will  give  the  topography  of  Adair  in  a  future  chapter. 


108 

he  pressed  upon  t'ne  Irish,  with  the  most  galUng  weight  of  despotism. 
But  despotism  always  generates  the  cause  of  its  own  annihilation. 
The  oppression  of  this  tyrant  reached  that  point  which  human  for- 
bearance could  not  possibly  tolerate ;  and  an  insurrection,  headed 
by  his  former  friend,  Duach-Laghrach,  deprived  him  of  his  power 
and  life,  in  the  twenty-third  year  of  his  inglorious  and  cruel  reign, 
A.  M.  3480. 

Duacu-Lagiiracii,  which  signifies,  violent  and  hasty,  was  crowned 
monarch  by  the  Druids,  at  Tara.  Our  historians  represent  him  as  a 
prince  of  the  most  irritable  temperament ;  and  such  was  the  unap- 
peasable relentlessness  of  his  passion  for  summary  justice,  tliat  the 
moment  a  criminal  was  condemned,  he  was  hurried  to  e\ecution. 
But  tliis  choleric  disposition  extinguished  all  the  tenderer  charities 
of  humanity  in  his  cold  breast,  which  was  never,  it  appears,  softened 
by  that  compassionate  mercy,  mIucIi  is  the  most  magnanimous  virtue 
of  the  monarch.  His  quondam  friend,  Lughaidh-Laighe,  or  the 
fawn-hunter,  of  the  dynasty  of  lieber,  who  so  materially  assisted  him 
in  gaining  possession  of  the  crown,  became  dissatisfied  and  discon- 
tented, at  not  being,  according  to  compact  made  between  him  and 
Duach,  when  they  conspired  against  Airgeadmhar,  associated  in  the 
regal  government,  resolved  to  have  \engeance  lor  so  ungrateful  a 
breach  of  faith.  He  soon  found  himself  at  the  head  of  a  powerful 
military  force,  which  enabled  him  to  ascend  the  throne,  after  he  had 
vanquished  and  killed  his  predecessor,  A.  M.  3490.  Duach's  reign 
of  three  years,  except  the  events  we  have  related,  furnish  no  occur- 
rence deserving  of  historical  note. 

Lughaidh-Laighe,  after  thus  acquiring  the  darling  object  of  his 
wishes,  gave  himself  up  to  the  alternate  pleasures  of  love  and  the 
chase,  until  he  had  completed  the  seventh  year  of  his  regal  sway  ; 
when  his  successor,  Aodh-Ruadii,  of  the  royal  line  of  Ir,  challenged 
him  to  the  martial  field,  where  he  forfeited  his  life  and  crown  A.  M. 
3497. 

Dr.  Keating  presents  us  with  a  very  romantic  episode,  relative 
to  king  Lughaidh,  which  the  classic  reader  will  at  once  trace  to  that 
fictitious   loom,  that  wove   the  amours  of  Endymion  and  Diana — 

POETIC  INVENTFON. 

"  This  Prince,"  says  the  Doctor,  "  it  seems,  as  he  was  hunting  in 
one  of  his  forests,"  was  separated  from  his  retinue,  and,  in  his  en- 
deavour to  rejoin  his  suite,  he  was  met,  in  a  gloomy  labyrinth,  by  an 
old  withered  hag,  who,  after  promising  to  conduct  him  to  his  friends, 
succeeded,  by  her  lascivious  blandishments,  in  seducing  the  monarch 
to  her  embraces,  who,  "  nothing  loath,"  no  sooner  threw  one  of  his 
arms  round  her  shrivelled  neck,  and  began  to  caress  her,  than  the 
sibyl  was  metamorphosed  into  a  blooming  maiden,  of  the  most  en- 
chanting beauty." 

This  allegorical  representation  of  the  genius  of  Erin,  was  intro- 
duced, no  doubt,  by  the  adulatory  court  Laureate,  of  the  Irish  king, 
by  such  another  fawning  sycophant,  as  "the  deep-mouthed  Southey." 
When  fiction  creates  a  Numa  Pompilius,  she  can  easily  bless  him 
with  the  celestial  charms  of  an  Egeria.  If  Southey,  the  time-serv- 
ing apostate — the  unprincipled  defamer  of  the  illustrious  Byron,  had 


109 

lived  in  the  days  of  Caligula,  he  would  have  lauded  his  horse  as  an 
accomplished  senator,  and  ascrihed  to  him  "  every  virtue  under 
heaven." 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


The  family  coalition  of  the  Princes  of  the  House  of  Ir,  to  maintain  the  possession 
of  the  Irish  Monarchy. —  The  reign  of  jlodh-Dithorha  and  Ciomliaoith,  and  Queen 
Macha. — Building  of  the  famous  palace  of  Emania,  in  the  county  of  Armagh. — 
Tlie  elevation  of  Reachta  to  the  throne,  and  his  tears  with  the  Mbariians. 

A.  M.  3497,  AoDH-RuADH,  or  the  red,  heing  a  wise,  shrewd,  and 
political  Prince,  who,  profiting  by  the  melancholy  fate  that  attended 
so  many  of  his  royal  predecessors,  for  ages,  came  to  the  determina- 
tion of  making  a  compact  with  all  his  relatives  of  the  Irian  dynasty, 
that  would  insure  the  stability  of  the  regal  authority,  in  the  hands 
of  the  members  of  that  family.  He  therefore  summoned  the  national 
estates  to  Tara,  and  in  their  presence,  ratified  a  solemn  treaty,  with 
his  principal  relatives,  which  stipulated  between  the  contracting 
parties,  that  himself,  and  each  of  his  brothers,  or  each  of  their  eldest 
sons,  should  reign  in  rotation  to  twenty-one  years,  and  that  they 
should  cordially  unite  in  defeating  the  pretensions  of  the  houses  of 
Heber  and  Herenion,  to  the  monarchy.  The  national  estates  gave 
their  sanction  to  the  agreement,  and  this  act  of  settlement  was  formally 
recorded  in  the  great  Book  of  the  Laws. 

Whether  the  other  pretenders  to  the  throne,  were  intimidated  by 
this  family  alliance,  or  by  the  standing  array,  with  which  the  king 
then  garrisoned  all  the  strong  holds  in  the  kingdom,  we  have  no  his- 
torical evidence,  or  data,  to  solve  the  (juestion  ;  but  it  appears  that 
AoDH  enjoyed  a  tranquil  reign  of  nineteen  years,  which  was  termi- 
nated by  the  fatal  catastrophe  of  his  being  drowned,  while  passing  a 
cataract  at  Belleck,  in  the  county  of  Donegal,  which  to  this  day,  in 
commemoration  of  the  event,  retains  the  appellation  of"  Eas-riiadh,''' 
or  the  red-fall. 

In  pursuance  of  the  terms  of  family  con)pact,  his  brother, 
DiTnoRBA,  assumed  the  regal  office,  and  after  a  prosperous  reign  of 
twenty  years,  undisturbed  by  civil  or  foreign  wars,  he  died  at  Tara, 
of  a  malignant  distemper,  A.  ]M.  3518.  His  nephew,  Ciombaoith, 
the  son  of  his  brother,  Fionntan,  ascended  the  vacant  throne,  without 
dispute  or  molestation.  Possessing  talents  of  prime  order,  which 
were  highly  cultivated  by  education,  he  commenced  his  reign  under 
the  most  brilliant  auspices.  His  well-known  prudence  and  elevation 
of  mind,  presaged  the  happiest  results  from  his  administration.  He 
signalized  the  first  acts  of  his  regal  authority,  by  enacting  wise  laws, 
and  framing  beneficial  institutions  for  the  promotion  of  national 
ha|))iiness  and  prosperity.  After  laying  his  plans  of  government 
before  the  national  assembly,  he  married  his  cousin,  the  beautiful 
Macha-ruadh,  or  the  red-haired  daughter  of  king  Aonii.     Though 


110 

this  celebrated  Princess  had  red  tresses,  yet  our  historians  represent 
her  as  the  loveliest  woman  of  her  aji^e.  This  monarch  governed  the 
kingdom  with  such  justice  and  impartiality,  that  he  was  emphati- 
cally denominated,  the  second  Ollamh  Fodhla. 

After  a  beneficial  reign  of  twenty  years,  rendered  memorable  by 
the  blessings  of  peace  enjoyed  by  his  people,  he  died  at  Tara,  A. 
M.  3559.  As  soon  as  the  honours  due  to  his  obsequies  were  paid, 
the  eldest  son  of  Dithorba,  on  wiiom  the  right  of  succession  to  the 
crown  devolved,  in  consequence  of  Aodh,  the  father  of  the  Queen 
regent,  leaving  no  male  issue,  claimed  the  throne  as  his  just  and 
indisputable  inheritance.  But  IMaclia,  animated  by  a  spirit  of  cour- 
age, tiiat  has  immortalized  her  name,  boldly  entered  the  house  of  the 
national  convention,  and  before  tlie  representative  majesty  of  the 
kingdom,  elnquentiy  asserted  that,  as  the  daughter  of  Aodh,  and  the 
widow  of  Ciombaoith,  she  was  the  legitimate  successor  to  the  throne; 
that  she  wished  to  adhere  to  the  laws  of  the  rcaUn,  and  obtain  the 
sanction  of  that  august  assembly,  in  her  proceedings ;  but  that,  if 
justice  was  denied  by  them,  in  contravening  her  legal  and  unalien- 
able rights,  slie  must  in  that  case,  resort  to  the  sword  to  enforce  her 
claims.  Druids,  Brehons,  and  Senators,  were  confounded  by  the 
daring  audacity  of  her  harangue  ;  but  the  constitutional  law  annulled 
her  claims,  and  shut  her  out  from  the  throne,  for  there  was  no  in- 
stance or  precedent,  wliich  could  warrant  the  convention  to  suffer  a 
woman  to  reign  in  Ireland.  As  soon  as  she  was  told  that  they  must 
surrender  the  crown  to  the  rightful  heir,  she  laconically  replied, 
"  He  must  thenjight  up  to  his  knees  in  blood,  before  he  can  pluck  the 
eliadem  of  my  fathers  from  my  brow."  After  uttering  this  threat,  she 
hastened  to  the  camp,  where  a  numerous  and  devoted  army  waited 
her  orders.* 

The  sons  of  Dithorba,  finding  that  the  convention  of  the  estates 
could  not  put  them  in  possession  of  power,  instantly  proceeded  to 
embody  a  military  force,  to  expel  the  magnanimous  heroine  from 
the  throne.  As  soon  as  the  Queen  learned  that  they  were  advanc- 
ing on  Tara,  in  hostile  array,  she  marshalled  her  troops  in  the  great 
square  of  the  palace  and  addressed  officers  and  soldiers,  in  the  most 
moving  and  impassioned  terms  of  eloquence.  It  is  easy  to  judge, 
what  eft'ect  the  appeal  of  a  beautiful  Queen,  had  on  the  susceptible 
affections  and  combustible  enthusiasm,  of  an  Irish  army,  composed, 
as  it  was  then,  of  courage  and  chivalry.  Every  heart  was  inflamed, 
and  every  tongue  was  loud  in  the  exclamation — "  Let  your  Majesty 
lead  us  to  the  enemy-'s  camp  !"  In  a  moment  this  intrepid  Amazon 
mounted  her  war  horse,  and  at  the  head  of  her  devoted  soldiers, 
marched  forward  to  meet  the  coming  foe. 

When  she  approached  the  eminence,  in  thecounty  of  Meath,  where 
the  insurgents  were  encamped,  she  immediately  drew  up  her  troops 
in  order  of  battle,  and,  before  she  gave  the  signal  of  attack,  she  rode 
along  the  lines,  and  addressed  the  most  animating  speech  to  every 
corps  of  her  army  : — she  reminded  them  of  the  valour  of  her  an- 
cestors, and   the  justice  of  her   cause,  "  and  though,   gentlemen," 

*  Mr.  Moore,  in  his  liistory,  has  not  honoured  the  memory  of  Macha,  the  very 
Omphalc  of  Ireland,  with  even  an  allusion. 


Ill 

added  slie,  "  you  will  combat  to-day  under  tlie  command  of  a  woman, 
yet  I  shall  prove  that  I  am  worthy  ofleailiug-  Irish  heroes,  and  that, 
in  the  woman-heart  of  your  Ciueen,  there  is  glowing  the  chivalric 
spirit  of  my  Milesian  fathers." 

Every  column,  inilamcd  with  burnin<>;  ardour,  rushed  to  the  charoe  : 
the  onset  was  terrible  and  destructive  ;  for  the  troops  of  Dithorba 
were  brave  and  determined,  so  that  they  stood  before  the  sjjears  of 
the  assailants,  like  a  wall  of  brass  :  the  Queen,  with  invincible 
courage,  rushed  to  every  point  of  danger,  rallied  and  reanimated 
every  retreating  column,  then  placing  herself  at  the  head  of  the 
heavy  archers,*  and  the  household  troops  of  Tara,  she  made  an 
impetuous  and  irresistible  assault  on  the  strong  position,  defended  by 
the  sons  of  Dithorba  in  person,  and  the  flower  of  their  army,  which 
she  carried  in  a  gallant  style,  and  succeeded  in  capturing  a  great 
number  of  her  opponents,  and  putting  her  rivals  and  their  fugitive 
soldiers  to  a  shameful  flight; — leaving  in  the  hands  of  their  con(|uer- 
ing  heroine,  their  camp,  equipage,  and  spoils.  This  most  decisive 
victory,  gained  by  Macha,  struck  her  enemies  with  fear  and  dismay, 
Avhile  it  augmented  her  adherents,  who  now  reverenced  her  with  a 
kind  of  idolatrous  admiration.  When  she  returned  to  Tara  in  tri- 
umph, several  members  of  the  national  convention,  who  had  opposed 
her  pretensions  to  the  throne,  fled,  and  the  Arch-Druid  concealed 
himself  in  the  sanctuary  of  the  temple.  But  JMacha,  loo  mairnani- 
nious  for  revenge,  displayed  as  much  clemency  in  the  cabinet,  as 
she  did  valour  in  the  combat,  by  i)ublishing  a  decree  of  general  am- 
nesty, which  had  the  efi"ect  of  making  former  enemies  her  attached 
friends. 

*  Archers. — The  ancient  Irish  soldiers  acquired  great  fame  for  their  expert- 
ness  and  skill,  in  archery.  No  youth,  however  noble,  would  be  admitted  into  the 
Fiaiia  Erion,  or  Irish  militia,  who  could  not,  with  precision,  pierce  a  given  object 
with  an  arrow,  at  the  distance  of  "JOU  yards.  These  cross-bowmen  did  great  and 
destructive  execution  in  battle.  Perhaps  the  science  of  arcliery,  can  boast  as  hio-h 
an  antiquity  in  Ireland,  as  in  any  other  nation  on  earth.  In  several  renowned 
battles  the  Irish  bowmen  obtained  the  victory.  When  our  Fin'gal  delivered 
Caledonia  from  the  Roman  yoke,  his  accomplished  archers  were  the  terror  of  the 
Roman  legions.  In  1314,  at  the  famous  battle  of  Bannockburn,  two  regiments  of 
Irish  archers,  which  O'Neil  sent  to  the  assistance  of  his  brotlier-in-law,  Robert 
Bruce,  contributed  so  effectually  to  the  success  of  the  Scottish  arms,  that  Chaucer, 
afterwards  in  alluding  to  the  defeat  of  his  countrymen,  celebrated  the  bravery  of 
the  Irish,  in  the  following  couplet : 

"  To  Albion  Scots  we  ne'er  would  yield — 
The  Irish  Bowmen  won  the  field." 

Spencer,  in  a  letter  to  Lord  Southampton,  dated  August,  1597,  extols  the  Irish 
archers  for  their  discipline  and  power.  He  says — "  Tliey  certainly  do  great  exe- 
cution with  their  short  bows  and  little  quivers,  and  their  short-bearded  arrows  are 
fearfully  ScijUiian."  Hounshed,  in  his  chronicles,  tells  us  that  the  famous 
outlaw,  Robin  Hood,  fled  to  Ireland,  in  the  reign  of  Richard  I.;  and  that  an  Irish- 
man, of  the  name  of  Lawler,  excelled  him  in  feats  of  archery.  By  an  act  of  par- 
liament passed  at  Trim,  in  the  reign  of  Edward  IV.  according  to  Harris,  it  was 
ordained,  that  '•  every  loyal  Irishman,  in  the  pale,  might  have  an  Irish  bow  of  his 
own  length,  and  one  fistmelc,  at  least,  between  the  necks,  with  twelve  shafts,  of 
the  length  of  three  quarters  of  the  standard."  Dr.  Hanmf.r,  in  recording  the 
trial  of  skill  and  prowess  in  archery,  between  Robin  Hood  and  Patrick  Lawler,  in 
Dublin,  A.  D.  1105,  states  thnt  "  Piobin  shot  an  arrow  eleven  score  and  seven 
yards,  the  distance  from  Old  Bridge  to  St.  Michael's  church;  but  Lawler,  his 
competitor,  sent  his  arrow  three  yards  farther." 


112 

Diiborba,  overwhelmed  with  afilictioii,  and  dejected  by  grief, 
occasioned  by  the  late  defeat,  died  at  Diir.dalk,  in  Louth,  where  he 
and  his  five  sons,  Avith  the  sliattered  remnant  of  their  forces  had 
retreated.  In  his  last  moments,  he  earnestly  conjured  his  sons  to 
make  another  effort  to  obtain  the  crown,  and  rescue  the  nation  from 
the  disgrace  of  having  its  sceptre  wielded  by  a  woman.  As  soon  as 
they  had  celebrated  the  funeral  ceremonies  of  their  father,  the  five 
princes,  whose  names  were  Baoth,  Buadhach,  Bras,  Ullach,  and 
Borbchas,  proceeded  to  recruit  their  army. 

When  they  had  completed  their  levies,  wliich  now  amounted  to  a 
formidable  force,  they  marched  to  Granard,*  in  the  county  of  Long- 
ford, where  they  encamped,  and  instantly  despatched  heralds  to  the 
Queen,  requiring  her  either  to  surrender  the  crown,  or  try  the  fate 
of  another  battle.  She  told  the  herald,  she  regarded  the  requisition 
to  relinquish  the  crown,  with  pity  and  scorn  ;  but  that  she  was 
ready  and  willing  to  meet  her  competitors  in  battle,  and  abide  by 
the  event.  The  Queen,  in  consequoice,  once  more  took  the  field, 
and  attacked  the  sons  of  Dithorba,  in  tlieir  camp,  at  Granard,  and 
after  an  obstinate  contest,  gained  a  decisive  victory  over  them. 

The  vanquished  chieftains,  with  the  broken  remains  of  their  forces 
precipitately  retreated  to  Ulster,  whither  the  victorious  Queen  pur- 
sued them,  and  overtaking  them,  in  the  county  of  Armagh,  brought 
them  to  an  action,  in  which  she  annihilated  their  whole  army,  and 
made  captives  of  themselves.  This  unexampled  success,  [)rostrated 
the  hopes  of  all  the  Queen's  enemies,  and  filled  her  friends  with 
exultation. 

When  the  caj)tive  Princes  were  brought  before  her,  instead  of 
upbraiding  them  for  their  conduct,  or  treating  them  with  the  inso- 
lence of  a  conqueror,  she,  with  n  superior  greatness  of  soid,  rather 
complimented  them,  on  the  bravery  they  had  displayed,  in  their  wars 
with  her,  and  sympathized  generously  in  their  misfortunes.  When 
it  was  announced  to  her,  that  a  council  of  the  Druids  and  Brehons, 
had  passed  sentence  of  death  on  these  gallant,  but  unfortunate  war- 
riors, she  indignantly  revoked  the  sentence,  observing,  "  that  Princes 
of  the  Milesian  dynasty,  as  well  as  her  blood  relations,  should  never 
die  like  criminals."  The  punishment  she  then  imposed,  was,  that 
they  should  build  a  stately  palace,  almost  equal  in  magnitude  and 
grandeur  of  architecture,  to  that  of  Tara,  for  her,  which  should  ever 
after  be  the  court  of  the  Princes  of  Ulster.  She  then  took  a  gold 
bodkin  from  hej-  handkerchief,  and  designed  the  plan  of  the  fiimous 
palace  of  Emania, — a  superb  structure,  which  for   ages  sidisequent 

"  Granard  is  a  flourishing  and  well  built  town,  environed  by  a  very  beautiful 
and  romantic  country,  in  the  county  of  Longford,  at  the  distance  of  75  miles  N. 
W.  from  Dublin. 

Here  there  is  a  very  noble  Rath,  or  moat,  from  whose  summit,  a  charming  and 
diversified  prospect  of  six  counties  can  be  commanded.  The  houses  in  Granard, 
are  mostly  built  of  brick,  and  the  spacious  streets  are  well  paved.  The  barracks 
are  a  great  addition  to  the  fine  appearance  of  the  town.  Granard  gives  the  title  of 
Earl,  to  the  Forbes'  family,  who  are  of  Scotcli  descent,  and  were  ennobled  by 
Charles  I.  Castle  Forbes,  the  elegant  residence  of  the  Earl  of  Granard,  is  at 
Newtown  Forbes,  between  Longford  and  Granard.  .On  every  side  of  the  latter 
town,  there  are  landscape  attractions  for  the  Painter  and  the  Poet, 


113 

to  this  era,  A,  M.  3503,  was  occupied  by  the  kino;s  of  Ulster.  This 
ina<^niticent  edifice,  which,  for  extent  and  beauty  of  architecture, 
was  only  inferior  to  Tara,  received  the  name  of  Eniania,  from  the 
incident  of  Queen  Macha  havin<j  sketched  out  its  form  with  her 
bodkin.  The  Irish  designation  of  that  fabric,  was,  accordinir  to  Dr. 
Keating-,  Eanihuin  Macha; — for  i^a  is  pin,  and  J/m/»,  or  Muincal, 
neck;  which,  whe  n  com  pounded,  signifies  literally,  the  pin  of  tlie  neck. 
Of  the  immense  |)ile  of  Emania,  wliich  stood  near  Armagh  ;  or  of  the 
princely  castle  of  the  Craob-Ruaclh,  or  Red  Branch,  not  a  vestige  of 
its  architectural  splendour  remains,  by  which  the  antiquary  could 
trace  out  its  site  ;  for  like  "  heaven-built  Ilium,"  time  iias  scattered 
its  mural  fragjnents  in  the  winds  of  ol)livion,  but  fame  has  sculptured 
its  colossal  image  from  the  indestructible  adamant  of  History,  and 
placed  it  in  the  temple  of  immortality.  The  kings  of  Ulster  were 
generally  styled,  the  "  jNlonarchs  of  Eniania."  Ossian  frequently 
alludes  {not  MrPlitrson's  Utopian  bard)  to  the  "stately  balls  of  Ema- 
nia;" and  in  an  apostrophe,  he  says,  "  hail  to  thy  pillared  grandeur, 
lovely  Emania  !  the  seat  of  green  Ullin's  kings."  When  we  bring 
down  our  history  to  the  period,  when  tlie  Cullas  destroyed  the  royal 
palace  of  Emania,  we  shall  say  more  of  it. 

Macha,  having  triumphed  over  all  her  enemies,  and  immortalized 
her  name,  by  the  glory  of  her  exploits,  was  suddenly  seized  by  a  fit 
of  apo[)lexy,  at  Tara,  which  terminated  her  life  and  reign,  A.  M. 
3.56G.  The  exploits  of  this  illustrious  heroine  have  been  celebrated 
by  the  loftiest  effusions  of  Irish  eloquence  and  epic  poetry.  Prior  to 
her  death,  she,  by  the  concurrence  of  the  national  estates,  ajipointed 
her  cousin,  Reaciita,  the  grand-son  of  king  Lughaidh,  of  the  dynasty 
of  Heber,  her  successor. 

He  distiniTuished  himself  eminently,  in  the  Queen's  wars,  and  gave 
proofs  of  possessing  those  (pialilies,  that  dignify  the  royal  station. 
He  was  a  very  ambitious  Prince,  and  no  sooner  had  he  taken  the 
reigns  of  power,  than  he  fitted  out  a  large  armament,  with  which  he 
invaded  Scotland,  and  reduced  the  countr}'  to  complete  subjection; 
and  afterwards  assumed  the  title  of  "•  IMonarcb  of  Ireland  and  Alba- 
ny." He  returned  to  Tara,  enriched  with  spoils  and  trophies. 
After  a  glorious  reign  of  twenty  years,  he  was  killed  in  battle  by  liis 
successor,  Jugiiaine. 

Mr.  Moore,  who,  as  far  as  his  history  could  effect  his  purpose,  has 
thrown  a  shroud  of  oblivion  over  the  reigns  and  actions  of  all  the 
regal  successors  of  Ollamh  Fodlda,  down  to  the  accession  of  Ciom- 
baoitli.  He  apologizes  f(n'  this  blank  in  his  history  in  the  following 
passage.  "  A  long  seri'^s  of  kings,  with  scarcely  a  single  event 
worthy  of  commemoration,  fills  up  the  interval  between  the  reign  of 
this  monarch  (Ollamh  Fodhia)  and  the  building  of  the  palace  of 
Emania  by  king  Ciombaoith  ;  an  event,  forming  as  we  have  seen,  a 
prominent  era  in  the  Irish  annals,  and  from  which  Tighernach 
dates  the  dawn  of  authentic  history.  This  splendid  palace  of  the 
Princes  of  Ulster,  who  were  from  thence  forward  called  Kings  of 
Emania,  had  in  its  neighbourhood  the  mansion  appropriated  to  the 
celebrated  knights  of  the  red-branch,  so  triumphantly  sung  by  the 
Bards,  and  commemorated  by  the  seauachies."  We  wonder,  indeed, 
15 


114 

on  what  historical  authority,  Mr.  Moore  has  attributed  the  huilding  of 
Emania  to  Ciombaoith,  as  he  had  no  more  to  do  with  its  erection 
than  with  that  of  the  palace  of  Cashel. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


The  reign  of  Jughainc  the  Great. — His  conquests. — Partition  of  Ireland  inluiwcnltj- 
fivc  Military  Districts  for  liis  sons. — His  death  and  character. 

JiiGHAiNE-MoRE,  Of  Hugonj  the  Great,  of  the  House  i>f  Herenion, 
having  triumphed  over  his  predecessor  as  related  in  the  last  chapter, 
was  solemnly  invested  with  regal  authority,  at  Tara,  A.  M.  3587. 
He  had  a  mind  enlightened  by  genius,  and  elevated  to  the  loftiest 
aspiration  of  military  fame,  by  a  daring  and  insatiable  ambition. 
As  soon  as  the  rejoicings  and  festivities  of  his  coronation  had  subsid- 
ed, he  passed  over  into  Albania  with  a  military  force,  chastised  the 
Picts,  who  then  had  manifested  disaffection  to  his  government,  and 
levied  large  contributions  from  the  entire  colony.  The  fame  of  his 
power  and  exploits,  spread  over  the  continent  of  Europe,  so  that  all 
the  sovereigns,  of  this  epoch,  were  desirous  of  his  alliance  and  friend- 
ship. He  shortly  afterwards,  with  a  splendid  retinue  of  knights  and 
minstrels,  visited  the  court  of  Gaul,  where  he  married  the  fair 
Caesaria,  surnaraed  Gradhmharachd  ot  the  lovely,  the  daughter  of  the 
monarch  of  that  country. 

When  he  returned  to  his  kingdom  with  his  beautiful  Queen,  he 
summoned  the  national  estates  to  a  solemn  convocation  at  Tara,  to 
wliom  he  announced  his  projects  of  conquest,  and  his  plans  of  enrich- 
ing the  empire  by  the  accession  of  foreign  territory.  The  devoted 
senators  hailed  his  propositions  with  acclamation,  and  immediately 
gave  the  devised  measures  of  the  ambitious  monarch  their  sanction. 
Availing  himself  of  their  pliant  subserviency,  and  the  ready  disposi- 
tion they  had  manifested  to  approve  of  his  designs,  no  matter  how 
unconstitutional,  he  boldly  exacted  from  them  a  most  solemn  oath, 
which  they  swore  on  the  smoking  oblation,  on  the  sacred  altar  of 
the  sun,  by  the  throne  of  that  great  deity,  "  by  the  moon,  stars,  and 
hi/  Neptune — to  bear  true  and  undivided  allegiance  to  him  and  his 
posterity,  in  exclusion  of  the  other  royal  houses  of  Ireland."  When 
this  illegal   and   unwarrantable  procedure  on  the  part  of  the  king* 

*  "  This  was  a  memorable  revolution  in  the  form  of  the  executive  government. 
The  kings  of  Ireland  derived  no  rights  from  genealogical  succession, by  primogeni- 
ture ; — nor  was  it  sufficent  to  be  of  the  royal  line,  unless  they  made  their  way  to 
the  throne  by  what  the  world  too  frequently  denominates  great  actions,  without 
entering  into  the  worthiness  of  the  motives.  The  ancient  government  of  Ireland 
was  a  mixed  monarchy,  wherein  the  kings  were  elected  out  of  a  certain  royal 
family." — Dissertation  on  the  History  of  Ireland. 

"  The  government  of  Ireland  was  at  first  divided  after  the  manner  of  the  ancient 
Gauls,  into  several  petty  states,  with  a  head  king  elected  over  each  of  them. 
This  was  a  kind  of  government  which  they  derived,  probably,  t'roni  the  Patriarchs, 
and  was  extremely  consistent  with  the  essence  and  genius  of  true  liberty.     But 


115 

was  duly  confirmed  by  tiic  acquiescence  of  the  national  assembly, 
Jnfjhaine,  previoiisly  appointinj^  his  wife  Queen  Regent  of  Ireland 
and  Albany,  embarked  with  a  hxrge  fleet,  and  after  a  short  passage, 
effected  a  landing  in  Sicily. 

The  inhabitants  of  this  island,  not  being  able  to  resist  such  a  war- 
like invader,  submitted  to  whatever  terms  the  conqueror  thought 
proper  to  dictate  to  them.  After  leaving  a  colony  in  the  island  of 
Sicily,  he  thence  sailed  to  Carthage,  in  order  to  assist  the  Carthagi- 
nians, his  allies,  in  their  wars  with  the  Romans.*  Our  annalists 
speak  in  glowing  terms  of  eloquent  enthiisiasm,  of  the  heroic  bravery 
of  the  Irish  monarch  and  his  soldiers  in  several  battles  with  the 
Romans,  and  assert  that  the  Carthaginian  chiefs,  as  a  reward  for  the 
valour  and  services  displayed  by  llugony  in  their  cause,  ceded  to  him 
the  islands  of  Sardinia,  Majorca,  and  Minorca,  and  bestowed  upon 
him  the  glorious  appellation  and  title  oi  '■'■  Monarch  of  Ireland  and 
Albany,  and  all  the  Western  Isles  of  Europe. "  We  cannot,  however, 
adduce  any  coteinporary  evidence,  to  prove  that  Hugony  performed 
the  brilliant  exploits,  which  some  of  our  historians  so  confidently 
attribute  to  him. 

during  the  successive  reigns  of  many  Milesian  kings,  the  cliief  in  abilities,  and 
martial  skill  ol'  the  royal  family,  was  elected  to  govern,  as  absolute  monarch,  the 
whole  nation,  with  the  aid  and  concurrence  of  the  provincial  kings." — Warner. 

'•  There  were  two  great  requisites  to  entitle  a  prince  to  the  throne  of  Ireland; 
the  right  of  Milesian  blood,  and  the  right  of  popular  election." — Harris. 

"No  matter  what  virtues  or  qualities  an  ambitious  leader  might  possess,  the 
want  of  the  royal  Milesian  blood  would  exclude  him  from  the  throne." — Vind.  of 
Irish  Historij. 

"  Tliere  were  two  things  to  be  considered — hereditary  right,  and  popular  elec- 
tion. By  hereditary  right,  any  male  relation  to  the  deceased  monarch  was  quali- 
fied to  administer  the  chief  govei-nment  of  that  principality,  the  founder  of  which 
any  of  his  ancestors  had  been  :  but  by  election,  one  man  was  invested  with  that 
dignity  for  the  period  of  his  life.  Nor  could  those,  in  whom  the  power  of  choosing 
was  centered,  elect  an  alien,  but  he  should  be  either  the  uncle,  brother,  son,  or  some 
other  relation  of  the  last  reigning  king.  This  law  being  strictly  attended  to,  the 
sovereign  power  was  conferred  on  the  senior  person,  as  he  was  thought  to  be  more 
worthy  to  fill  this  elevated  station." — O'Flaherty's  Ogygia. 

*  "  We  have  already  shown  the  connexions  between  the  Irish  and  Carthagi- 
nians ;  and  there  is  a  passage  in  Plutarch's  life  of  Timoleon,  who  was  nearly  a 
contemporary  with  the  Irish  monarch,  which  is  worthy  of  attention. 

"  He  tells  us,  that  at  the  siege  of  Syracuse,  the  Greek  mercenaries  in  the  Car- 
tliaginian  army,  in  times  of  truce,  frequently  met  and  conversed  with  their  coun- 
Iryinen  under  Timoleon.  That  one  of  the  Corinthians  addressed  his  countrymen 
in  the  opposite  army  thus  : — '  Is  it  possible,  O  Grecians,  that  you  should  be  so 
forward  to  reduce  a  city  of  tjiis  greatness,  and  endowed  with  so  many  great  advan- 
tages, into  a  state  of  barbarism,  and  lend  your  aid  to  plant  Carthaginians  so  much 
nearer  to  us,  who  are  the  worst  and  the  bloodiest  of  men  ?  whereas,  you  should 
rather  wish  that  there  were  many  more  Sicilies  to  lie  between  them  and  Greece. 
Have  you  so  little  sense,  as  to  suppose  that  they  came  hither  with  an  army  from 
tlie  Pillars  of  Hercules,  and  the  Atlantic  sea,  to  hazard  themselves  for  the  estab- 
lishment for  Icetas  ?' 

"  From  the  whole,  I  think  we  may  reasonably  conclude,  that  the  Carthaginians 
procured  powerful  assistance  from  Ireland,  as  well  as  from  Spain  and  Gaul,  at  this 
period  :  nor  do  I  think  I  should  be  censured  of  rashness,  if  1  were  to  offer  a  con- 
jecture, that  the  Sacred  Cohort,  mentioned  by  Diodorus,  was  a  select  body  of  Irisli 
troops,  whose  fidelity  and  intrepidity  could  be  always  depended  on.  To  strengthen 
this  conjecture,  as  our  legions  in  Gaul  were  called  Finne- Gall,  and  in  Albany 
Finuc-Albin.  (or  the  militia  of  Albin,)  we  may  well  suppose  that  the  Fiune-Torn- 
haraig,  or  African  legions,  so  often  met  with  in  old  MSS.,  means  no  other  than 
the  Irish  Militia  in  that  service." — O'Hai.louav. 


116 

« 

We  are  not  aware  that  any  Roman  writer,  who  has  narraled  the 
occurrences  of  tlie  Punic  wars,  makes  mention  of  an  Irish  legion 
among  the  auxiUaries  of  Cartilage. 

But  even  if  the  imputed  exploits  of  Jughaine  had  heen  all  perform- 
ed, and  that  in  honour  of  his  victories,  his  statue  stood  in  the  Temple 
of  Ju[)iter  Ammon,  and  that  his  martial  deeds  were  emblazoned  on 
the  records  of  Carthage, — still  the  devouring  conflagration  kindled 
by  the  second  Scipio,  would  have  reduced  the  marble  and  the  vellum 
to  ashes.  The  Pyramids  of  Egypt  are  but  the  oblivious  sepulchre 
of  that  unknown  fame,  which,  it  was  vainly  expected,  they  would 
have  consecrated  to  immortality.  It  was  always  the  policy  of  the 
Romans  to  destroy  the  monuments  and  registers  of  every  country, 
which  they  had  subjected  to  their  arms,  lest  the  mementos  of  past 
glory  might  inspire  jjresent  insurrection.  Hence  we  may  fairly 
conclude  that  when  they  destroyed  Carthage,  at  this  juncture,  they 
did  not  depart  from  their  utiiform  practice  of  annihilation,  by  saving 
her  archives,  and  writings  from  the  fiery  and  devouring  element. 

The  discord  kindled  in  Ireland  by  the  rivalship  and  jealousy  of 
the  conquering  monarch's  twenty-five  sons,  obliged  him  to  abandon 
foreign  acquisitions,  and  return  to  his  own  kingdom,  which  he  found 
convulsed  by  anarchy  and  dissension.  But  the  presence  of  the  King 
soon  restored  order  and  tranquillity.  Abuses  were  rectified  by  salu- 
tary remedies,  grievances  were  redressed,  the  causes  of  discontent 
removed  ;  and  thus  concord  and  confidence  resulted  from  the  firm, 
hut  conciliatory  measures  which  the  King  had  put  in  active  opera- 
tion. 

The  better  to  secure  the  internal  peace  of  the  kingdom,  and  obe- 
dience to  the  established  laws,  this  monarch,  by  the  advice  of  a  coun- 
cil of  Druids  and  Brehons,  parcelled  out  tlie  nation  into  twenty-five 
Vice-royalties,  over  each  of  which  he  appointed  one  of  his  sons,  to 
whom  he  delegated  magisterial  power,  to  be  exercised  at  his  discre- 
tion.*    By  this  measure  of  precaution,  the  King  extended  the  sphere 

*  "  Oral  jurisprudence  prevailed  in  Ireland  in  the  most  remote  ages.  The  distri- 
bution of  legal  justice  was  for  ages  engrossed  by  the  Druids  and  Brehons,  who 
often  made  laws  that  were  subversive  of  the  rights  and  iuununities  of  the  Irish 
people,  until,  after  ages  of  oppression,  the  great  OHamh-Fod/da,  penetraiing  the 
tyranny  which  corrupted  the  stream  of  justice,  gave  the  Irish  a  constitutional 
shield  to  defend  their  lives  and  properties  from  the  aggression  of  Druidical  tribu- 
nals. But  the  most  glorious  reformations  in  the  legislative  code  of  Ireland,  were 
effected  hy  Roi/ney  Rosgadhach,  the  son  of  Hugony  the  Great,  about  2'JO  3'ears 
before  the  Christian  epoch." — Bishop  Nicholsox. 

'•  Before  the  introduction  of  written  laws  among  tlie  Irish,  when  any  contro- 
versy was  to  be  decided,  the  Brelion,  or  vice  Druid,  u.scd  to  sit  on  an  imnrense 
pile  of  stones,  raised  on  a  high  eminence,  without  canopy  or  covering,  and  without 
clerks,  registers,  or  records,  or  indeed  without  any  formality  of  a  court  of  justice  ; 
and  this  afterwards  came  to  be  called  the  Brclion  tribunal;  and  strange  as  it  may 
appear,  the  decisions  of  tliese  rural  courts  were  observed  with  invioTablc  sacred- 
ness." — Wat^ner. 

"  At  this  era,  tlie  revolutions  in  government  were  frequent,  and  the  Druidical 
Brehons  applauded  every  new  change  with  seditious  violence;  and,  in  their  judi- 
cial capacity,  as  Brehons,  silenced  or  oppressed,  but  too  often,  the  voice  of  justice. 
They  sought  every  means  of  imposing  on  tlie  public,  and  of  renderino-  their  know- 
ledge as  dark   and  cabalasfic,  as   their  decisions  were  violent  and  lirbitrarv." 

O'Connor. 


117 

of  monarchial  iiifliicnce,  established  a  safeguard  against  llie  plots  of 
disallt'Ctioii,  and  held  in  check  the  intrigues  ottlie  jjrovincial  kings. 
Each  of  the  twenty-five  Princes,  on  setting  out  for  the  district  allotted 
to  liim  for  government,  was  accompanied  hy  a  learned  and  sage 
Brelion,  whom  he  constituted  his  prime-minister  and  supreme  judge. 
But  soon  after  these  princes  had  been  thus  invested  with  authority, 
they  began  to  play  the  parts  nf  rapacious  despots,  in  their  respective 
districts.  Their  amercement  and  rapacity  set  every  principle  of 
justice  and  equity  at  defiance.  They  quartered  their  soldiers  on  the 
inhabitants,  and  not  content  with  imposing  this  oppressive  burden, 
they  also  exacted  from  them  contributions  of  money  and  oxen.  The 
galling  inflictions  of  their  grievous  dominion  became  so  insupportable, 
that  the  ])e()ple  were,  at  length,  end)oldened  to  represent  the  aggres- 
sions of  the  petty  despots  to  the  monarch,  who  promptly  attended  to 
the  appeal  of  his  subjects,  and  had  immediate  recourse  to  the  most 
effectual  means  of  suppressing  the  evils  that  pressed  so  heavily  on 
their  liberties  and  fortunes.  Such  of  his  sons  as  were  notorious  for 
their  despotism,  he  removed  from  their  stations  ;  and  such  as  he 
found  only  j)artially  guilty  of  the  imputed  delinquency,  he  reprimand- 
ed in  severe  terms  of  admonition,  and  then,  on  their  making  a  solemn 
promise  of  amendment,  snfi'ered  them  to  resume  their  lieutenancy. 
Having  thus  redressed  the  grievances  and  remedied  the  wrongs  of 
which  his  people  complained,  the  wise  monarch  proceeded  to  make  a 
tour  through  his  kingdom.  Beneficence  and  improvement  marked 
the  footsteps  of  his  progress  on  this  occasion.  He  every  where  re- 
lieved the  wants  of  indigence — opened  a  sphere  for  industry  and 
employment,  by  ordering  the  erection  of  bridges,  raths,  and  fortifi- 
cations at  all  places  that  afforded  sites  for  them. 

This  laudable  conduct  of  the  sovereign,  not  only  set  the  spirit  and 
genius  of  the  nation  into  action,  but  contributed  to  concentrate 
around  his  throne  the  hearts  and  affections  of  his  subjects.  The  good 
and  glorious  monarch  continued  for  a  series  of  years  to  witness,  with 
deligiit,  the  growing  greatness  and  happiness  of  a  people,  whom  he 
loved  as  a  parent,  and  by  whom  he  was  beloved  with  the  filial  feelings 
of  children. 

But,  notwithstanding  the  virtues  that  adorned  his  reign,  and  the 
hold  which  his  amiable  character  possessed  in  popular  opinion, 
ambition  resolved  to  use  that  means  which  had  placed  the  crown 
upon  his  head  in  depriving  him  of  it — the  savord.  The  feuds  and 
bloody  discord  that  unhappily  raged,  with  unnatural  animosity, 
among  the  sons  of  Jughaine,  and  to  which  they  had  all  fallen  victims 
excep.t  two,  encouraged  his  own  brother,  Badiibuciiadm,  to  raise  the 
standard  of  revolt.  The  event  ended  in  the  death  of  the  monarch, 
in  an  engagement  which  ensued,  in  the  fortieth  year  of  his  reign,  and 
the  seventieth  of  his  age. 

But  scarce  had  the  conqueror  received  the  druidical  benediction, 
after  his  coronation,  when  the  two  sons  of  Jughaine,  Laoghairc- 
Lore  and  Cobhthaigh-Caolmberg,  effected  a  counter-revolution,  and 
deprived  the  uncle  of  life  and  throne,  in  the  second  day  of  his  reign. 

The  historic  relations  which  have  come  down  to  us  of  the  alleged 
conquests   and   chivalric  gallantry  of  Jughaine-More,  arc  no  doubt 


118 

impregnated  with  the  spirit  of  fiction,  and  embellished  with  the 
l]fh>wing  colours  of  poetry;  yet,  wliile  we  woidd  strip  the  warrior's 
fame  of  t!ie  fabidous  j)kimage,  with  which  bardic  entlmsiasm  has  so 
lavisldy  decked  it,  we  must  still  admire  the  patriotic  King  and  just 
Legislator,  and  accord  to  him  that  eulogium,  which  the  higliest 
deserts  of  regal  station,  justice,  philanthropy,  and  mercy,  emphati- 
cally invoke  from  us  as  an  impartial  historian  of  Ireland. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

The  accession  of  Laoghairc  II. — Is  murdered  hy  his  brother,  who  ascends  the  throne. — 
The  murder  of  his  ncpheic,  and  his  horrid  conduct  totoards  his  grand-nephew. 

Tlie  genius  and  bravery  w  Inch  Laoghaire  so  conspicuously  evinced 
in  deposing  and  despatching  the  regicide,  enlisted  the  good  opinion 
and  partiality  of  the  nation  in  his  favour,  to  such  an  extent  of  enthu- 
siasm, tliat  the  general  voice  called  him  to  the  throne  to  the  exclusion 
of  his  eldest  brother.  The  Druids  and  Brehons  finding  itunavniling 
to  stem  the  irresistible  tide  of  popular  prejudice,  like  the  Roman 
Pontiff,  in  t!ie  case  of  Napoleon,  had  to  make  a  virtue  of  necessity, 
and  freely  give  all  the  solemn  pomp  of  religion  to  the  inauguration 
of  the  prince  of  the  people.  His  elevation  implanted  in  the  bosom  of 
his  brotlier,  the  most  rancorous  feelings  of  envy  and  jealousy  ;  but 
he  endeavoured  for  the  present  to  smother  the  latent  fires  of  malice 
that  wasted  his  personal  and  mental  energies.  On  every  occasion, 
he  endeavoured  to  sustain  the  character  of  an  affectionate  brother, 
in  the  hope  that  kind  destiny  might  yet  afford  him  an  opportunity  of 
appeasing  the  angry  passions  which,  in  his  heart,  turned  the  "  milk 
of  human  kindness"  into  the  poison  of  revenge.  "But  this  concealed 
spirit,"  says  O'Halloran,  '•  sensibly  affected  his  constitution,  which 
increased  on  hearing  of  the  birth  of  a  grand-nephew  ;  and  he  became 
at  length  so  emaciated,  as  to  take  to  his  bed." 

The  noble-minded  King,  on  hearing  of  the  indisposition  of  an  only 
brother,  whom  he  s'ncerely  loved,  was  sensibly  touched  with  afflic- 
tion, and  lost  not  a  moment  in  paying  an  affectionate  visit  of  condo- 
lence, in  which,  to  make  it  more  respectful  and  imposing,  he  was 
accompanied  by  his  guards  and  nobles,  to  his  dear  Cobhthaigh. 
When  tlie  monarch  entered  the  chamber  of  his  brother,  and  beheld 
the  ravages  which  indisposition  had  made  in  his  face  and  frame,  the 
tears  of  fraternal  anguish  flowed  involuntarily  through  his  eyes, 
from  the  fountain  of  a  sincere  heart.  The  artful  Cobhthaigh,  pre- 
tending to  he  moved  by  the  generous  concern  of  the  King,  said — 
"  Brother  this  tender  affection  wins  my  heart,  and  makes  me  regret 
that  my  approaching  death  will  deprive  me  of  an  opportunity  of 
testifying  the  attachment  which  animates  me  towards  your  Majesty; 
but  still,  as  this  may  be  the  last  meeting  we  shall  ever  have  in  this 
world,  I  am  sorry,  dear  brother,  that  courtiers  should  hear  the  aftec- 


119 

tinj^  and  mournful  words  of  an  eternal  farewell,  or  witness  the  last 
sad  embrace  of  brother.^." 

"Dearest  Coblitbaigh  !"  said  the  confiding  monarcb,  "  believe  me 
that  my  motive  in  bringing  my  royal  train,  sjnang  from  my  desire 
of  imparling  pomp  and  eclat  to  my  visit  to  a  brotlier  who  shares 
equally  with  my  Queen  and  son,  the  warmest  love  of  my  heart;  but 
console  yourself  with  this  assurance  until  tomorrow,  when  I  shall 
again  come  to  see  you,  alone  and  unattended." 

Accordingly,  on  the  following  day,  the  unsuspecting  King  repaired 
early  to  the  chamber  of  his  brother,  and  seating  himself  on  his  bed- 
side, he  began  with  the  most  tender  solicitude,  to  inquire  how  he 
had  rested  the  preceding  night ;  but  receiving  no  answer,  he  was  in 
the  act  of  bending  his  body  over  his  brother,  to  ascertain  whether  he 
sle|)t,  when  the  villanous  Cobhthaigh,  suddenly  rising,  plunged  a 
poignard  into  the  breast  of  the  monarch,  who  had  only  time,  before 
he  expired  to  ejaculate — "  I  am  murdered  ! — but  Bel  shall  punish 
you  for  the  treacherous  deed  !" 

The  cruel  fratricide,  with  his  infamous  accomplice,  the  Arch-Druid, 
having  previously  won  over  the  interest  of  the  army,  found  no  diffi- 
culty in  silencing  the  murmurs  of  the  people.  The  assassin  was 
crowned  on  the  stone  of  destiny,  at  Tara,  by  the  hands  of  his  ini- 
quitous minion,  A.  M.  3019.  But  the  flagitious  fratricide  had  still 
to  wade  deeper  in  kindred  blood,  before  his  guilty  mind  could  reach 
the  resting-place  of  imagined  security. 

His  nephew,  Olioll,  and  his  infant  son,  3Inon,  (or  Malion)  were 
still  living  ;  and  he  thought  that  while  they  had  existence,  his  throne 
tottered  on  a  slippery  foundation,  and  that  he  only  held  the  sceptre 
by  a  supple  and  tremtdous  grasp.  To  remove  this  cause  of  terror 
and  apprehension,  he  and  his  diabolical  minister,  the  Druid,  hired 
villains  who  inveigled  him  to  the  top  of  the  mountain  of  Mogh- 
Brcag-Didhiod,  (now  the  Dargle*)  in  the  county  of  Wicklow,  whence 

"  PowERScoiRT,  the  princely  residence  of  Viscount  Powerscourt,  is  situated  in 
the  county  of  Wicklow,  at  the  "distance  of  twelve  miles  from  Dublin,  and  presents 
to  the  admiration  of  the  traveller  a  charming  combination  of  picturesque  and 
romantic  scenery.  Powerscourt,  and  all  its  manors,  formed  part  of  the  immense 
possessions  of  the  O'Moore,  of  Leix.  The  Virgin  Queen  made  a  grant  of  Powers- 
court,  and  its  dependencies,  to  Sir  Richard  Winglield,  the  ancestor  of  the  present 
noble  proprietor,  who  was  marshal  of  Ireland  at  the  accession  of  James  I.  Powers- 
court  House  is  an  elegant  specimen  of  Ionic  architecture ;  and,  like  the.  Bank  of 
Ireland,  the  Lying-in-Hospital,  and  the  Dublin  Society  House,  stands  as  a  lasting^ 
monument  of  the  Palladian  taste  of  Mu.  Cassell,  the  famous  architect.  This 
edifice  stands  on  the  acclivity  of  a  mountain,  which  elevates  its  oak-plumed  crest 
far  above  the  embattled  turrets  of  the  castle.  The  pilastered  front,  of  chiselled 
stone,  embellished  with  window-frame  mouldings,  sculptured  arcliitraves,  and 
entablature  decorations,  at  once  pleases  the  eye,  and  fills  the  mind  with  admiration. 
The  garniture  of  groves,  and  the  grassy  glades  that  spread  flower-embroidered 
carpets  beneath  the  waving  shade  of  vivid  foliage,  overhangino-  a  winding  river^ 
finely  contrast  architectural  pomp  with  floral  beauty.  The  Egj'ptian  banqueling- 
hall,  in  this  house,  is  as  spacious  as  it  is  unique  and  magnificent.  Its  superb  fur- 
niture, its  figured  draperies  of  damasked  crimson,  ils  living  pictures,  its  breathing 
statues,  its  Grecian  carpets,  and  Mosaic  ceiling,  as  well  as  the  reflective  flood  oF 
coloured  light  that  its  mirror-const(,'llated  walls  pour  over  its  imposing  tout  rust  inhle, 
all  tend  to  impart  the  radiant  air  and  illusive  enchantment  of  eastern  splendour  to 
the  scene,  and  make  the  delighted  beholder  imagine,  that  he  stood  in  the  gorgeous 
pavilion  which  Cleopatra  had  fitted  up   for  the  reception  of  Caesar.     At  each  end 


120 

lliey  precipitated  him  in  the  yawning  chasm  below,  where  he  was 
drowned. 

The    infant   Prince,    Mahon,   was    now    the   only  obstacle  in  the 
bloody  road  of  atrocious  ambition.     His  horrible  treatment   to  this 
Prince  was  marked  with  such  a  refinement  of  cruelty,  that  we  shall  . 
detail  it  in  the  language  of  the  venerable  Keating: 

"  When  the  sanguinary  tyrant  sent  lor  the  child,  he  forced  him  to 
eat  part  of  t!ie  hearts  of  his  father  and  grand-father  ;  and  to  torture 
him  the  more,  he  caused  him  to  swallow  a  living  mouse,  and  by  such 
inhuman  methods,  resolved  to  destroy  him;  but,  by  a  strange  provi- 
dence, tiie  child  was  so  afiViglited  by  these  barbarities,  that  he  seemed 
deranged  ; — and  by  the  convuI:>ions  and  agonies  he  was  in,  perfectly 
lost  the  use  of  his  speech — which,  when  the  usurper  [)erceived,  lie 
dismissed  him  witii  his  life,  for  he  thought  he  would  never  recover 
his  senses,  and  therefore  could  not  be  able  to  assert  his  right  to  the 
crown,  or  give  him  disturbance  in  tije  government." 

The  ruthless  usurper  came  to  this  conclusion  by  the  advice  of  the 
wicked  Arch-Druid,  who  exercised  with  impunity  the  most  domineer- 
ing ascendency  over  the  weak  but  vicious  mind  of  the  tyrant. 

But  the  sequel  of  the  next  chapter  will  furnish  another  exemplifi- 
cation of  the  omnipotence  and  omnipresence  of  that  watching  provi- 
dence, which  never  fails  sooner  or  later,  to  smite  guilt  with  tlie  bolts 
of  retributive  vengeance,  and  to  light  for  justice  a  torch,  by  which 
she  can  discover  the  perpetrators  of  murder  in  the  darkest  recesses 
of  concealment. 

The  friends  of  young  Mahon  secretly  conveyed  him  to  the  court  of 
Scoriat,  King  of  Munster,  where  he  found  a  safe  and  friendly  asylum, 
and  where  the  synai)athy  and  kindness  of  that  monarch  bestowed 
their  assiduous  solicitude  in  contributing  to  his  happiness  and  comfort, 
and  in  perfecting  his  mind  in  all  those  solid  and  graceful  accomplish- 
ments of  education,  which  alone  give  lustre  and  eminence  to  the 
character  of  a  Prince. 

there  is  a  gallery  suppoited  by  Corinthian  columns,  and  beautified  by  a  gilt  balus- 
trade. The  immense  park  intervening  the  house,  and  the  water-fall,  is  as  it  were 
divided  by  rows  of  stately  oaks,  into  rural  aisles  and  choirs.  You  enter  it  through 
a  portal,  formed  by  a  mountain  chasm,  opened  by  some  concussion  of  nature,  and 
arched  by  the  knitted  branches  of  trees. 

On  every  side  of  the  vale,  through  which  a  meandering  river  winds  its  devious 
course  over  a  rocky  channel,  mountain  cliffs,  clothed  in  forest  vesture,  elevate 
their  summits  to  the  skies ;  and,  as  you  advance,  the  scene  that  opens  to  your 
view  is  terminated  by  a  huge  amphitheatre  of  wood,  from  the  impending  eminence 
of  which,  at  the  height  of  many  hundred  feet,  the  limpid  cascade  of  the  Dargle 
rushes  stupendously  out,  like  a  torrent  of  molten  crystal,  dashing  its  impetuous 
waves  over  rocks  and  precipices  of  emerald,  and  tiien  tumbling  down  headlong 
into  the  abyss  below.  The  traveller  who  ascends  the  towering  peak  called  the 
Lover's  Leap,  shall  be  repaid  for  his  trouble  by  the  picturesque  prospect  he  will 
enjoy.  The  expansive  sheets  of  undulating  wood  outstretched  before  him,  the 
rocky  spires  capped  with  sky-mists,  the  distant  limits  of  the  domains  of  Tinnahinch, 
Miltown,  and  Charlcville  defining  the  outlines,  while  the  round-towers  of  Glen- 
dalogh,  the  castle  of  Rathdrum,  and  the  gray  cliffs  of  the  Scalp,  fill  up  the  body 
of  the  landscape  picture  with  the  vivid  tints  of  animation  and  form.  To  look  down 
from  the  elevation,  on  the  turbulent  chasm  at  the  foot  of  the  rock,  is  truly  fearful ; 
so  that  the  romantic  maiden,  who.  in  the  madness  of  disappointed  love,  precipitat- 
ed herself  into  its  yawning  depths,  has  as  great  a  claim  on  immortality  as  Sappho. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

Prince  Mahon  repairs  to  the  court  of  his  Uncle,  the  King  of  France— Distinguishes 
himself  in  the.  French  army,  of  which  he  is  appointed  Generalissimo. — °Moriat, 
Princess  of  Munstcr,  sends  a  harper  as  an  emissary  of  love,  to  the  Prince,  who 
singsan  ode  of  the  Princess's  composition,  ichich  awakens  a  tender  passion  for 
her  in  his  bosom. — He  invades  Ireland  and  succeeds  in  recovering  the  throne  of 
his  ancestors — Marries  the  fair  Moriat,  and  is  slain  in  battle  by  his  successor,  .i. 
M.  3(iGt5,  after  a  reign  of  nineteen  years. — The  accession  oj  Meilgc,  Modh-Chorb, 
and  Aongus  to  the  throne. 

The  usurper  dreading  nothing  from  a  Prince,  hke  young  Mahon, 
whom  he  considered  deranged  and  dumb,  scarcely  ever  bestowed  a 
thought  upon  his  existence,  or  the  danger  that  might  arise  from  his 
chiims  to  the  crown  ;  but  the  secret  and  attaclied  friends  of  the 
legitimate  Prince,  convinced  of  his  genius  and  capacity,  resolved  to 
prevail  upon  him  to  go  to  his  uncle's  court,  in  France,  where  he 
might  remain  in  safety,  not  only  until  his  education  was  completed, 
but  also  until  measures  were  sufficiently  matured,  and  a  phalanx  of 
events  set  in  motion  for  his  restoration. 

Prior  to  his  departure,  he  and  the  Princess  Moriat,  reciprocally 
pledged  vows  of  eternal  constancy  to  each  other,  and  the  feelings  of 
their  hearts  acted  in  concert  in  affixing  the  seal  of  love  to  the  solemn 
covenant.  On  tlie  arrival  of  Mahon  in  France,  he  and  his  retinue 
were  received  with  all  the  honours  due  to  the  heir  apparent  of  the 
Irish  throne,  and  all  the  distinctive  eclut  that  could  give  pomp  to  the 
visit  of  a  member  of  the  royal  family  to  the  French  Court.  The 
external  graces  of  his  ])erson,  and  the  attraction  of  his  mental  ac- 
complishments, soon  won  for  him  popularity  and  esteem  among  the 
French  courtiers.  At  a  court  of  Tournament,  in  which  all  the  bravest 
knights  of  France  contended,  he  won  the  j)rize  of  chivalry — and  as  the 
fair  always  admire  the  brave,  his  cousin,  the  beauteous  Princess  Cha- 
lonsia,  conceived,  on  witnessing  his  feats,  an  ardent  aftection  for  him. 
Whether  she  ever  made  known  the  secret  wish  of  her  heart  to  Mahon, 
our  historians  do  not  tell  us  ;  but  certain  it  is,  that  one  of  his  suit 
found  means  of  acquainting  Moriat  of  the  tender  passion  with  which 
her  plighted  lover  had  inspired  the  French  Princess.  Shortly  after 
the  victory  at  the  court  of  tournament.  Prince  Mahon  was  raised,  by 
his  uncle,  to  the  supreme  command  of  the  French  army,  where  his 
valour  and  genius  attracted  the  rays  of  popular  fame.  The  renown 
of  his  exploits  in  arms,  swelled  not  only  the  echoing  voice  of  eulogium 
in  France,  but  also  in  his  native  land,  where  its  reverberation 
materially  contributed  to  add  fuel  to  the  hopes  of  his  adherents,  while 
it  sensibly  touched,  with  an  increasing  glow  of  enthusiasm,  that  gentle 
heart  in  which  his  vow  was  recorded,  and  his  image  enshrined. 
^Yhile  the  sounds  of  the  encomiastic  tongue,  which  uttered  the 
praises  of  her  beloved  Mahon,  fell  upon  her  ear  like  the  music  of  the 
harp,  still  her  jealousy  of  the  seductive  blandishments  of  the  French 
Princess,  often  turned  in  imagination,  the  sweet  melody  into  the 
dismal  notes  of  the  death-knell  of  love.  Her  bosom  becoming  a  prey 
to  the  torture  of  suspense  and  fears,  she  came  to  the  deteimination 
16 


122 

of  sending  Craftine,  a  minstrel  of  her  father's  court,  of  whose  fidelity 
she  had  experience,  with  a  letter  and  a  rich  gift  of  jewels  to 
Mahon.* 

After  instructing  him  in  the  management  of  his  embassy,  she 
handed  him  an  ode  of  her  own  composition,  breathing  at  once  the 
inspired  language  of  love  and  patriotism,  which  she  caused  him  to 
set  to  plaintive  music,  and  sing  to  his  harp.  No  sooner  had  the 
minstrel  convinced  tlie  princess,  by  several  reliearsals,  (if  so  we  may 
term  his  trials,)  of  his  power  to  give  a  tf)uching  and  affecting  expres- 
sion to  her  feeling-speaking  ode,  tlian  he  set  out  for  France. 

When  this  bardic  Mercury  arrived  at  the  head  quarters  of  Mahon, 
on  the  banks  of  the  Loire,  he  took  his  station  unperceived,  under 
the  window  of  his  pavilion,  and  sung  to  his  harj)  the  ode  of  the  Irish 
princess.  This  ode,  in  the  original  language,  possesses  a  spirit  of 
poetry,  and  a  soul-thrilling  force  of  pathos,  which  even  the  genius  of 
a  Moore  could  not  transfuse  into  English  verse.  As  it  never  has 
been,  we  believe,  translated  into  English,  the  following  tame,  but 
literal  version  of  it,  may  not  only  be  pleasing  to  our  readers,  but 
induce  the  Irish  Anacreon  (Moohe)  to  consecrate  and  embalm  it  in 
that  inspiration,  which  has  conferred  immortality  on  the  "Irish 
Melodies." 

"  Warrior  Prince,  son  of  a  thousand  kings  of  wave-wreathed 
Erin,  hast  thou  forgotten  thine  own  native  land,  and  the  imperisha- 
ble glory  of  thy  sceptered  sires  ; — those  Milesian  heroes  who  were 
towers  of  fire  in  the  battles  of  the  valiant  ?  Is  the  voice  of  Erin's 
harp  still  dear  to  recollection,  and  gladdening  to  the  soul  of  Prince 
Mahon,  the  hope  of  Innisfail?  Listen,  O  !  Prince,  to  strains  that 
would  speak  the  sorrows  of  thy  oppressed  country,  and  the  wailings 
of  desponding  love.  Know  then,  that  Erin,  thy  country  and  king- 
dom, invokes  thee,  her  darling  son,  to  return  to  the  throne  of  thy 
fathers,  and  rescue  her  from  the  fangs  of  usurpation. 

"  Return  !  return  to  green  Aelga  !  and  free  thy  people  who  writhe 
in  the  yoke  of  despotism.  The  harps  of  Tara  breathe  but  the  moan- 
ing sounds  of  wo  !  the  oaks  of  thy  forests  sigh  dismally  in  the  breeze  ; 
the  echoing  rocks  of  Meath  respond  but  to  the  lamentation  of  the 
Banshee,  and   the  angry  ghosts  of  thy  royal   fathers,  as   they  stalk 

*  "  The  passion  of  love  is  not  only  very  fruitful  of  invention,  but  also  exercises 
talents,  if  it  does  not  give  them,  which  would  never  have  been  thought  of  witliout 
it;  and  especially  the  talent  of  versification.  Thus,  whether  this  young  Princess 
ever  invoked  the  Muses  before  or  not,  she  now  composed  a  poem  in  praise  of  the 
_,heroic  actions  of  Mahon ;  and  having  procured  a  celebrated  musician,  to  set  and 
sing  it  to  the  harp,  she  prevailed  on  him  to  go  to  France  and  carry  a  letter  from 
her  to  her  lover.  The  contents  of  the  letter  are  to  be  guessed  at;  but  no  sooner 
had  the  bearer  got  access,  delivered  his  credentials,  and  sung  the  poetry  which 
accompanied  them  to  tlie  harp,  than  Mahon  was  inspired  with  a  resolution  of  pros- 
ecuting his  just  claim  to  the  throne  of  Ireland." — Warner. 

"  Tlie  amatory  and  patriotic  ode  of  the  Princess  Moriat,  which  is  preserved  in 
Molloy's  illustrations  of  Irish  history,  is  a  composition  fraught  with  beauty  of  lan- 
guage and  melody  of  measure.  I  think  it  must  have  escaped  the  observation  of 
our  great  Bard,  or  he  would  have  given  it  in  one  of  his  deathless  melodies." — 
McDermott. 

"  Though  the  account  of  the  love  of  Moriat  and  Mahon  wear,  seemingly,  the 
air  of  romance,  yet  there  is  no  fact  in  Irish  history  whose  truth  is  better  authenti- 
cated."— Lynch. 


123 

over  llicir  pathway  of  clouds,  call  upon  tliee  to  rouse  from  thy  in- 
glorious apathy,  and  like  them,  make  victory  the  footstool  of  thy 
throne.  But  if  thy  country  cannot  awaken  pity  in  thy  breast,  surely 
Jove  will  melt  thy  sensibility  to  compassion,  as  the  vernal  sunbeams 
dissolve  the  crystal  mirror  of  the  ice-p!ated  Shannon,  when  hoary 
winter  becomes  shocked  at  the  reflection  of  his  own  austere  features. 

"  Dost  thou  still  remember  Moriat,  tiie  maid  of  thy  first  love  ? 
Has  absence  obliterated  the  record  of  thy  solemn  vow — has  another 
fairer,  younjrer  Princess,  despoiled  the  heart  shrine  in  which  thy 
youno^  affection  placed  her  image,  in  that  ur.forgotten,  blissful, 
beatified  moment,  when  in  sweet  whispered  words  of  inspired  elo- 
quence, thou  passionately  assured  her  that  '  thy  beloved  Moriat 
should  be  the  only  divinity  that  thy  feelings  and  affections  would 
worship  V  This  fondly  remembered  declaration  is  the  very  life  of 
her  hope — the  bright  beacon  that  shines  in  the  wilderness  of  her 
heart.  Return,  () !  wandering  warrior,  to  the  maiden  of  thy  vow, 
who  pines  in  her  lonely  bower,  as  the  waves  of  anguish  roll  their 
foam  over  her  soul,  while  she  thinks  on  thee  !  Thy  presence  would 
brighten  the  darkness  of  lier  wo,  with  the  rosy  light  of  joy.  O! 
Mahon,  canst  thou  resist  the  double  claim  of  country  and  of  love, 
while  their  united  voices  thus  implore  thee  to  fly  from  a  foreign 
clime,  and  bring  back  comfort,  happiness  and  liberty  to  thy  ow  n  dear 
native  isle  !  Come,  gallant  Prince,  of  the  race  of  heroes,  to  the  halls 
of  thy  kingly  sires,  and  at  the  head  of  the  warriors  of  Erin,  let  thy 
valour  and  genius  irradiate  the  conflict  of  fame  ;  let  your  might  be 
like  the  spirit  of  the  tempest,  uprooting  the  pines  of  the  hill,  and  your 
vengeance  as  destructive  as  the  mountain  torrent,  rushing  in  its 
irresistible  rage  over  the  pastoral  valley  of  the  husbandman  ! 

"Though  Moriat  loves  thee  to  the  ardour  of  enthusiasm,  and 
though  thy  death  in  the  strife  of  spears  would  blast  the  verdure  of 
joy,  and  hope,  and  leave  her  miserable,  sad  and  inconsolable,  like  a 
lio-htning-shivered  tree  on  the  stormy  hill  of  life,  divested  of  flowers, 
fruit  and  foliage,  still  she  would  rather  be  thus  bereaved  than  that 
her  lover  should  be  reproached  with  the  shame  of  the  little  soul,  or 
with  a  want  of  the  courage  and  bravery  which  are  the  inherent  char- 
acteristics of  a  Milesian  hero.  Hasten,  then,  oh  !  hasten  !  to  the 
green  fields  which  are  the  scenes  of  the  glorious  exploits  of  thy 
fathers  : — here  every  object  will  proclaim  their  gallantry — here 
their  spirits  will  inspire  thee  with  invincible  courage,  and  nerve  with 
supernatural  force  the  martial  arm  that  shall  prostrate  the  sanguin- 
ary usurper  of  thy  throne." 

These  strains  fired  the  patriotism  and  passion  of  the  prince,  and 
awoke  in  his  bosom  the  tenderest  sympathies  of  love,  and  the  warm- 
est spirit  of  virtuous  ambition.  He  now  decided  on  making  a  bold 
eftbrt  to  pluck  his  crown  from  the  usurper's  brow.  To  the  harper 
he  confided  a  letter  for  his  Moriat,  assuring  her  of  his  unalterable 
affection,  as  well  as  another  containing  secret  instructions  to  his 
adherents,  to  devise  every  means  and  expedient  in  their  power,  in 
order  to  facilitate  the  accomplishment  of  his  designs.  As  soon  as 
he  despatched  the  minstrel,  he  resigned  his  command  in  the  French 
army,  and  waited  tipon  his  uncle,  who  concurred  in  his  project,  and 


124 

promptly  assisted  him  with  sohhrn-s  niul  othnr  inenns  of  rarrying  it 
into  effect.  He,  witli  a  strons;  mihtary  force  cmharked,  and  afler  a 
short  voyage  landed  in  Wexford,  where  he  was  proclaimed  supreme 
monarch  of  Ireland. 

The  news  of  his  landing  communicated  "  glad  tidings"  to  the  Irish 
people,  who  were  sorely  afflicted  hy  the  tyranny  of  the  usurper,  and 
ardently  longing  for  an  opportunity  of  rending  the  cankering  chain 
which  fettered  their  liberties ;  so  that,  ere  the  lapse  of  a  week,  the 
Prince's  ranks  were  thronged  with  the  majority  of  the  Irish  popula- 
tion. The  appearance  and  formidable  attitude  of  Mahon,  of  whose 
existence  Cobhthaigh  did  not  before  even  dream,  struck  him  with 
panic  and  dismay.  He  lost  no  time  in  organizing  a  force  to  resist 
the  invader,  but  ere  he  had  time  to  sally  forth  from  his  j)alace  of 
Garman*  near  the  Barrow,  in  the  county  of  Wexford,  the  daring 
and  intrepid  Mahon  was  thundering  at  his  gates.  Mahon  summoned 
him  to  surrender  ;  but  the  usurper  determined  on  a  desperate  de- 
fence, answered  the  requisition  in  the  haughty  and  derisive  language 
of  defiance.  This  insolence  provoked  the  indignation  of  Mahon,  and 
set  fire  to  his  irritable  spirit.  He  immediately  gave  orders  for  an 
assault,  and  leading  on  in  person,  a  chosen  body  of  his  guards,  he 
scaled  the  walls,  and  penetrating  with  irresistible  valour  into  the 
interior  of  the  palace,  put  the  monarch  and  all  his  court  to  the 
sword.  So  unexpected  was  the  attack  of  Mahon  on  the  palace,  that 
Cobhthaigh,  with  numerous  guests,  among  whom,  according  to  the 
Lcahhar-Lccan,  or  Book  of  Leinster,  were  thirty  Princes,  were 
seated  at  the  banquet  table,  when  the  assault  commenced. 

This  signal  exploit  put  him  in  possession  of  the  throne,  which  he 
ascended  with  the  general  and  unanimous  consent  of  the  nation. 

As  soon  as  he  was  inaugurated,  on  the  stone  of  destiny,  at  Tara, 
he  repaired  to  the  court  of  his  benefactor  and  friend,  the  kinf  of 
Munster,  and  married  the  lovely  Moriat. 

He  made  extensive  conquests  in  Britain,  and  after  garrisoning 
some  fortresses  there,  he  marched  into  Albania,  (Scotland)  where 
he  exacted  tribute  and  compelled  the  Pictish  king  to  do  him  homage 
as  his  vassal.  Dr.  O'Halloran  and  Keating  assert  in  their  histories, 
that  Maon-Labhra  became  king  of  Gaul,  on  tlie  demise  of  his  uncle, 
but  as  the  French  annals  take  no  notice  of  such  an  accession,  we 
think  that  monarch  never  swayed  tbe  sceptre  of  Gaul.  If  he  was 
elevated  to  the  throne  of  that  country,  as  alleged,  contemporaneous 
history  would  notice  so  important  an  event.  Tlic  inquisitive  reader 
is,  however,  referred  to  Dr.  O'Halloran's  xevy  ingenious  arguments 
in  support  of  the  position  that  he  has  assumed  on  tliis  stdiject.  (  Vide 
Histori/,  paffe  16.5,  vol  I.)  "  The  reason,"  says  O'Halloran,  "  that 
Mahon  is  better  known  by  our  annalists,  by  the  name  Lnbhra,  than 
his  original  one,  3I(io)i,  is  this:  as  soon  as  he  had  surprised  and  cut 
off" his  predecessor,  a  Druid,  who  was  witness  of  the  action,  and    in 

*  "  In  Garman,  near  Loch-Garman,  in  the  vicinity  of  Invcr-Slaine  (now  Wex- 
ford) was  the  chief  re.sidence  of  the  provincial  kintrs"  of  Leinster  ;  a  place  greatly 
celebrated  by  the  old  bards,  as  the  fn^quent  conventions  of  tlie  states  of  Leinster 
were  held  there.  It  was  in  this  district  tlial  Maon.  or  Mahon-Labhra  established 
his  Gaulish  colony,  affer  lie  had  rerovere'd  liis  crown." — O'Connor. 


125 

his  interest,  cried  out  hastily,  "  Does  he  speak  ?"  (the  opinion  of  his 
being  dumb  having  a  general  prevalence,)  on  which  account  lie  went 
ever  by  the  name  of  Labhra,  which  signifies  speech,  to  whicli  the 
epithet  Liiinscach,  or  the  navy,  was  added,  in  consequence  of  his 
having  caused  several  ships  to  be  built  in  the  port  of  Wexford.* 
We  shall  not  introduce  at  length  into  our  history,  a  fabulous  tale, 

*  To  give  a  comprehensive  description  of  a  town  like  Wexford,  which  has 
been  the  scene  of  so  many  historical  events,  from  the  days  of  Hercmon  down  to 
tlie  disastrous  epoch  of  171*8.  would  require  mure  space  and  time  than  we  can  now 
devote  to  its  topography.  We  nmst,  liowevcr,  in  accordance  with  our  plan  of 
illustration,  furnisli  our  readers  with  a  local  and  historical  sketch  of  a  place  that  is 
so  famed  in  our  annals. 

The  flourishing  town  of  Wexford  is  situated  near  the  sea,  upon  the  pastoral 
banks  of  the  river  Slaney^,  at  tlie  distance  of  ninety-four  English  miles  from  Dub- 
lin. The  ancient  name  of  We.xford  was  Inher-Sluine,  or  the  Port  of  the  Slaine. 
Ptolemy,  in  his  Geograpliy,  denominates  Wexford,  Garmana,  "  from  the  colony 
of  Gauls  or  Germans,"  says  Dr.  O'SuIlivan,  "  which  Maon  established  there  about 
two  hundred  and  seventy  years  before  Christ."  It  once  could  boast  of  its  druidical 
temples,  feudal  castles,  and  Christian  fanes,  but  the  ravages  of  time  and  war  have 
thrown  down  the  domes  and  pediments  of  Wexford.  The  vesper-bell  is  not  heard 
in  the  ruined  abbey — the  wliite  hands  of  beauty  no  longer  touch  the  chords  of  the 
harp  in  the  halls  of  the  hero — the  revels  of  chivalry  no  longer  break  the  stillness 
and  silence  that  reign  in  the  desolate  pavilions  of  Dermod,kingof  Leinster.  The 
ruins  of  Wexford  might  warrant  a  Volney  to  call  this  town  "  acity  of  sepulchres." 
The  inhabitants  of  Wexford  are  spirited,  affluent,  and  tasteful,  if  we  were  to  judcre 
from  the  architecture  of  their  public  edifices;  but  still,  when  we  contemplate  the 
magnificent  relics  of  castles,  abbeys,  and  fortifications,  that  strew  their  mouldering 
porticoefe,  battlements,  and  arches,  in  every  direction,  the  hope  of  even  seeing 
Wexford  rise  in  its  pristine  pillared  grandeur,  cannot  for  a  moment  be  entertained. 
The  church.  Catholic  chapel,  court  and  custom  houses,  and  barracks,  are  credita- 
ble architective  ornaments  ;  but  the  narrowness  of  the  streets  cast  a  sombre  shade 
over  the  appearance  of  the  town,  and  has  the  effect  of  giving  new  buildings  the 
gloomy  antique  aspect  of  those  houses  in  which  Strongbow  and  his  soldiers  resided, 
in  117:2.  Several  portions  of  the  strong  wall  tliat  encircled  the  town  in  the  days 
of  Cromwell,  are  still  standing.  The  harbour  is  spacious,  but  the  entrance  is 
dangerous,  as  the  sands  of  two  large  moles,  between  which  the  channel  runs,  are 
moved  and  shifted  by  every  tide.  It  was  here  Strongbow's  forces  first  landed, 
under  Robert  Filzstepiiens,  A.  D.  \\G9.  The  town  was  then  garrisoned  by  the 
Danes,  who  did  not  acknowledge  the  sovereignty  of  Dermod  McMurrough,  the  king 
of  Leinster,  so  that  they  refused  to  open  their  gates  to  the  invaders,  whose  whole 
army  did  not  exceed  three  hundred  and  eighty  men.  Immediately  after  this  refu- 
sal, Fitzstephens  despatched  a  messenger  to  Ferns,  then  tlie  palace  of  Dermot, 
requiring  aid  from  him  as  king  of  Leinster,  to  reduce  the  town,  which  was  speedily 
sent.  The  inhabitants  overawed  by  the  superior  force  of  the  allies,  surrendered, 
and  Dermot  made  a  present  of  the  duties  and  customs  of  Wexford  to  Fitzstephens. 
In  117n,  the  English  garrison  was  increased  by  another  body  of  soldiers,  under  the 
command  of  Maurice  Fitzgerald,  the  brother-in-law  of  Fitzstephens.  On  the  23d 
of  August,  1170,  Strongbow,  Earl  of  Pembroke,  at  the  head  of  II 00  men,  joined 
Fitzstephens  here.  As  soon  as  Dermot  had  intelligence  of  Strongbow's  arrival, 
he  hastened  to  Wexford  to  pay  his  court  to  the  invader,  and  concert  the  plan  of 
fiperation  against  King  Roderick  O'Connor.  Dermot  was  accompanied  on  this 
visit  by  his  beautiful  daughter,  Eva,  whose  rharms  made  a  captive  of  the  invader's 
heart,  and  on  the  second  day  after  her  arrival  in  Wexford,  she  was  espoused  by 
him.     The  nuptials  were  celebrated  with  great  pomp  and  eclat. 

Strongbow,  on  the  death  of  his  fnther-in-law,  (Dermot)  assumed  the  regal 
govemment  of  the  Province  of  Leinster,  as  the  heir  of  the  deceased  king.  Fitz- 
stephens oppressed  the  inhabitants  of  Wexford  so  intolerably,  that  they  only  waited 
for  an  opportunity  of  expelling  by  force  the  English  garrison.  The  occasion  they 
so  impatiently  desired,  to  avenge  their  wrongs,  in  a  short  time  [)resented  itself  to 
their  wishes.  The  Governor  having  marched  out  with  the  greater  part  of  the 
garrison,  to  stop  the  incursion  of  O'Sloore,  the  Prince  of  Leix,  the  hour  of  retribu- 
tion was  quickly  seized  upon  by  the  persecuted  inhabitants,  who  rising,  en  masse. 


12G 

relative  to  this  monarch,  which  is  j2-rave]y  related  by  Dr.  Keating 
and  Warner,  setting  fortli,  that  like  Midas,  king  of  Plirygia,  he  had 
asses'  ears,  and  that  in  order  to  conceal  the  deformity,  he  caused  all 
the  hair-cutters  who  had  shorn  his  locks  to  be  put  to  death,  lest  the 
secret  might  be  divulged  to  his  subjects.  One  man,  however,  the 
only  son  of  a  poor  widow,  escaped  the  doom  of  his  predecessors,  by 
swearing  that  he  should  never  reveal  to  a  human  being,  what  he  had 
witnessed  when  cutting  the  king's  hair.  But  a  secret  is  so  heavy  a 
burden,  that  few  virtues  can  sustain  it.  The  hair-dresser's  mind, 
languishing  under  this  load,  became  impatient  to  throw  off  so  irk- 
some a  pressure.  Without  divulging  the  facts,  he  informed  a  learned 
Druid,  that  he  possessed  a  secret  which  he  had  solemnly  sworn  never 
to  discover  to  a  mortal  being.  The  Druidical  casuist  told  him,  that 
in  order  to  avoid  death,  and  the  infamy  of  perjury,  he  must  go  to  a 
neighbouring  grove  of  willows,  and  whisper  to  the  first  tree  which 
should  arrest  his  eye,  the  secret.  The  hair-cutter  well  pleased  with 
this  advice,  religiously  followed  its  dictates.  Sometime  after,  one 
of  the  king's  Harpers  got  the  devoted  tree  to  which  the  secret  was 
confessed,  cut  down,  and  had  a  harp  made  out  of  it.  As  soon  as  it 
was  strung  and  finished,  the  minstrel,  on  touching  its  chords,  was 
astonished  at  the  expression  of  the  audible  sounds  "  Da  cluas  capoll 
air  Labhradh  Lui?igscach"  or  in  English,  Labradh  the  king,  has  on 
his  head  the  two  ears  of  a  horse.  The  monarch  soon  heard  of  the 
wonderful  instrument,  and  caused  it  to  be  brought  to  him,  and  when 
he  struck  its  strings,  the  sounds  breathed  the  offensive  expression. 
Mahon's  conscience  was  struck  with  remorse  by  this  miracle,  wrought 
as  he  supposed  by  the  hand  of  heaven,  to  punish  him  for  his  cruelty, 
so  that  jn  order  to  expiate  his  crimes,  and  propitiate  the  anger  of 
the  sun,  he  ever  after  openly  exposed  the  deformity  of  his  long  ears. 
This    poetic   fiction    was    introduced,    no   doubt,  into   our   history, 

put  such  of  the  soldiers  in  the  garrison  as  offered  resistance,  to  the  sword.  They 
then  saUied  out  of  the  town,  and  waited  in  ambush  the  return  of  Fitzstcphens,  on 
whom  they  fell  with  fury,  and  succeeded  in  taking  him  and  his  principal  officers 
prisoners.  On  Strongbow's  hearing  of  the  misfortune  that  befel  his  friend,  he 
instantly  marched  towards  Wexford  with  a  strong  force,  with  which  he  intended 
to  punish  the  Wexfordians  for  their  revolt,  and  rescue  the  governor  from  captivity. 
But  as  soon  as  the  townsmen  were  apprised  of  the  Earl's  approach  they  set  the 
town  on  fire,  and  fled  for  safety  witli  their  prisoners  and  effects,  to  Lady  Island, 
in  Forth.  The  magnificent  abljey  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  which  the  famous  poet, 
Saint  Fiech,  Bisliop  of  Ferns,  erected  in  the  fifth  century,  was  destroyed  in  this 
memorable  conflagration. 

As  soon  as  the  Wexfordians  heard  of  Henry's  arrival  in  Waterford,  they  abandon- 
ed the  isle  of  their  retreat,  and  proceeded  with  their  prisoners  to  the  presence  of 
the  English  king,  in  order  to  claim  his  protection,  and  prefer  their  complaints  against 
Fitzstephens,  for  his  despotic  conduct.  Henry  received  them  graciously,  and  not 
only  severely  reprimanded  the  ex-governor,  but  committed  him  to  prison  in  Water- 
ford.  He  then,  to  encourage  the  Wexfordians  to  rebuild  their  town,  gave  them  a 
charter  of  immunities,  which  is  in  force  to  this  day.  The  town  quickly  rose  like 
like  a  Phccnix,  out  of  the  ashes.  Sir  John  Devereux  erected  a  superb  abbey,  in 
all  the  grandeur  of  Gothic  architecture,  on  the  ruins  of  St.  Fiech's  superstructure. 
The  Talbots  and  the  Fitzgeralds  also  built  churches  and  religious  houses  here.  In 
the  reign  of  Edward  IV.  James,  Earl  of  Desmond,  then  Lord  Deputy  of  Ireland, 
convened  a  Parliament  in  this  town. 

To  narrate  the  occurrences  in  Wexford  during  the  reigns  of  Elizabeth  and 
James  I.  shall  be  the  proper  business  of  our  history  of  those  periods. 


127 

"  to  point  a  moral,"  and  render  more  disgusting  the  visage  of 
wickedness. 

Malion's  wise  administration  proved  a  blessing  to  Ireland  ;  lie  was 
beloved  by  his  sulijects,  and  res])ected  by  the  neighbouring  nations. 
His  passion  for  military  parade  and  pomp,  induced  him  to  keep  a 
large  standing  army  in  pay,  but  the  justice  of  his  goverrmjent  never 
permitted  military  despotism  to  trench  on  the  liberties  of  the  Irish 
nation.  He  caused  his  soldiers  to  arm  themselves  with  the  Laighean 
or  Gaulish  spear,  a  circumstance  from  which  Leinster  derives  its 
present  name,  as  the  spears  were  fabricated  in  Wexford,  then  tlie 
capital  of  Galcnian,  and  in  consequence,  the  ancient  Galian,  or 
district  of  the  Belgians,  was  called  Coige  Laighean,  whicli  is  tlie 
province  of  spears.  This  monarch,  notwithstanding  his  popularity, 
and  the  excellence  and  mildness  of  his  government,  was  killed  in 
battle  by  his  successor,  Meilge,  or  Molbhthack,  in  the  nineteenth 
year  of  his  reign,  A.  M.  36G8. 

The  victor  was  the  son  of  the  tyrant  Cobhthaigh,  and  knowing  the 
deficiency  of  his  title,  he  did  eveiy  thing  in  his  power  to  ingratiate 
himself  in  the  good  opinion  of  the  people.  He  extended  the  consti- 
tutional charter  so  far  as  to  embrace  in  its  scope,  all  those  privileges 
which  can  guard  and  secure  the  privileges  of  the  subject.  In  conse- 
quence of  his  legislative  enactments,  he  was  honoured  with  the  title 
of  "  The  Praiseworthy."  But  in  tliese  ages  the  popularity  of  the 
monarch  was  but  a  feeble  safeguard  to  protect  the  throne  from 
revolt ;  Meilge  was  slain  by  Modh-chorb,  of  the  house  of  Heber,  in 
battle,  in  the  seventh  year  of  his  reign,  A.  M.  3685.  This  Prince 
was  the  first  of  the  Heberian  dynasty,  who  was  elevated  to  the  Irish 
throne,  since  Jughaine  the  Great  passed  his  famous  decree  of  exclu- 
sion against  them. 

The  royal  historian  of  Cashel  designates  JModh-chorb  with  the 
additional  appellation  of  Clare,  as  his  palace  of  residence  was  in  that 
town.  His  reign  of  seven  years  is  not  distinguished  by  any  event  of 
importance  in  our  annals.  He  died  in  battle  with  his  successor, 
Aongus,  A.  M.  3G92.  Aongus  II.  called  in  consequence  of  his  eru- 
dition, Aongus  Ollamh,  or  the  doctor,  was  the  grand  son  of  Maori, 
whose  memory  the  Irish  cherished  with  veneration.  This  prince 
possessed  great  military  talents,  and  a  courage  that  gave  them  full 
scope.  If  we  can  credit  O'Halloran,  he  carried  the  terror  of  his 
arms  into  Greece,  as  the  ally  of  the  Gauls.  While  he  was  pursuing 
his  conquests  in  foreign  countries,  his  successor,  Jaran  Gleofathock, 
promoted  an  insurrection,  which  recalled  home  the  monarch  in  order 
to  quell  it  ;  but  he  fell  in  the  first  engagement  he  fought  after  his 
return  to  his  kingdom,  A.  M.  3710,  in  the  eighteenth  year  of  his 
age.  The  Book  of  Reigns  styles  Aongus  the  "  Victorious  Conqueror 
of  Greece."  "  When  we  compare,"  writes  O'Halloran,  "this  rela- 
tion with  the  accounts  given  us  by  Greek  and  Roman  writers,  of  the 
irruption  of  the  Gauls  into  Greece,  and  note  how  exactly  the  reign 
of  Aongus  accords  with  the  time  of  this  remarkable  invasion,  we 
must,  I  apprehend,  be  convinced  that  our  annals  deserve  the  highest 
credit." 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

Theieigns  of  Jar  era,  Fearckorb,  Conla,  Olioll  III. — of  Adumar,  Eochaidh  VIII., 
Fcargus,  and  of  Aon  g  us  III.  who  was  the  ally  of  the  Citrthaginlans. —  The  acces- 
sion of  Connall — ofAladh — Eanda — Criomthau — Ruighruidlib — ofJonadhbhar — 
Breasal — Lughaidh  IV. —  Tlic  law  of  Tanistry.and  reign  of  Connall. 

A.  M.  3710.  Jarbro  did  not  enjoy  the  regal  power  but  for  the 
period  of  seven  years  ;  attiie  expiration  of  wliich  he  was  vanquished, 
and  slain  in  battle,  by  his  successor,  Fearchorb,  of  the  house  of  Heber, 
who,  after  a  reign  of  eleven  years,  was  in  his  turn  cut  oft"  by  Conla, 
the  son  of  Jaran  Glcofathacli,  A.  M.  3722.  This  monarch  died  a 
natural  death  at  the  palace  of  Tara,  after  a  peaceable  reign  of  five 
years.  His  son,  Olioli,,  ascended  the  throne  without  the  o|)position 
of  a  rival.  His  reign  of  twenty-five  years  is  not  celebrated  in  our 
annals  for  any  eminent  event  or  martial  exploit.  He  fell  in  an 
engagement  with  his  successor,  Adamar,  of  the  royal  line  of  Heber. 
He  married,  according  to  the  relation  of  the  regal  historian  of  Cashel, 
the  fair  Fkdhis,  the  princess  of  Connaught.  He  fell  a  victim  to  the 
avenging  sword  of  Eochaidh,  the  son  of  Olioll,  in  the  fifth  year  of 
his  reign.  This  monarch's  reign  of  eleven  years,  of  which  nothing 
particular  is  recorded,  was  terminated  by  the  hand  of  Feargus 
For tamliuU,  or  Feargus  of  the  strong  arm.  This  Prince,  on  ascending 
the  throne,  displayed  a  consummate  genius  for  giving  lustre  to  his 
royal  station.  After  enacting  wise  laws  for  the  government  of  the 
state,  he  passed  over  to  his  colony  of  Albany,  and  thence  into  Gaul, 
where  he  and  his  army  nobly  distinguished  themselves  against  the 
Romans.  But  an  insurrection,  headed  by  Aongus,  compelled  him 
to  return  home  from  his  foreign  conquests,  and  to  engage  his  compet- 
itor, by  whom  he  was  slain,  near  Tara,  A.  ]M.  3778.  The  monarch, 
Aongus,  who  was  known  by  the  appellation  of  Tiiirmheach,  or  the 
bashful,  was  the  son  of  Eochaidh  VHI.  Few  kings  acquired  such 
eminent  celebrity  in  our  annals,  as  Aongus  ;  for  his  virtues  and  his 
vices  have  equally  contributed  to  consecrate  his  name  to  historic 
fame.  O'Flaherty,  Keating,  and  Molloy,  adduce  an  irrefragable 
chain  of  historical  evidence  to  prove  that  the  gallant  Aongus,  and 
the  Irish  militia,  or  the  "  sacj-a  ct  dilccta  cohurs,^^  performed  prodi- 
gies of  heroism,  as  the  allies  of  Carthage,  during  the  second  Punic 
war. 

Dr.  O'Halloran,  a  man  as  conversant  with  classic  literature  and 
antiquities,  as  any  historian  of  his  day,  in  narrating  the  exploits  of 
Aongus  beyond  the  Alps,  observes : — "  The  Irish,  far  from  being 
idle  spectators  of  this  war,  were  deeply  engaged  in  it,  as  the  old 
allies  of  the  Carthaginians.  I  have  already  oftered  my  reasons  why 
I  supposed  the  Irish  were  the  most  friendly  and  powerful  allies  of 
Carthage.  *****        -pjjg  Carthaginian  swords 

found  near  the  plains  of  Cannae,  and  presented  by  Sir  William 
Hamilton  to  the  British  museum,  being  found  in  figure,  texture,  and 
length,  exactly  similar  to  our  ancient  ones,  adds  strength  to  my  con- 
jectures.    It  has  been  remarked  by  Roman  writers,  that  the  swords 


129 

of  tlie  Gauls  were  of  batl  metal,  frequently  bent,  and  easily  broke  and 
battered  ;  but  by  the  report  of  the  assay-master  of  the  British  mint, 
the  Carthaginian  and  Iri?h  swords  were  of  mixed  metal,  highly 
elastic,  and  polished,  bore  a  very  sharp  edge,  and  so  formed  as  to 
suffer  no  injury  by  time  or  climate.  Here,  then,  is  Roman  testi- 
mony furnished  as  to  the  make  of  their  arms,  to  distinguish  the 
Irish  and  their  allies  from  the  other  confederates  and  enemies  of 
Rome." 

In  the  course  of  the  preceding  chapters,  we  have  advanced  other 
opinions  to  sustain,  on  tenable  grounds,  the  hypothesis  of  O'flal- 
loran. 

But  on  the  return  of  Aongus  to  his  kingdom,  the  diabolical  crime 
of  incest,  committed  during  the  madness  of  intoxication,  with  his 
own  daughter,  tarnished  the  glory  of  his  exploits,  and  rendered  the 
remainder  of  his  days  the  source  of  remorse  and  shame.  The  fruit 
of  this  disgraceful  anil  unnatural  connexion,  was  a  son,  who,  the 
moment  after  his  birth,  was  arrayed  in  rich  purple  garments,  deco- 
rated with  jewels,  and  conveyed  privately  to  an  open  boat,  which 
was  set  adrift  in  the  ocean.  The  boat,  however,  had  not  been  borne 
far  on  the  receding  waves,  when  it  was  discovered  by  some  fisher- 
men, who  humanely  took  the  poor  infant  on  board  of  their  vessel, 
and  kindly  administered  to  its  wants.  The  gorgeous  dress  of  the 
hapless  babe  proclaimed  the  lank  of  its  unnatural  parent,  who,  in 
some  years  subsequently  acknowledged  ihc  Prince,  and  bestowed 
large  possessions  on  liim  in  Ulster.  lie  was  called  Fiacha  Prionsa 
an  Mara,  ov  the  Prince  of  tiie  sea.  "From  the  posterity  of  this 
child,"  says  Dr.  Warner,  "  tlius  exposed  to  almost  certain  destruc- 
tion either  by  famine  or  the  waters — so  amazing  and  powerful  are 
the  works  of  Providence,  came  the  royal  line  of  Scotland — the 
progenitors,  on  the  British  side,  of  our  own  illustrious  monarch." 
The  son  of  Fiacha  became  afterwards  monarch  of  Ulster;  and  his 
descendants,  the  O'Connells,  O'Connors,  M'Dermotts,  M'Loughlins, 
O'Farrels,  O'Dwyers,  O'Ryans,  Murphies,  and  O'Tooles,  are  the 
proudest  names  that  illuminate  the  Irir^h  annals.* 


*  "  Many  of  the  successors  of  Fiacha  became  kings  of  Munster  as  well  as  of 
Scotland  ;  and  by  the  female  line,  his  present  majesty,  George  III.  is  descended. 
Indeed,  upon  a  close  investigation  of  the  matter,  it  appears  that  children  got  out 
of  wedlock,  formerly  were  very  far  from  being  held  in  a  disrespectful  light.  We 
behold  Agamemnon,  encouraging  Tcucer,  the  illegitimate  son  of  Telumon,  (the 
father  of  Ajax)  to  pursue  the  heroic  steps  of  his  brother.  Ulysses  confesses  himself 
the  son  of  a  concubine,  (Vide  Ody.  lib.  IV.  ver.  202.)  Gideon,  though  a  judge  of 
Israel,  had  seventy  children  (Vide  Judges,  chap.  IX.)  by  different  women,  and  yet 
Abirnelech.  tlie  issue  of  a  concubine,  and  even  his  servant,  Avas  chosen  king  of 
Sechem  I  The  children  of  Jacob,  got  on  the  bodies  of  his  wives'  handmaids,  are 
ranked  with  his  legitimate  ones.  The  bastard  of  Normandy  became  king  of  Eng- 
land. Thiery,  according  to  Selden,  a  natural  son  to  Clovis,  ranked  as  his  other 
children.  In  Ireland,  in  the  present  and  in  many  succeeding  instances,vve  shall 
see  illegitimate  children  enjoy  every  rank  and  dignity  in  the  state,  which  their 
blood  entitled  them  to  ;  and  some  of  the  most  illustrious  families  in  the  kingdom, 
derive  their  origin  from  similar  sources,  as  the  O'Connors,  O'Loughhns,  McRan- 
nels.  &c." — O'Hai.i.ouan. 

"  From  the  line  of  Fiacha,  are  descended  the  O'Connors  of  Kerry  and  Sligo.  — 
fu/c  Brian  O'Connor's  Histori/  of  the  County  of  Kerry. 

"  Roderick  O'Connor  was  directly  descended  from  Fergus  Mac  Roy,  king  of 
17 


130 

Aongus  lived  to  an  old  age,  and  after  a  reign  of  forty  years,  was 
assassinated  in  a  grove  at  Tara,  by  liis  nephew  and  successor, 
CoNNALL  Callamhrach.  The  guilty  Connall  did  not  long  enjoy  the 
power  to  which  cruelty  and  ingratitude  raised  him.  He  was  slain 
in  battle  by  Niadh,  of  the  house  of  Heber,  in  the  fifth  year  of  his 
reign.  The  Book  of  Munster  relates  that  the  mother  of  this  Prince 
was  skilled  in  magic,  and  that  it  was  by  necromantic  spells  she  enchain- 
ed victory  to  the  standard  of  her  son  ;  but  this  is  only  the  poetic 
fiction  of  some  of  our  ancient  bards — for  the  charms  of  the  sorceress 
were  dissolved  by  Eanda  Artac,  or  Eaiida  the  bountiful — a  designa- 
tion bestowed  upon  him  for  his  munificent  generosity.  There  is 
nothing  of  importance  recorded  of  this  king,  save  that,  like  hundreds 
of  his  predecessors,  his  reign  of  twenty  years  was  closed  by  the  sword, 
in  an  engagement  with  Criomthan,  whose  victory  won  the  Irish 
crown,  A.  M.  3841.  Criomthan  had  distinguished  himself  in  the 
last  reign,  by  his  courage  and  intrepidity  as  a  warrior.  He  was  the 
grandson  of  Feargus,  tlie  monarch  ;  so  that  he  came  to  the  throne 
recommended  by  birth  and  martial  fame.  The  army  were  enthu- 
siastically attached  to  his  government.  He  was  called  Crosgrach, 
which  in  Irish  signifies  the  sanguinary  slaughterer,  in  conseipience 
of  his  destructive  execution  in  fight.  The  fate  which  attended  so 
many  of  his  predecessors'  defeat  in  battle,  deprived  him  of  life  and 
crown,  in  the  seventh  year  of  his  reign.  The  victor  and  successor 
to  the  throne,  was  Ruighruidhe,  whom  our  annalists  honour  with  the 
appellation  of  "  the  Great."  This  Prince  was  the  son  of  Sithrighe, 
of  the  dynasty  of  Ir,  and  was  the  first  of  his  house,  since  the  famous 
compact  made  with  Jughaine-More,  who  had  the  courage  to  secede 
from  its  stipulations,  and  assert  the  rights  of  his  blood.  Irish  poets 
and  historians  have  extolled  the  glorious  achievements  of  Ruighruidhe 
at  the  head  of  his  militia,  while  in  conjunction  with  the  brave  Masi- 
nissa,  in  the  wars  of  Asdrubal  against  Scipio.  After  the  termination 
of  the  third  Punic  war,  and  the  destruction  of  Carthage,  the  monarch, 
with  the  remnant  of  his  army,  returned  to  his  kingdom,  where  he 
died,  at  the  palace  of  Airgiodross,  in  the  thirtieth  year  of  his  reign. 
The  posterity  of  this  renowned  monarch  were  distinguished  in  Irish 
history  by  the  patronymic  designation  of  "  Clana  RuighrukUic." 

The  estates  of  Tara  elected  Jonadjibhar,  of  the  dynasty  of  Heber, 
monarch  of  Ireland.  He,  as  soon  as  the  ceremonies  of  his  corona- 
tion were  over,  embarked  at  Belfast  for  Albany,  where  he  compelled 
the  Picts  to  pay  him  tribute  and  do  him  the  homage  of  feudatory 
vassals.  Scarcely  had  he  thus  humbled  the  Albanians,  when  the 
revolt  and  disaffection  of  Breasal  liodhinbha,  of  the  line  of  Ir,  called 
him  home,  wliere,  on  coming  to  an  engagement  with  his  daring 
adversary,  he  lost  his  life  and  crown,  in  the  third  year  of  his  reign. 
The  victor,  of  course,  took  possession  of  the  throne  from  which  he 
was,  in  his  turn,  hurled  by  his  successor,  Lughaidu  IV.  The  reason 
that  Breasal  had  the  surname  of  Sodhiabha,  was  because  a  destruc- 
tive murrain  raged  amongst  black  cattle,  at  the  period  of  his  govern- 

Ulster,  by  the  famous  Mcahha,  Queen  of  Connauglit.  From  this  source  also  sprang 
the  O'Connors  of  Corconiroe,  as  well  as  those  of  Roscommon." — Charles 
O'Connor. 


131 

ment.  Lugliaulli,  wlio  was  called  Lidghnc,  in  conseqtience  of  his 
liavin^  been  educated  at  the  court  of  Leinster,  in  Ferns,*  is  repre- 
sented as  a  very  learned  Prince  by  our  historians.  The  Psalter  of 
Cashel  records,  that  it  was  this  monarch  originated  the  law  and 
honours  of  Tmiistrj/.  The  Tonist  we  are  informed  by  the  learned 
Dr.  O'Conry,  (who  was  Roman  Catholic  Dean  of  Cloyne,  in  1740,) 
in  his  valuable  "  Collectanea  of  Irish  Antiquities,"  was  generally 
"  the  Righ  Damnha,  or  crown  Prince,  as  Lughaidh  invested  his  son, 
Criomthan,  with  the  dignity  and  authorities  of  the  office. "t 

"  We  have  seen,"  says  JMii.  Moore,  "  that  from  the  earliest  times  of 
which  her  traditions  preserve  the  memory,  Ireland  was  divided  into 
a  certain  number  of  small  principalities,  each  governed  by  its  own 
petty  king,  or  dynast,  and  the  whole  subordinate  to  a  supreme 
monarch,  who  had  nominally,  but  seldom  really,  a  control  over  their 
])roceedings.  This  form  of  polity,  which  continued  to  be  maintained, 
without  any  essential  innovation  upon  its  principle,  down  to  the 
Conquest  of  the  country  by  Henry  II.  was  by  no  means  peculiar  to 
Ireland,  but  was  the  system  common  to  the  whole  Celtic,  if  not 
Teutonic  race,  and  like  all  other  primitive  institutions  of  Europe, 
had  its  origin  in  the  east.  Without  going  so  far  back  as  the  land  of 
Canaan,  in   the   time  of  Joshua,   where  every  city   could  boast  its 

*  Ferns,  wliich  was  for  ages  the  royal  capital  of  Leinster,  is  agreeably  situated 
on  the  picturesque  banks  of  the  IJann,  near  the  junction  of  that  fine  river  with  the 
Slaney,  at  the  distance  of  1'2  miles  S,  E.  from  Dublin.  Ferns,  as  a  Bishop's  See 
was  united  to  Leighlin,  A.  D.  IGOO.  This  town,  according  to  Ware,  takes  its 
name  from  the  hero  Farna,  son  of  Cari,  king  of  the  Decies,  who  was  slain  here  in 
battle,  by  Gallus,  the  son  of  Morna.  Before  tiie  invasion  of  the  English,  this  see 
was  archiepiscopal,  as  in  the  early  ages  of  Christianity,  the  title  of  Arch-Bishop, 
in  Ireland,  except  that  of  Armagh,  was  not  confined  to  any  particular  diocess,  but 
sometimes  belonged  to  one,  and  sometimes  to  another,  according  to  the  fame  and 
sanctity  of  the  prelate  who  presided.  In  the  noble  and  affecting  ruins  of  Ferns, 
the  antiquary  and  historian  will  find  much  to  attract  attention,  and  awaken  reflec- 
tion. Among  the  reliques  of  its  pristine  architectural  grandeur,  the  fallen  battle- 
ments and  broken  columns,  that  once  adorned,  in  "  pillared  state,"  the  majestic 
palace  of  Dermod,  King  of  Leinster,  are  eminently  conspicuous,  and  reverentially 
antique.  The  cathedral,  though  modernized  in  aspect,  and  "curtailed  in  the  fair 
proportions,"  which  once  gave  it  such  a  venerable  and  solemn  air,  is  yet  a  superb 
ecclesiastical  structure.  Near  the  ancient  marble  altar,  in  the  great  aisle,  is  the 
monument  of  the  first  Bishop  of  this  See,  St.  Mouge,  who  was  also  the  founder  of 
the  abbey,  which  he  erected  here,  A.  D.  713,  for  regular  Canons,  under  the  invo- 
cation of  the  Holy  Virgin.  The  episcopal  palace,  which  was  built  in  1788,  by 
Bishop  Cope,  is  a  beautiful  specimen  of  Ionic  architecture.  Its  marble  portico, 
lofty  dome,  and  copper-covered  roof,  cannot  be  excelled  by  any  prelatical  residence 
in  Ireland.  The  Glebe  house  is  also  large  and  elegant.  There  cannot  be  a  more 
beautiful  vicinitj',  than  that  which  encompasses  Ferns  ;  as  every  road  leading  from 
it,  passes  through  flowery  lawns,  that  are  arcaded  with  the  luxuriant  foliage  of 
oaks,  elms,  and  sycamores.  Camolin  Park,  the  enchanting  residence  of  Lord 
Valentia,  can  boast  of  a  magnificence  of  architecture,  and  a  beauty  of  domain- 
ecenery,  which  a  Barry  would  love  to  depict,  and  a  Moore  to  describe. — Author. 

f  "  The  Righ  Damnha  was,  I  am  inclined  to  think,  the  presumptive  heir  to  the 
crown,  and  often  general  of  the  national  troops — whereas  the  Tanist  was  but  the 
heir  to  a  lordship;  so  that,  in  consequence,  the  laws  of  tanistry  were  only  applica- 
ble to  the  succession  to  patrimonial  estates." — Lynch. 

"  Tlie  Irish  had  for  ages  their  laws  of  tanistry  and  gavel  kind  ;  the  former  for 
the  lords  of  every  sept,  the  latter  for  lands  and  family  estates.  The  law  of  tanistry, 
like  the  will  of  Alexander,  gave  the  inheritance  to  the  strongest ;  because  it 
appears  that  seniority,  if  it  was  not  accompanied  with  superior  talent,  policy,  and 
experience,  was  very  little  or  not  at  all  recorded." — Warner. 


132 

own  king,  we  find  that  the  small  and  narrow  territory  of  the  Phoeni- 
cians was  in  a  similar  manner,  parcelled  out  into  kin<rdoms,  and  from 
Homer's  account  of  the  separate  dominions  of  the  Grecian  chiefs, 
it  Avould  seem  that  they  also  were  constructed  upon  the  same 
Canaariite  pattern.  The  feeling  of  clanship,  indeed,  out  of  which 
this  sort  of  government  by  a  chieftainry  sprung,  appears  to  have 
prevailed  strongly  in  Greece  and  to  have  been  one  of  the  great 
cements  of  all  their  confederations,  war-like  or  political. 

In  none  of  these  countries,  however,  do  the  title  and  power  of 
royalty  appear  to  have  been  partitioned  into  such  minute  divisions 
and  sub-divisions  as  in  the  provincial  government  of  Ireland,  where 
in  addition  to  the  chief  king  of  each  province,  every  subordinate 
prince,  or  head  of  a  large  district,  assumed  the  title  of  king,  and 
exercised  effectually,  within  his  own  dominions,  all  the  powers  of 
sovereignty,  even  to  the  prerogative  of  making  war  not  only  with 
his  coequal  i)rinces,  but  with  the  king  of  the  whole  province,  when- 
ever he  could  muster  up  a  party  sufficiently  strong  for  such  an  enter- 
prise. To  the  right  of  primogeniture  so  generally  acknowledged  in 
those  ages,  no  deference  whatever  was  paid  by  the  Irish.  Within 
the  circle  of  tlie  near  kin  of  the  reigning  prince,  all  were  alike  eligi- 
ble to  succeed  him  ;  so  that  the  succession  may  be  said  to  have  been 
hereditary  as  to  the  blood,  but  elective  as  to  the  person.  Not  only 
the  monarch  himself  was  created  thus  by  election,  but  a  successor, 
or  Tanist,  was,  during  his  life-time,  assigned  to  him  by  the  same 
process  :  and  as  if  the  position  alone  of  heir  api)arent  did  not  render 
him  sufficiently  formidable  to  the  throne,  the  law,  in  the  earlier 
ages,  also,  it  is  said,  conferred  on  him  the  right  of  being  chief  gene- 
ral of  the  army  and  chief  judge  of  the  whole  state  or  kingdom.  For 
the  succession  to  the  minor  thrones  a  similar  provision  was  made  : 
to  every  petty  king  a  successor  was,  in  like  manner  appointed,  with 
powers  proportioned  to  those  of  his  cliief ;  and  thus,  in  addition  to 
the  constant  dissension  of  all  these  princes  amongst  themselves,  each 
saw  by  his  side  an  adult  and  powerful  rival,  chosen  generally  without 
any  reference  to  his  own  choice  or  will ;  and  as  mostly  happens, 
even  where  the  successor  is  so  by  hereditary  right,  forming  an  author- 
ized rallying  point  for  the  ambitious  and  disaffected." 

The  learned  author  of  the  "Dissertation  on  the  lairs  of  the  ancient 
Irish''^  in  his  observations  on  the  character  and  power  of  the  Tanisis 
(or  Thanists,  as  the  erudite  lexiograj)her,  O'Reilly,  spells  them) 
writes,  "  who  ever  knows  any  of  Irish  histf»ry  will  readily  agree, 
that  an  Irish  Thanist  of  a  royal  family,  even  after  those  of  that 
quality  were  deprived  of  judiciary  power,  and  not  always  invested 
with  the  actual  command  of  the  army,  was,  notwithstanding,  held  in 
such  high  consideration,  as  to  be  esteemed  nothing  less  than  a  second- 
ary king.  The  title  of  righ  damnlia,  meaning  king,  in  fieri,  was 
generally  given  to  the  presumptive  successor  of  the  reigning  king." 
It  was  from  the  unfortunate  jealousies  and  dissensions  of  these  pro- 
vincial kings,  that  the  subjugation  of  the  entire  nation  resulted;  for 
we  find  them,  on  several  occasions,  arrayed  against  the  chief  mon- 
arch, under  the  banners  of  Danish  and  English  invaders.  O'Reilly,  in 
his  admirable  essay  on  the  "  Brchon  laivs,^'  says  in  allusion  to  the  fatal 


133 

discord  wliicli  prevailed  amono^st  tlie  Thanists  : — "  The  annals  of 
the  country  bear  unanimous  testimony  to  the  melancholy  truths, 
lliat  in  these  plundering  expeditions,  they  (the  Danes)  were  frecjuently 
aided  by  some  of  the  native  Irish  princes,  wiio,  either  anxious  to 
diminish  the  preponderating  power  of  some  neigldiouring  chieftain, 
or  desirous  to  revenge  some  real  or  imaginary  insult  received,  or 
perliaps,  willing  to  share  in  the  spoils  of  an  opulent  rival,  were 
always  forward  to  join  the  common  enemy." 

The  crown  of  Ireland  encircled  tlie  brows  of  Lughaidh  only  for 
five  years,  at  the  lapse  of  which  time,  the  victorious  arm  of  Connall 
Claringncach,  of  the  Irian  dynasty,  deprived  him  of  it  and  of  life  at 
once.  Shortly  after  his  accession  to  tlie  throne,  he  raised  a  formida- 
ble army,  at  the  head  of  which  he  marched  into  IMunster,  where  he 
levied  contribntions,  and  committed  all  tlie  flagrant  outrages  and 
licentious  excesses,  with  which  a  rapacious  conqueror  could  oppress 
the  conquered.  But  Cairbrc  Liiisg,  the  king  of  Munster,  made  a 
brave  stand  against  the  j)roud  invader,  under  the  walls  of  Cashel, 
and  succeeded  in  utterly  annihilating  him  and  all  his  forces. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


The  accession  of  Duach  to  tlie  throne  of  Ireland. — His  crtiel  conduct  to  his  Irothcr 

Dcagliadh. —  The  reigns  of  Fiachtna  anil  of  Eociiaidli  IX Partition  of  Ireland — 

and  the  origin  of  the  palace  of  Cruachan,  in  Connavght. 

The  victory  gained  by  the  king  of  Munster,  at  Cashel,  over 
Connall  the  monarch,  as  related  in  our  last  chapter,  put,  as  it  were, 
the  keys  of  the  sovereignty  into  his  hands  ;  but  as  Cairbre  was  old, 
he  renounced  his  right  in  favour  of  his  eldest  son,  Duach,  whose 
valour  had  so  materially  contributed  to  the  glorious  result  of  the  late 
decisive  battle.  He  was,  therefore,  solemnly  crowned  at  Tara,  on 
the  stone  of  destiny,  A.  M.  3912.  The  elevation  of  Duach  to  the 
monarchy,  filled  the  breast  of  his  brother,  Deaghadh,  with  jealousy 
and  envy.  lender  the  influence  of  these  passions,  which  often  debase 
our  nature,  and  break  through  those  bonds  that  blood  and  gratitude 
have  ))ronounccd  inviolable,  the  ambitious  Prince  resolved  to  possess 
himself  of  tl'.e  crown  by  the  force  of  the  sword.  He  and  his  follow- 
ers were  not  long  in  fanning  the  flame  of  disaffection,  or  in  foment- 
ing to  a  violent  elfervescence,  the  leaven  of  rebellion.  Before,  how- 
ever, the  Prince  and  his  adherents  were  ready  to  take  the  field 
openly,  the  monarch  was  apprised  of  the  existence  of  the  secret  mine 
of  treason,  which  was  ready  to  explode,  as  it  were,  under  his  throne. 
He  quickly  adopted  means  to  frustrate  his  brother's  plans,  and  avert 
the  danger  that  impended  over  bis  head.  A  Druid  was  despatched 
by  the  monarch,  to  his  brother,  with  an  invitation  to  Court.  Dea- 
ghadli,  no  doubt  desirous  of  ascertaining  the  strength  of  the  army  at 
Tara,  gladly  accepted  the  invitation.  On  his  arrival  at  the  palace, 
and  as  he  was  silting  down  to  a  banquet,  the  monarch,  in  the  presence 


134 

of  tlie  Druids  and  nobles,  impeached  liim  for  treason  and  ingratitude ; 
and  then  giving  a  signal,  two  executioners  entered  the  royal  hall, 
who,  seizing  tlie  Prince,  put  out  his  eyes.  In  relation  to  this  tran- 
saction. Dr.  Keating  observes,  that  as  "  any  bodily  imperfection 
rendered  a  pretender  to  the  throne  of  Ireland  incompetent  to  reign, 
the  deprivation  of  eyes  made  Deaghadh  incapable  of  pursuing  his 
ambitious  designs  on  the  Irish  crown."  This  was,  we  are  informed 
by  the  royal  historian  of  Cashel,  the  first  instance  of  this  cruel  species 
of  torture  inflicted  on  princes  in  Ireland.  McDairy,  in  his  valuable 
elegies,  furnisiies  us  with  the  plaintive  odes,  in  which  Eithne,  the 
Queen  of  Munster,  bewailed  the  punishment  of  her  son,  Deaghadh. 
These  aftecting  effusions  are  so  replete  with  maternal  tenderness  and 
sympathetic  grief,  that  we  shall  shortly  give  elsewhere,  a  literal 
translation  of  them. 

This  tale  has  been,  we  think,  without  doubt,  foisted  into  Irish 
history  by  some  bard  whose  judgment  was  deluded  by  imagination 
into  the  labyrinths  of  fiction. 

"  The  learned  O'Flaherty  treats  the  above  narration,"  says  O'Hal- 
loran,  "  as  a  fable ;  he  maintains  that  Duacb  had  no  brother,  and 
that  he  got  the  epithet  Dalta  Deaghadh,  from  the  generous  reception 
he  afforded  to  the  exiled  Deaghadh,  and  from  his  adopting  him  as 
his  child.  But  neither  the  Psalter  of  Cashel,  nor  the  Book  of  Lecan, 
which  he  quotes  on  this  occasion,  justify  his  assertion  ;  to  the  reverse, 
the  first  is  my  authority  for  what  has  been  said." 

Dr.  Keating  concurs  with  O'Halloran,  in  asserting  that  Deaghadh 
was  the  legitimate  brother  of  the  monarch,  and  not  his  foster-child, 
as  alleged  by  O'Flaherty  and  Warner. 

Duacb,  having  exacted  an  oppressive  tribute  from  the  Ultonians, 
they,  at  the  call  of  Fiachtna,  an  Irian  Prince,  rose  in  arms  to  avenge 
the  aggression.  The  hostile  parties  came  to  an  engagement,  at 
Killencoole,*  near  Dundalk,  in  the  county  of  Louth,  where  the 
monarch's  army  was  overthrown,  and  himself  slain,  A.  M.  3922. 
Deaghadh  succeeded  his  father   Carbre  on  the  throne  of  Munster, t 

*  Killencoole. — TJie  ruins  of  Killencoole  castle  are  still  in  good  preservation. 
This  feudal  structure  was  built  in  V.M2,  by  Colonel  Mapus.  who  killed  Prince 
Edward  Bruce  at  the  battle  of  Dundalk.  Contiguous  to  this  venerable  castle, 
stands  a  fine  modern  mansion,  lately  inhabited  by  James  Caraher,  Esq.  From  the 
battlements  of  the  castle,  a  beautiful  and  romantic  view  of  the  Mourne  mountains, 
Dundalk  bay,  and  of  the  picturesque  scenery  of  Clermont  Park,  Darver,  Stephens- 
town,  Fane  Valley,  Corderry,  Lurgan-green,and  Bragganstown,can  be  command- 
ed. In  our  description  oi'  Irish  Caves,  we  have  already  spoken  of  the  caverns  and 
subterraneous  apartments  that  belong  to  this  castle.  Some  of  these  vaults  are 
twelve  feet  square  ;  from  one  of  these  a  cave  runs  to  the  castle  of  Darver,  a  mile 
distant.  To  judge  from  this  subterraneous  communication,  we  agree  with  Dr. 
Wright  in  liis  history  of  Louth,  that  these  castles,  during  the  warfare  of  feudal 
chieftains,  mutually  assisted  each  other.  The  cemetery,  parish  church,  and  ruined 
priory  of  Killencoole,  are  situated  about  half  a  mile  westward  of  the  castle,  near 
the  road  leading  to  Ardee. — Author. 

t  "  The  two  southern  provinces  took  the  name  oT Mumha  from  Eochaidh,  mon- 
arch of  Ireland,  several  ages  before  the  incarnation.  It  was  inhabited  by  the  south 
Iberians,  named  Juvcrni,  who  took  their  name  from  Eber-Finn,  the  eldest  son  of 
GoUamh,  of  Spain,  the  common  father  of  the  Milesian  race.  Some  time  before 
the  birth  of  Clirist,  the  Earnaidhs  of  Ulster,  of  the  posterity  of  Olioll-Aron,  obtain- 


135 

and  our  annalists  praise  him  for  the  wisdom  and  justice  of  his  admin- 
istration. The  victory  of  Killencoole  pa^cd  the  way  for  Fiachtna 
to  the  throne,  which  he  mounted  witliout  opposition.  The  talents 
of  this  Prince  were  ccjually  calculated  for  the  field,  and  the  cabinet; 
and  his  regal  government  of  sixteen  years  is  highly  lauded  by  our 
historians  for  its  prudence  and  policy.  IJut  virtue,  in  these  times, 
was  no  security  against  ambition.  The  aspiring  Eochaidh,  of  the 
dynasty  of  Ileremon,  promoted  a  revolt,  which  put  a  period  to  the 
life  and  reign  of  Fiachtna,  at  the  battle  of  Dromchriadh,  in  the 
county  of  Galway.  Eochaidh  IX.  immediately  after  the  death  of  his 
predecessor,  proceeded  to  Tara,  where  the  servile  Druids  cheerfully 
placed  the  royal  diadem  on  his  head.  The  mother  of  this  Prince, 
was  Bcnia,  daughter  of  Criomthan,  son  to  the  monarch  Lughaidh. 
Eochaidh  was  known  by  the  distinctive  appellation  of  Fdd-Uoch,  or 
the  wailing  king  of  sadness,  in  consequence  of  the  melancholy  dejec- 
tion which  he  frequently  expressed,  in  heavy  sighs,  after  the  death 
of  his  tiiree  sons,  at  the  battle  which  gave  him  the  possession  of  the 
crown.  "  The  word  I'\icl,"  says  Keating,  "in  the  Irish,  signifies  as 
much  as  a  great  length,  in  English — and  Och  !  is  the  Irish  term  for  a 
sigh,  which  gave  occasion  to  his  name."  The  grief  of  the  monarch  for 
the  three  gallant  youths,  whom  he  so  aficctionately  loved,  j)reyed 
acutely  upon  his  spirits  until  he  descended  to  his  grave.  His  Queen, 
Clooth,  called  Fiona,  or  the  fair,  was  the  mother  of  these  warrior 
Princes  at  one  birth  ;  hence  they  were  denominated  the  three 
'■'■  Finneamhna,''''  or  the  issue  of  the  fair  Queen,  born  at  once.  This 
monarch,  having  no  son  to  succeed  to  his  crown,  came  to  the  deter- 
mination of  parcelling  out  the  five  provinces  as  principalities  for  his 
relatives  and  favourites.  By  adopting  this  mode,  he  abrogated  the 
established  ordinances  of  Hugony,  and  made,  as  it  were,  himself 
the  absolute  head  of  a  pentarchial  government,  extending  over  the 
five  principalities  of  Munster,  Leinster,  Connaught,  Ulster,  and 
Meath.*  At  this  juncture,  Connaught  was  governed  by  its  own 
hereditary  Princes  of  the  Danaan  race,  who  did  not  feel  quite  dispos- 
ed to  the  delegated  vicegerency  of  Eochaidh.  But  the  boldness  and 
spirit  of  the  remonstrance  which  the  Connaught  chiefs   transmitted 

ed  great  power  in  Munster,  under  their  leader,  Deaghadh,  who  afterwards  became 
king  of  the  province,  wliich  was  afterwards  governed  by  his  descendants  until  the 
invasion  of  Strongbow." — O'Consor. 

*  "  Meath,  during  the  Milesian  monarchy,  always  appertained  to  the  crown,  as 
the  private  domain  of  the  reigning  sovereign." — O'Flaherty. 

It  was  in  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII.  that  the  district  of  Meath  was  divided  into 
two  counties,  as  appears   by   the  following  extract,   which  we  take  from  lIoL- 

LINSHEI)  : 

"  In  the  fouro  and  thirtieth  year  of  king  Henrie  the  eighth^  it  was  enacted  in  a 
Parlemcnt  holden  at  Dublin,  before  Sir  Anthony  Sainteleger,  knight,  Lord 
Deputie  of  Irelande,  thet  Mceth  should  be  divided  andmaae  into  two  shires,  one  of 
them  to  be  called  the  countie  of  Meeth,  the  other  to  be  called  the  county  of  West 
Meeth,  and  that  there  should  be  sheriffes  and  officers  convenient  within  the  same 
shires,  as  is  more  fully  expressed  in  the  act  aforesaid." 

The  county  of  Meath  is  thirty-six  Irish  miles  long,  and  thirty-five  broad.  It 
contained,  according  to  a  report  laid  before  the  Catholic  Association,  in  I82G,  147 
parishes,  and  a  population  of"  114,793  souls.  West  Meath  is  38  Irish  miles  long 
and  24  in  breadth,  comprehending  03  parishes,  whose  aggregate  population  amount- 
ed in  182G,  to  75,000  inhabitants. 


136 

to  the  court  of  Tara,  for  the  purpose  of  intimidating  Eochaidh, 
instead  of  awakening  a  sense  of  justice  in  the  mind  of  the  monarch, 
served,  on  the  contrary,  to  provoke  iiis  indignation.  He,  in  this 
spirit,  summoned  the  natif)nal  representatives,  and  in  a  warm  speech, 
in  which  he  drew  an  exaggerated  ])icture  of  the  amhition  of  the 
Connacian  Princes,  and  intimated  tliat  the  safety  of  the  state  rendered 
it  ahsohitely  necessary  to  reduce  tliem  to  a  more  ahject  dependence  on 
tlie  monarcliy  of  Irehuid.  The  legishvtive  hody  readily  gave  their 
sanction  to  the  tneasures,  which  the  King  proposed  for  the  attain- 
ment of  his  pur|iose. 

To  carry  iiis  phin  into  cft'ect,  he  resolved,  like  Constantine, 
to  remove  the  seat  of  government,  and  to  huild  a  palace  in  Con- 
naiigljt,  whicli  should  exceed  in  magnificence  of  architecture  that 
of  Tara.  The  architectural  genius  of  the  kingdom  was.  in  conse- 
quence, called  into  action  on  this  occasion.  The  Druids,  after  offer- 
ing sacrifices  to  the  sun,  and  performing  the  rites  and  ceremonies 
usual  on  such  occasions,  told  the  monarch  that  the  propitious  site  of 
the  intended  palace  should  be  at  Druiin  na  Ndruidh,  an  eminence  in 
the  county  of  Roscommon,  now  known  by  the  name  of  CiuacJion. 
The  King,  with  a  numerous  retinue  of  courtiers,  architects,  and  sculp- 
tors, set  out  for  Connaught,  in  order  to  commence  the  great  work. 
As  soon  as  he  had  arrived,  he  despatched  heralds  to  the  tributary 
Princes,  requiring  their  immediate  attendance  at  Cruachan.  They 
speedily  waited  ujjon  him.  When  they  camtC  into  his  presence,  lie 
informed  them  of  his  design,  and  then  intimated  tr)  each  of  the  aston- 
ished chiefs  the  quota  of  money,  marble,  oak,  and  artisans,  which  he 
had  to  furnish  to  the  completion  of  the  structure.  Two  of  these 
Princes,  Eochaidh- Allot  and  Fiodhaidh,  having  more  spirit  than 
prudence,  in  their  present  circumstances,  absolutely  refused  confor- 
mity to  the  requisition,  and  asserted  that  as  they  had,  as  tributary 
Princes,  paid  their  allotted  proportion  of  the  royal  taxes,  and  im- 
posts, they  were,  therefore,  determined  to  submit  to  no  other  exac- 
tions, except  a  decree  of  the  national  convention  would  render  it 
imperative  on  them  to  make  the  demanded  contribution.  This  bold 
and  energetic  declaration  was  scarcely  uttered,  when  another  Prince, 
Tinnc,  the  son  of  Conrach,  then  Prince  of  Galway  and  Sligo,  pro- 
fessed his  cheerful  willingness  to  contribute  his  quota.  The  monarch, 
feeling  as  highly  gratified  at  the  prompt  acquiescence  of  Tinne,  as 
he  did  before  enraged  at  the  refusal  of  his  compeers,  assured  him 
that,  as  a  token  of  his  satisfaction  and  esteem,  he  would  not  only 
reward  him  with  the  hand  of  his  daughter,  the  famous  and  lovely 
Meibhc,  but  also  with  the  territories  of  the  refractory  Princes.  On 
the  following  day,  the  Arch-Druid  united  Tinne  and  Meibhe  in  the 
bonds  of  matrimony.  The  building  of  the  Palace  was  soon  complet- 
ed ;  for  we  are  told  by  Keating  and  O'Flaherty,  that  so  great  was 
the  number  and  application  of  the  workmen,  that  the  immense  ram- 
part which  surrounded  the  majestic  pile,  and  numerous  courts,  was 
completed  in  one  day.  The  magnanimity,  noble  bearing,  and  attrac- 
tive manners  of  Tinne,  won  the  favour  and  affection  of  the  monarch, 
who  appointed  him  his  heir,  and  caused  him  to  be  crowned  king  of 
Connaught.     On  the  day  of  the  inauguration  of  his  son  and  daughter, 


137 

he  made  them  a  present  of  his  new  palace,  wliich  tlien  bore  the  name 
of  Rath  Kochaidh ;  but  the  young  Queen,  after  her  father's  depar- 
ture for  Tara.  called  it,  in  lionour  of  her  mother,  the  Palace  of 
Cruachan,  by  which  designation  it  is  known  at  the  present  day.  Dr. 
Keating,  in  relation  to  these  occurrences,  quotes  the  lines  in  which 
an  ancient  poet  commemorated  them  : — 

"  The  royal  Palace  of  Ratli  Eocliaidh, 

Was  called  Druin  Druaghand  Tuluig  Aidne  ; 

But  afterwards  obtained  a  nobler  name. 

Of  Rath  Cruachan,  from  the  virtuous  lady, 

Cruachan  Crodhearg-." 

Eochaidh,  borne  down  by  inconsolable  sorrow,  occasioned,  as  we 
have  already  mentioned,  by  the  death  of  his  three  sons,  died  at  Tara, 
in  the  twelfth  year  of  his  reign.  After  his  obsequies  were  performed, 
with  great  pomp,  at  Tara,  his  body,  in  conformity  with  his  dying 
request,  was  interred  in  the  cemetry  of  Cruachan.* 

Tinne,  on  whom  the  Connacian  Princes  looked  with  an  eye  of 
vindictive  jealousy,  was  slain  about  this  period  by  3faccarJtt,  the  son 
of  one  of  the  expelled  Princes;  but  as  the  brother  of  Eocliaidh,  the 
late  monarch,  succeeded  to  the  throne  of  Ireland,  he  sent  an  army 
into  Connaught,  to  maintain  the  rights  of  his  niece,  as  sole  Queen 
of  the  province.  This  Queen,  who  is  so  celebrated  in  our  history, 
for  her  learning,  beauty,  and  gallantries,  after  tlie  lapse  often  years, 
subsequent  to  her  late  husband's  death,  during  which  period  her 
administration  was  signally  eminent  for  wisdom,  clemency,  and 
talent,  in  obedience  to  the  wishes  of  her  uncle,  the  monarch,  mar- 
ried Olioll  More,  brother  to  Carbre,  king  of  Leinster,  and  of  the 
dynasty  of  Heremon.  This  union  not  only  appeased  the  angry 
complaints  of  the  Connacians,  who  were  dissatisfied  under  the  scep- 
tre of  a  woman,  but  effectually  secured  their  loyalty  ;  for  Olioll  was 
a  native  of  their  own  province,  as  his  mother  was  Blatha  Muircarg, 
the  daughter  of  one  of  their  Princes ;  so  that  his  participation  in 
their  government  silenced  the  clamours  of  disaffection,  and  deranged 
the  plans  of  conspirators. 

*  "  Eochaidh  IX.  and  many  other  of  our  heathen  kings,  were  buried  in  the 
royal  cemetery  of  Relic  na  liiocrh,  (the  grave  of  the  kings)  at  Cruachan,  in  the 
county  of  Roscommon.  Dathy  was  the  last  pagan  monarch  interred  here.  The  place, 
which  is  gone  to  decay,  is  of  a  circular  form,  encompassed  with  a  rampart  faced 
with  stone,  and  planted  with  hawthorn  trees.  This  "  Hill  of  Graves,"  is  one  hun- 
dred and  sixteen  yards  in  diameter.  Golden  urns  and  helmets  have  been  found  in 
it." — Brian  O'Connor. 

"  We  find  this  place  celebrated  in  the  days  of  St.  Patrick,  as  one  of  the  royal 
houses  of  Loaghaire." — O'Halloran. 


18 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

Reign  of  Eochaidh  X. —  The  Queen  of  Connaught  prevails  on  her  husband  to  invade 
Ulster. — Her  intrigue  with  Fergus,  the  Crown  Prince  of  Ulster. —  The  loves  of 
JVaisi  and  Dcidre,  and  their  death. 

The  brother  of  the  late  monarch  of  Ireland,  Eochaidh  IX.  as 
narrated  in  our  last  chapter,  ascended  the  throne,  under  the  assumed 
name  of  Eochaidh,  by  which  designation  he  concluded  he  would  at 
once  strengthen  his  popularity,  and  evince  a  due  reverence  for  the 
memory  of  his  fraternal  predecessor.  His  coronation  was  celebrated 
with  the  most  magnificent  splendour  at  Tara. 

All  the  provincial  Princes,  and  their  wives,  with  the  ladies  of  their 
courts,  attended  to  give  pomp  and  eclat  to  the  gorgeous  spectacle 
which  this  inauguration  exhibited.  The  fair  and  graceful  Mcibhc, 
Queen  of  Connaught,  did  the  honours  of  the  court  on  this  occasion, 
and  her  peerless  charms  and  fascinating  manners,  eclipsed  all  rival 
beauties,  and  concentrated  the  esteem  and  admiration  of  that  circle, 
in  which  she  shone  as  the  moon  among  the  stars.  Fergus,  the 
nephew  of  Connor,  king  of  Ulster,  and  the  heir  apparent  of  the  throne, 
was  captivated  by  her  loveliness  ;  she  attracted  every  feeling  of  pas- 
sion that  desire  can  kindle  in  the  heart  of  man  ;  but  her  marriage 
with  another,  placed  a  barrier  in  the  way  of  his  affection.  Hope, 
however,  told  him  that  this  barrier  was  not  insurmountable  ;  and 
influenced  by  the  promises  of  this  deity  of  lovers,  he  availed  himself 
of  the  first  opportunity  that  offered  to  make  known  to  the  Queen, 
the  passion  with  which  she  inspired  him.  At  the  moment  Fergus 
made  this  declaration,  the  bosom  of  Meibhe  glowed  with  a  kindred 
flame  ;  for  the  Prince  of  Ulster,  we  are  told  by  our  annalists,  was 
the  flower  of  chivalry,  and  the  paragon  of  manly  beauty. 

As  soon  as  the  lovers  understood  each  other,  they  privately  gave 
themselves  up  to  the  indulgence  of  their  criminal  desires  ;  and  so 
secretly  did  they  manage  their  clandestine  assignations,  that  they 
evaded  the  jealousy  of  her  husband,  Olioll,  and  the  suspicion  of  the 
prying  courtiers,  who  are  generally  as  watchful  of  the  progress  of 
love  intrigues  in  a  palace,  as  Argus  was  of  the  amours  of  Jupiter 
and  lo.  When  the  king  and  Queen  of  Connaught  were  returning  to 
their  own  home,  they  solicited  Fergus  to  accompany  them,  and 
become  their  guest  at  Cruachan. 

The  Prince,  as  the  reader  may  suppose,  joyfully  accepted  the 
invitation.  At  this  period,  Olioll  was  eighty  years  of  age,  so  that 
Fergus  and  the  Queen  easily  carried  on  their  illicit  enjoyments,  so 
as  to  elude  his  vigilance,  and  have  no  grounds  for  his  jealousy. 
The  fruit  of  this  adulterous  love,  was  three  boys  called  respectively 
Ciar,  Core  and  Commac,  from  whom  some  of  the  most  distinguished 
Irish  chieftains  have  sprung. 

"Ciar,  the  eldest,"  says  Keating,  "gave  names  to  Ciaruidk, 
(Kerry,)  from  Core,  is  derived  the  illustrious  O'Connor's  of  Ofi'ally ; 
and  from  Commac,  sprang  all  the  worthy  families  of  the  Commaicnies 
in  Connaught.     To  illustrate  this  with  more  authority,  I  refer  to  a 


139 

very  ancient  poem,  composed  by  Lughair,  an  eminent  Poet  and  an- 
tiquary of  tliu  fifth  century  ;  tlie  first  verse  begins  thus,  Cluno,  Fear- 
gusa,  Clana  os  Cach  : — wlien  it  appears  evidently,  that  the  three 
sons  of  Meibhe  Cniachan,  obtained  possessions  and  authority,  as 
well  in  the  province  of  Connaught,  as  in  Munster,  which  may  be 
further  proved  by  observing,  that  the  counties  in  those  two  provinces, 
are  known  by  the  names  of  these  Princes  until  this  day."* 

While  Fergus  was  thus  intoxicated  with  the  stolen  transports  of 
clandestine  love,  he  was  roused  from  the  dream  of  delusion,  by  a 
peremptory  mandate  from  his  uncle,  the  kingof  Ulster,  commanding 
his  immediate  attendance  at  the  palace  of  Eraania. 

With  the  behests  of  this  summons,  a  sense  of  duty  compelled  him 
to  comply,  however  painful  the  separation  from  the  fair  object  of  his 
aftections  might  prove  to  his  feelings.  When  Fergus  arrived  at  the 
palace  of  Ulster,  his  uncle  informed  him,  that  Naisi  or  Naois,  h'\s 
sister's  son,  by  Usnach,t  had  seduced  a  beautiful  lady  of  the  name 
of  Deidre,  from  under  his  protection,  with  whom  he  eloped  to 
Albania.  The  king  further  signified  to  him,  that  the  fugitives  were 
received  with  high  honours  of  hospitality,  at  the  Albanian  court, 
which  he  considered  a  contravention  of  the  amicable  and  friendly 
relation,  which  heretofore  subsisted  between  the  courts  of  Ullin  and 
Albania  ;  and  that  in  consequence,  he  had  declared  war  against  the 
Albanian  king,  whose  territories  he  purposed  to  invade  with  a  potent 
army,  of  which  he  apppointed  him  (Fergus)  the  chief.  But  the 
heart  of  Fergus  at  this  moment,  was  the  slave  of  Cupid  ;  it  repu- 
diated Mars,  and  abjured  the  passion  of  military  glory  ;  and  like  the 
infatuated  Roman,  he  could  renounce  the  honours  and  wealth  of 
the  world,  for  the  blissful  caresses  of  the  Irish  Cleopatra,  the  Queen 
of  Connaught. 

*  "  Fergus  Mac  Roj',  (or  the  king's  son)  was  expelled  from  Ulster,  by  his  uncle 
Connor,  the  reigning  king.  He  was  kindly  received  by  the  famous  Meibhe, 
Queen  of  Connaught,  who  fell  in  love  with  him  and  bore  him  three  sons,  the 
remote  ancestors  of  tlie  O'Connor  family." — O'Flaiiertv. 

"  By  that  amorous  heroine,  Fergus  got  tiiree  sons,  the  fathers  of  several  great 
families  in  Munster  and  Connaught." — Charles  O'Connor. 

"  From  this  source,  however,  discreditable  in  its  origin,  came  the  regal  O'Con- 
nors of  Kerry,  Clare,  Roscommon,  Sligo  and  Offally." — Brian  O'Connor. 

t  "  Usnach  was  the  chieftain  of  Donegal,  who  flourished  about  a  century  before 
Christ;  he  married  the  Princess  Jllva,  the  sister  of  Connor  McNess,  king  of 
Ulster,  with  whom  he  became  the  lather  of  Naisi,  Ainli  and  Arden,  as  we  are  in- 
formed by  the  genealogist  of  the  O'Neils — in  tlie  Irish  poem,  which  we  have 
rendered  into  English  for  these  transactions.  The  following  stanza  alludes  to  the 
renowned  sons  of  Usnach,  or  Visneach  as  Keating  has  it. 
"  Alva's  three  sons,  impetuous  in  the  fight, 
Were  Naisi,  Ainli, — Arden's  conquering  might,"  &c. 

Transactions  of  the  Gaelic  Society. 
"  CuchuUin  and  Connal  Carnach,  whose  gallant  achievements  have  afforded 
such  a  scope  to  the  genius  of  the  Irish  Bards,  were  also  the  nephews  of  Connor  b}' 
his  sisters,  Detin  and  Fincneva,  as  the  Minstrel  sings — 

"  From  Dctin  heav'nly  fair  !  Cuchullin  came, 
Whom  high  Diuidalirav  lionor'd  with  its  name; 
A  heroic  chief!  Son  of  a  warrior  sire, 
Swept  the  wide  field,  and  made  whole  hosts  retire. 

Fincaeva,  the  snow-necked  fair, 

Own'd  Connall  Carnach  her  illustrious  heir." 

I'ide  I.rahi/s  trnv  slot  inn  oj'llii  dratii  of  llie  sonf  of  Usnach 


140 

His  arguments  and  remonstrances,  however,  so  far  prevailed  with 
the  king,  that  he  consented  to  send  Fergus  to  the  Albanian  court, 
as  his  ambassador,  invested  with  powers  to  demand  reparation  and 
tribute  from  tlie  king  of  that  country,  as  well  as  the  surrender  of 
Naisi  and  Deidre  to  his  custody.  Fergus  undertook  this  mission, 
with  that  pleasure  and  alacrity  which  spring  from  two  powerful 
motives — friendship  and  love.  He  was  the  cousin  and  attached 
friend  of  NaisJi,  whom  he  hoped  to  have  quickly  reinstated  in  the 
cordial  graces  of  his  uncle,  which  when  accomplished,  there  would 
be  no  grounds  for  his  detention  from  the  beloved  mistress  of  his 
heart.  He,  therefore,  set  out  on  his  embassy,  with  a  determination 
of  having  its  object  speedily  attained.  As  the  fatal  charms  of  Deidre 
produced  as  disastrous  evils  in  Ireland,  as  those  of  Helen  did  in 
Troy,  we  shall  give  here  a  succinct  account  of  the  celebrated  Ultonian 
beauty.* 

Shortly  after  Connor's  accession  to  the  throne  of  Ulster,  his  prime 
minister  and  chief  laureate,  FcionLiM,  invited  the  monarch  and  all 
his  nobility  to  a  sumptuous  entertainment,  which  he  gave  on  the 
occasion  of  the  birth  of  a  daughter.  When  the  infant  was  presented, 
the  Arch-Druid  and  Prophet,  exhibited  looks  and  gesticulations 
expressive  of  the  utmost  horror.  All  present,  were  struck  with  fear 
and  amazement.  In  answer  to  the  king's  inquiry  of  the  cause  of 
such  a  strange  indication,  the  Druid  declared  that  the  child  was 
born  to  bring  disaster  and  destruction  upon  Ulster,  and  that  its  beauty 
would  inflame  the  hearts  of  Princes  and  chieftains  with  such  destruc- 
tive fires  of  love,  revenge  and  jealousy,  as  would  reduce  the  lofty  domes 
of  Emania  to  a  heap  of  aslies.  This  appalling  prediction,  thrilled 
every  bosom  with  the  feelings  of  apprehension  and  dread  ; — and  the 
king  anxiously  asked,  how  the  threatened  A^te  might  be  averted. 
The  Druid  replied,  that  nothing  could  cancel  the  decree  of  destiny, 
but  the  instant  death  of  the  child,  as  a  propitiatory  oblation  on  the 
altar  of  Bel.  No  sooner  had  the  Druid  expressed  this  opinion,  than 
all  the  company,  except  the  parents  of  the  devoted  infant,  unanimously 
called  for  the  expiatory  sacrifice. 

But  the  king  said  that  lie  would  never  give  his  sanction  to  the 
violent  death  of  a  smiling  innocent.  "I  will  take  care,"  said  he, 
"  to  disappoint  the  accomplishtnent  of  the  prophecy,  by  breeding  up 
the  child  under  my  own  inspection,  and,  ])erhaps,  when  she  arrives 
at  maturity  of  years,  I  may  marry  her,  for  she  that  is  so  perfectly 
beautiful  as  a  babe,  must  grow  up  a  charming  maid  of  the  most  fas- 

*  "  Oa  the  subjection  of  Ireland,  by  the  Milesians,  and  after  Heremon  made  a 
partition  of  the  whole  Island  into  five  districts,  Ulster,  comprehending  the  nine 
northern  counties  of  Donegal,  Londonderry,  Antrim,  Tyrone,  Fermanaorh,  Armagh, 
Down.  Monaghan  and  Cavan,  were  assigned  to  his  nephew,  Heber,  as  a  feudatory 
principality." — Hamilton's  letters  on  the  Statistics  of  Ulster. 

"  What  name  Ulster  bore  under  the  early  Milesian  Princes,  is  not  known.  In 
Ollamh  Fodhla's  time,  or  soon  after,  it  got  the  name  of  Uladk,  in  memory,  it  is 
said,  of  the  renowned  regal  legislator.  J  t  continued  under  that  appellation,  until 
the  fifth  century ;  when  it  was  dismembered  by  the  Hy  Nialls.  The  ancient 
geographers,  denominated  the  several  tribes  of  this  province,  by  the  distinctive 
appellation  of  C'lunna  Jiuraiahdhe ,  and  Clanne  Ultuidh,  the  latter  of  which  is 
in  use  to  this  day,  among  the  native  Irish." — Dissertations  on  the  history  of 
Ireland. 


141 

cinating  loveliness.  As  Queen  of  Ulster,  she  will  be  a  blessinfi;  to 
my  subjects  instead  of  an  evil."  The  servile  nobles  assented  to  the 
wishes  of  the  king  ;  but  the  stern  Druid  boldly  asserted,  that  human 
power  could  not  frustrate  the  fultiltnent  of  a  divination  that  was 
prompted  by  the  deity.  Thus  was  the  fate,  to  which  the  infant 
Deidre  was  then  doomed,  surmounted. 

The  king  having  obtained  a  reluctant  permission  from  the  bereaved 
parents,  had  the  child  given  in  charge  to  a  proper  nurse,  and  removed 
to  one  of  the  strongest  towers  of  his  palace.  Here  no  person  was 
to  be  admitted  without  presenting  the  governess,  Leabharcham,  a 
written  order,  bearing  the  signature  and  signet  of  the  king. 

This  nurse  and  Governess  of  Deidre,  was,  we  are  told  by  our  annal- 
ists, a  woman  of  elegant  accomplishments  ;  who  was  not  only  a  profi- 
cient in  music,  but  so  natural  and  facile  a  poetess,  that  she  could 
compose  extemporaneous  verses  so  rapidly,  as  to  make  them  keep 
pace  and  concord  with  the  melody  of  her  harp.  Under  the  instruc- 
tions of  this  poetic  Sappho,  the  young  Deidre  imbibed  the  spirit  of 
song,  and  attained  the  elegance  of  an  enlarged  and  elevated  educa- 
tion. The  king,  who  constanly  visited  his  little  ward,  was  daily 
delighted  to  witness  the  germinating  blossoms  of  her  genius  and 
beauty.  When  she  had  reached  her  tenth  year,  he  introduced  her 
to  the  Arch-Druid,  who  had  pronounced  the  inauspicious  prediction, 
and  he  was  transported  with  admiration  at  the  precocity  of  her 
talent,  and  at  the  perfection  of  her  personal  charms.  He  declared 
to  the  king,  that  siie  promised  to  be  the  most  beautifid  Queen,  that 
ever  graced  the  throne  of  Ulster.  Within  the  gloomy  cells  of  this 
prison-castle,  the  beauteous  Deidre  was  confined  until  she  reached 
her  fii'teenth  year,  when  the  king  invited  her  and  Leabharcham  to 
court.  Shortly  after  her  arrival  in  the  royal  palace,  she  witnessed 
fro>n  the  window  of  her  apartment,  the  chivalric  feats  of  the  knights 
of  the  red-branch  as  they  contended  for  the  prizes  before  the  king 
and  nobles.  In  these  contests,  the  skill  and  expertness  with  which 
one  young  knight,  of  the  most  prepossessing  appearance,  wielded 
his  spear  and  pierced  brazen  shields,  and  unhorsed  all  his  high- 
plumed  adversaries,  particularly  arrested  her  attention,  and  awoke 
feelings  in  lier  heart,  to  which  it  was  before  a  stranger.  This  young 
and  gallant  knight,  was  Naisi,  the  nephew  of  the  monarch.  She 
concealed  from  her  nurse  for  that  evening,  the  passion  with  which 
the  manly  form,  and  warlike  exploits  of  Naisi  inspired  her  bosom, 
where  his  image  was  ali-eady  enthroned  too  firmly,  to  be  supplanted 
even  by  a  kingly  rival.  Soon  after  the  feat  of  tournament,  she 
happened  to  see  from  her  window,  a  man,  on  a  snowy  day,  killing  a 
calf  in  the  court  yard,  and  as  he  removed  the  carcass,  a  raven  came 
to  feed  upon  the  blood.  "Behold  !"  exclaimed  she,  as  she  directed 
the  Governess's  eye  to  the  scene,  "  the  emblems  of  the  young  knight, 
who  bravely  conquered  all  his  antagonists,  in  the  exploits  of  the 
chivalry  yesterday ; — his  manly  person  is  adorned  by  the  three 
colours  we  now  see  ;  for  his  skin  is  as  white  as  the  snow,  his  hair  is 
glossy  with  the  shining  black  that  enamels  the  raven's  wing,  and  his 
fresh  blooming  cheeks,  are  more  red  than  the  calf's  blood  that 
crimsons  the  snow.  O,  tell  me  his  name,  kind  benevolent  nurse  ! 
and  gratify  thy  Deidre,  for  I  long  to  hear  it  expressed." 


142 

The  nurse  gave  her  every  information  that  she  required,  and  after 
a  few  entreaties  she  consented  to  hriiiff  Naisi  privately  into  the 
castle ;  for  she  regarded  Deidre  with  the  most  fond  and  tender 
affection.  Naisi  was  transported  with  joy  when  he  became  acquaint- 
ed witli  Deidre's  passion  for  him,  and  consequently,  he  lost  no  time 
in  devising  means  to  steal  into  the  forbidden  castle.  The  first  glance 
of  Deidre's  winning  charms,  made  a  captive  of  his  affections,  and 
the  first  words  uttered  by  his  tongue,  were  eloquently  expressive  of 
the  ardour  of  his  unalterable  attachment,  and  solemnly  asseverative 
of  his  inalienable  constancy.  The  reciprocation  of  assurances  of 
love,  and  the  interchange  of  vows  of  eternal  fidelity,  rendered  the 
moments  that  were  occupied  in  this  interview,  the  source  of  ecstatic 
rapture  to  the  impassioned  lovers  ;  so  that  it  was  with  difficulty,  the 
Governess  could  tear  Naisi  from  the  arms  of  the  fond  and  adoring 
Deidre. 

Prior  to  his  departure,  however,  he  arranged  the  plan  of  elopement 
with  his  beloved  fair.  Gold  and  jewels  bribed  the  fidelity  of  the 
Governess,  so  that  the  feat  of  carrying  off  the  lady  promised  such 
little  danger,  that  the  genius  of  chivalry  would  blush,  were  she  to 
emblazon  the  deed  on  her  records.  When  Naisi  at  midnight  returned 
to  his  residence,  he  despatched  a  faithful  Herald*  to  Armagh,  to  his 

*  The  Irish  Heralds  held  a  high  rank  in  Milesian  chivalry  ;  they  proclaimed 
war,  and  challenged  rival  kniglits  to  the  conihat.  Every  knight  of  the  red-branch 
had  his  Herald.  The  ancient  Irish  held  the  character  of  the  Heralds,  as  sacred  and 
inviolable  as  that  of  tJieir  Bards  ;  so  that  they  could  enter  like  the  Minstrel,  without 
danger,  the  castle  of  the  enemy,  or  the  ranks  of  opposing  armies.  Ware  and 
Archdall,  maintain  that  the  origin  of  the  Heraldic  office  in  Ireland,  is  to  be  traced 
to  the  institutions  of  OUamk  Fodhla  ;  but  we  have  already  adduced  evidence,  in 
our  history,  that  Heber  and  Heremon,  introduced  Heraldry  in  Ireland  ;  yet  we 
are  ready  to  admit,  that  the  glorious  era,  of  the  reign  of  our  great  legislator,  is  the 
date  of  the  Heraldic  institution,  in  the  form  of  a  College  at  Tara.  Their  duties 
were  to  paint  the  armorial  devices  of  each  chief  on  his  shield  and  banner,  to  arrange 
the  order  of  precedence  at  the  National  assembly,  and  royal  banquets;  to  proclaim 
the  laws,  denounce  traitors,  and  summon  the  tributary  kings  and  princes  to  the 
presence  of  the  monarch. 

By  the  ancient  medals,  which  have  been  dug  up  in  several  parts  of  Ireland,  and 
that  are  now  in  the  Museum  of  the  Dublin  Society,  it  appears  that  the  Herald 
was  arrayed  like  the  Bard  in  a  long  flowing  tunic,  and  that  he  bore  in  his  hand, 
a  white  wand,  surmounted  with  the  golden  head  of  a  serpent.  Vallancey  and 
other  antiquarians  conjecture,  that  these  medals  were  struck  long  before  the  intro- 
duction of  Christianity  into  Ireland.  Harris  advances  strong  and  cogent  arguments 
to  prove,  that  the  French  borrowed  their  ideas  of  Heraldry  from  the  Irish.  "  As," 
says  this  learned  antiquarian,  '•  the  French  had  no  regular  body  of  men,  charged 
with  the  care  of  armories,  processions  and  ceremonies,  until  A.  D.  1031,  when  we 
find  mention  in  their  chronicles,  of  Robert  Daupin,  as  their  first  king  at  arms.  In 
England,  it  does  not  appear  that  any  such  officer  as  the  Herald,  was  ever  employ- 
ed on  missions  by  William  the  Conqueror,  or  either  of  his  sons  ;  and  it  was  half  a 
century  after  the  invasion  of  Ireland,  that  the  office  was  introduced  among  the 
English  warriors,  who,  no  doubt,  took  their  original  idea  of  it  from  the  Irish 
Princes." 

In  the  reign  of  Brian  the  Great,  our  annals  tell  us,  that  his  Heralds  were  invested 
with  the  highest  privileges  of  the  order  ;  they  were  allowed  free  entrance  into  the 
palaces  of  the  provincial  kings,  and  the  fortified  castles  of  the  chieftains  ;  they 
reproved  king  Malachy,  for  his  defection  in  the  midst  of  his  household  troops; 
they  summoned  O'Neil,  to  make  homage  to  Brian  as  monarch  of  Ireland,  they 
adjusted  the  tournaments,  and  laid  out  the  lists  for  the  knightly  combatants,  who 
contested  for  the  prizes  of  chivalry,  on  the  celebration  of  Brian's  accession  to  the 
throne.     On  the  day  of  battle,  they  generally  retired  to  an  eminence,  wliere  they 


143 

brothers,  Arden  and  Aiiili,  with  a  letter  apprising  them  of  his  passion, 
and  his  determination  ot"  eloping  with  Connor's  beautiful  captive  to 
Albania,  and  soliciting  them  to  accompany  him  in  his  flight,  with  a 
chosen  band  of  armed  followers.  Tlie  brothers,  though  they  regard- 
ed the  enterprise  as  one  of  extreme  hazard  and  rashness,  still  loved 
their  brother  so  aftectionately,  that  they  generously  resolved  to  co- 
operate in  the  romantic  adventure.  The  night  fixed  on  for  the 
deliverance  of  the  damsel,  was  that  which  the  king  had  appropriat- 
ed for  giving  a  feast  to  his  nobles.  Naisi  was  one  of  the  guests,  and 
he  remained  at  the  banquet  table  until  near  midnight,  when  wine 
and  mirth  so  engaged  the  attention  of  the  revellers,  that  he  easily 
retired  from  them  unperceived.  Upon  entering  the  castle,  he  was 
rejoiced  to  find  his  dear  Deidre,  and  her  nurse,  ready  for  flight. 
They  hastily  issued  from  the  castle,  and  mounting  fleet  coursers, 
they  succeeded  in  reaching  Donaghadee,*  as  soon  as  the  first  ray  of 
the  dawn  glanced  on  the  summit  of  the  mountain. 

On  approaching  the  harbour  they  were  gladdened  by  beholding 
Ainii  and  Arden,  at  the  head  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  resolute 
soldiers,  ready  to  receive  them. 

They  hurried  on  board  of  the  vessels  that  were  prepared  to  trans- 
port them  to  Albania.  After  landing,  they  set  out  fin*  the  royal 
residence,  where  the  king  gave  them  a  reception  that  was  cordial 
and  friendly,  and  quite  worthy  of  the  rank  of  his  guests.  When 
Deidre  appeared  at  the  banquet,  her  extraordinary  beauty  conveyed 
the  flame  of  admiration  to  the  bosoms  of  the  men,  and  the  devouring 
fire  of  envy  to  those  of  the  women.  She  shone  on  this  occasion, 
the  magnetic  luminary  of  the  circle  ; — attracting  every  eye,  and 
agitating  every  heart  by  her  charms.  The  king  was  so  deeply 
enamoured  of  her  captivating  loveliness,  that  he  could  scarcely  re- 
frain from  uncourtly  rudeness,  even  at  the  banquet.  Influenced  by 
his  ardent  passion,  he  resolved  to  do  every  thing  to  seduce  the 
lovely  Irish  lady,  from  the  bosom  of  her  husband.  But  the  first 
billet-deux  that  Deidre  received  from  him,  she,  with  commendable 
prudence,  showed  to  her  lord,  who  felt  so  indignant  at  the  insults 
that  he  challenged  the  king  to  a  single  combat,  after  reproaching 
him  with  his  breach  of  the  laws  of  decorum  and  hospitality.  This 
challenge  the  monarch  did  not  think  proper  to  accept.  Naisi  bein^ 
too  proud  to  brook  the  insult,  came  to  the  determination  of  remov- 
ing to  the  Isle  oi  Blona,  or  Man,  as  he  could  not  think  of  remaining 
in  the  territories  of  a  sensual  Prince,  who  sought  to  dishonour  his 
bed.  But  he  and  his  followers  had  not  proceeded  far  on  their  march, 
when  they  were  overtaken  by  the  king's  troops,  on  whom  the  Irish 
turned,  and  after  an  obstinate  contest,  compelled  the  Albanians  to 

could  witness  the  progress  of  the  conflict,  and  distinctly  mark  the  achievements 
of  the  valiant,  in  order  that  they  might  record  them  on  the  page  of  fame,  and 
afterwards  emblazon  with  another  symbolic  device  of  valour,  tJie  shields  of  the 
heroic  brave. 

*  Donaghadee  is  a  thriving  and  animated  village,  in  the  county  of  Down, 
situated  on  the  sea  coast,  at  the  distance  of  IT)  miles  N.  E.  from  Belfast.  The 
mail  packets,  and  several  Steam-boats  daily  sail  from  this  port,  to  port  Patrick  in 
Scotland,  across  a  channel  of  seven  leagues.  There  is  a  fine  light-house  for  the 
direction  of  mariners  at  Donaghadee. 


144 

retreat  in  disorder  with  considerable  loss.  Naisi,  in  consequence  of 
this  formidable  resistance,  was  not  again  assailed  on  his  march  to 
tlie  coast.  As  soon  as  he  arrived  in  the  Isle  of  Man,  he  sent  a 
Herald  to  his  friends  Cuchullin  and  Connall  Carnach,  demanding  a 
supply  of  forces,  to  enable  him  to  resist  the  aggressive  attack  which 
he  dreaded  from  the  Albanian  king.  On  the  receipt  of  Naisi's  des- 
patches, Cuchullin,  Connall,  and  several  otbers  of  the  nobles  of 
Ulster,  waited  on  the  king,  and  implored  him  to  evince  his  usual 
magnanimity  and  clemency  in  pardoning  Naisi,  and  recalling  him 
home. 

This  intercession  of  the  nobles,  had  the  eftect  of  extorting  from 
Connor  a  reluctant  concession.  When  Naisi  learned  that  the  king 
had  granted  permission  for  his  return,  he  signified  to  his  friends,  that 
it  would  be  necessary  in  order  to  attest  Connor's  sincerity,  whose 
vengeance  he  still  feared,  that  three  hostages  should  be  given  to  him 
as  a  security  for  his,  and  his  followers'  safety. 

No  sooner  was  this  request  of  Naisi  communicated  to  Connor, 
than  he  manifested  an  aftected  willingness  to  accede  to  it  ;  as  all  he 
wished  for  was  to  allure  Naisi  to  his  palace,  in  order  that  he  might 
let  loose  upon  him,  the  furies  of  vengeance  and  jealousy.  He, 
therefore  sent,  as  we  before  related,  his  heir  apparent,  Fergus, 
and  his  natural  son,  Cormoc  Conloingios,  as  the  guaranties  of  his 
faith  and  honour. 

As  exile  was  become  painful  to  Naisi,  he  was  delighted,  when 
those  distinguished  hostages  arrived,  with  whom  he  joyfully  returned 
to  his  own  native  land.  Connor,  meanwhile  had  spies,  watching 
their  arrival  on  tVie  coast,  and  as  soon  as  he  understood  that  they 
had  landed,  he  sent  his  principal  commander,  Eogan,  at  the  head  of 
a  select  body  of  troops,  with  secret  orders  to  fall  upon  Naisi,  his 
two  brothers  and  followers,  and  put  them  without  mercy  to  the  sword. 

Fergus  having  accepted  the  proffered  hospitality,  of  the  high 
chamberlain  of  Connor,  who  had  a  villa  on  the  coast  of  Ulster, 
remained  behind,  but  Naisi,  and  his  party,  as  well  as  Fergus's  three 
sons,  Fiachadh,  Ulan  and  Buini,  continued  their  journey,  until  they 
came  to  a  defile  near  Emania,  where  they  perceived  Eogan  and  his 
forces  posted.  This  array  at  first,  created  a  little  alarm,  in  the 
mind  of  Naisi  ;  but  when  he  perceived  Eogan  coming  towards  him, 
in  the  seeming  attitude  of  friendship,  his  suspicions  were  instantly 
dissipated,  and  he  rushed  forward  in  full  confidence  to  meet  the 
General  ;  but  no  sooner  had  Naisi  given  him  his  hand,  than  the  base 
and  treacherous  Eogan  thrust  his  spear  through  his  noble  heart ; 
this  was  the  signal  for  the  assassin's  soldiers  to  attack  the  rest  of 
Naisi's  band.  The  gallant  Fiachadh  enraged  to  desparation  at  the 
foul  act,  rushed  on  Eogan,  and  assailed  him  fiercely,  but  after  a 
brave  and  desperate  struggle,  he  fell  mortally  wounded.  Arden 
and  Ainli,  met  a  similar  fate  from  the  swords  of  their  numerous 
foes.  Poor  and  hapless  Deidre,  who  witnessed  the  tragic  occurrence, 
was  just  in  the  act  of  unsheathing  a  sword  to  stab  herself,  when  she 
was  rudely  seized  by  Eogan,  and  borne  in  a  state  of  insanity  to  the 
court  of  Emania.  So  vindictive  and  ignoble  was  the  jealousy  of 
Connor,  that  he  was  so  little  minded  as  to  load  the  fair  and  unhappy 


145 

maniac  with  vituperative  reproaches.  The  moment  Fergus  beard 
of  the  atrocious  and  tln;j:rant  deed,  he  was  seized  with  the  lech no-s 
of  indignation,  and  the  desire  of  revenge.  His  uncle  had  saciiliced 
his  honour,  by  causing  the  assassination  of  the  sons  of  Usnach,  for 
whose  safety  lie  was  responsible.  The  vile  treacherous  act  of  Con- 
nor, roused  the  horror  and  resentment  of  the  province,  so  that  the 
moment  Fergus  raised  the  standard  of  revolt,  the  people  flocked 
round  it,  impatient  for  revenge.  A  battle  soon  ensued  in  which 
Connor  was  decisively  defeated,  and  his  son,  Maine,  and  300  of  his 
best  soldiers  were  killed.  The  victorious  army  then  entered  the 
])alace,  which  they  plundered,  after  ])utting  all  the  inmates,  without 
distinction,  to  the  sword.  But  Connor  and  his  shattered  army,  in  a 
day  or  two  rallied  from  their  position,  in  the  mountains,  and  suc- 
ceeded in  compelling  Fergus  to  retreat  to  Dundalk. 

Fergus  occupied  an  eminence  adjoining  Dundalk,  now  known  by 
the  name  of  Castletown,*  where  he  iriade  a  stand,  and  risked  a  battle 
with  the  royal  army  of  Ulster.  In  this  sanguinary  conflict,  which 
was  contested  with  consummate  generalship,  and  heroic  valour,  the 
king's  troops  gained  a  signal,  but  a  dear-bought  victory.  Fergus 
and  the  shattered  remnant  of  his  army,  retreated  or  fled  to 
Connaught. 

The  reader  may  conclude  that  Fergus  experienced  no  difficulty 
in  recruiting  his  army,  or  in  negotiating  a  loan  of  money  in  Con- 
naught,  when  the  Queen  was  bis  devoted  lover  and  fond  paramour. 
His  army,  composed  of  the  flower  of  the  knights  of  Leinster  and 
Connaught,  swelled  to  a  formidable  number,  that  threatened  ruin 
and  subjugation  to  devoted  Ulster.  Eochaidh,  the  supreme  monarch 
of  Ireland,  at  the  instance  of  the  Queen  of  Connaught,  denounced 
the  flagitious  conduct  of  Connor,  in  the  National  assembly,  and 
recommended  tlie  estates  to  embody  an  army,  that  should  aid  Fergus 
to  avenge  the  cruel  murder  of  the  sons  of  Usnach.  The  recommen- 
dation of  the  monarch  was  quickly  acted  upon  ;  and  a  formidable 
column  of  troops,  among  whom  were  some  of  the  most  gallant  knights 
of  Ireland,  speedily  formed  a  junction  with  the  forces  of  Fergus. 
The  accession  of  such  strength,  rendered  the  army  of  Fergus  pow- 
erful in  the  extreme,  and  removed  every  doubt  that  could  be  enter- 
tained of  its  competence  to  achieve  the  easy  conquest  of  the  Ultonians. 
The  Queen,  like  a  second  Semiramis,  accompanied  Fergus  on  his 
march  to  Ulster. 

"  In  the  relation  of  this  famous  invasion,"  says  O'Halloran,  "yet 
preserved,  called  '  Fainhho  Cuailgnci'  or  the  spoils  of  the  cattle  at 
Cualgne,  in  the  county  of  Louth,  we  are  entertained  with  the  order 
of  the   march   of  the   troops.     They   were  led   on  by  Fergus:  the 

*  Castletown  is  situated  about  a  mile  west  of  Dundalk.  The  venerable 
castle,  which  was  built  in  the  twelfth  century,  crowns  the  summit  of  a  green  hill, 
from  which  a  fine  prospect  of  the  bay  of  Dundalk  and  the  mountains  of  Carling- 
ford  and  Slicrrgu/lioii,  can  be  cnjoved.  The  castle  is  in  excellent  repair,  and 
inhabited  by  a  gentleman's  lamily.  The  Ratii  or  Mound,  which  elevates  its  ver- 
dant crest  on  the  castle-hill,  is  a  majestic  pile  of  earth.  In  the  adjoining  valley, 
there  is  an  abbey  in  ruins,  which  is  now  used  as  a  Cemetery,  and  several  of  the 
Dundalk  families  have  tombs  in  it.  This  abbey  inurns  the  dust  of  Prince  Edward 
Bruce,  of  Scotland. 

19 


146 

Queen  of  Connaught,  seated  in  an  open  chariot  of  splendid  work- 
manship, with  her  asion,  or  crown  of  gold  on  her  head,  followed  ; 
her  maids  of  honour,  and  retinue  were  placed  in  four  chariots  which 
were  so  disposed  at  the  sides  and  rear,  that  the  dust  and  foam  of  the 
cavalry  should  not  stain  her  royal  robes."  As  soon  as  Connor 
heard  of  the  advance  of  so  formidable  an  expedition,  he  made  every 
preparation  to  resist  the  invaders.  Almost  all  the  male  population 
of  Ulster,  rose  in  arms  to  oppose  the  approaching  foe.  The  king, 
well  aware  of  the  popularity  of  the  champion  Cuchullin,  the  chief 
knight  of  the  red-branch  heroes,  prevailed  upon  him  to  take  the 
supreme  command  of  his  forces.  Meanwhile,  the  wailing  and 
broken  hearted  Deidre,  remained  confined  in  an  apartment  of  the 
palace.  When  the  king  entered  this  chamber,  shortly  after  the 
death  of  her  beloved  Naisi,  he  found  her  the  living  personification  of 
inconsolable  sorrow.  She  never  raised  up  her  head  on  his  entrance, 
or  spoke  a  single  word  to  his  questions.  The  stubborn  and  callous 
heart  of  the  tyrant,  was  touched  with  a  sense  of  relenting  compassion, 
on  witnessing  the  ravages  which  grief  and  distraction  made  in  that 
countenance,  which  so  lately  ^ore  the  beautiful  expression  of  an 
angelic  face. 

Sickness  and  sadness  reduced  her  elegant  form,  to  that  of  a 
withered  sibyl  ;  as  the  enchanting  beauty,  that  lately  inflamed  so 
many  hearts  with  the  passion  of  love,  was  now  sunk  in  wrinkles, 
like  a  broken  statue  mouldering  in  the  dust  and  ashes  of  its  own 
ruin. 

The  next  time  Connor  came  to  visit  the  melancholy  Deidre,  he 
brought  Eogan,  who  assassinated  Naisi,  with  him  to  behold  the  ill- 
fated  woman  in  decay.  Connor  pointing  his  finger  in  a  most  insult- 
ing manner  at  her,  said  to  Eogan,  "  I  make  you  a  present.  General, 
of  this  false  and  scornful  beauty,  who  has  spurned  the  love  of  her 
sovereign,  and  afflicted  her  country  with  such  calamitous  misfortunes. 
Take  her  home  and  use  her  as  you  please."  Eogan's  servants 
then  seized  Deidre  and  forced  her  into  his  chariot.  The  king,  in 
whose  malignant  heart,  the  fires  of  revenge  and  jealousy,  were  not 
yet  quenched,  seated  himself  in  the  chariot  with  Deidre  and  Eogan, 
and  on  the  journey  to  the  castle  of  Eogan,  he  was  so  cruel  and  un- 
manly, as  to  insult  the  unfortunate  victim  of  his  persecution,  with 
expressions  that  weregrossly  obscene,  which  so  irritated  and  incensed 
her,  that  in  order  to  escape  such  rude  dishonour,  and  the  disgrace  of 
being  the  mistress  of  her  husband's  murderer,  she  precipitated  her- 
self out  of  the  chariot,  and  was  instantly  killed  on  falling  on  the 
pavement. 

Such  was  the  fate  of  the  hapless  and  lovely  Deidre,  whose  peer- 
less beauty,  and  poetic  genius,  are  extolled  by  our  poets  and  histo- 
rians, in  the  loftiest  hyperbole  of  eloquent  panegyric. 

Before  the  grand  army  of  Connauglit  commenced  its  march  for 
Ulster,  the  Queen,  mounted,  like  an  Omphale,  on  a  spirited  war- 
horse,  rode  into  the  midst  of  the  ranks  and  harangued  them  with  a 
force  of  eloquence  that  could  not  fail  of  elating  their  courage  and 
ambition.  She  painted  the  oj)pressive  acts  of  Connor,  and  his  im- 
placable enmity  to  Connaught,  in  the  blackest  colours  of  censure,  and 


147 

took  occasion  to  remind  LtigJia,  tlie  champion  of  Munster,  tliat  his 
fatiier,  Conraoi,  was  killed  by  Ciichullin,  the  Captain  of  the  Ulster 
knights,  and  expressed  to  Mac  Nead,  the  General  of  her  uncle's 
army,  her  fears  that  tlie  ambitious  Connor  aspired  to  the  throne  of 
the  Irish  3Ionarcliy. 

Her  address  was  received  with  a  burst  of  acclamation  from  the 
whole  army.  "  Let  your  majesty  lead  us  to  the  enemy's  camp,  that 
you  may  witness  our  valour,"  was  the  exclamation  of  every  tongue.* 

The  march  of  these  legions  from  Roscommon  to  Ardee,  in  the 
county  of  Louth,  presented  all  the  pomp  and  pageantry  of  a  trium- 
phal procession.  The  waving  banners,  the  flowing  plumage  of 
golden  helms,  the  gorgeous  war  chariots,  drawn  by  stately  steeds  in 
spangled  caparison,  the  mail  and  arms  of  officers  and  soldiers,  and 
the  beauty  and  elegance  of  the  Queen  and  her  ladies,  all  displayed 
a  brilliant  spectacle,  as  superb  and  imposing  as  the  genius  of  Irish 
poetry  could  even  imagine. 

This  invading  army  advanced  to  I  Ister  in  two  divisions.  The 
first  division  consisted  of  the  Con  naught  troops,  and  the  army  of 
Leinster  commanded  by  Olioll,  the  Connacian  king,  Fergus,  Prince 
Carbery,  and  Mac  Nead  :  the  second  was  comjtosed  of  the  Clana 
Deaghadh,  or  Munster  militia,  under  the  command  of  Lugha  the 
son  of  Conraoi,  and  other  chivalric  captains. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

Battle  of  Mullacrcio,  in  the  county  of  Louth. — Death  of  Cuchullin. — of  Meibhe,  Queen 
of  Connaught  and  her  lover,  Fergus. — Battle  of  Roscommon,  and  death  of  the 
King  of  Connaught. —  Combat  and  death  of  Ceat  and  Connal  Cearnach,  tha  rival 
champions. — Reign  and  death  of  Connor,  King  of  Ulster,  and  of  Eochaidh  X. 
monarch  of  Ireland. —  The  reign  and  death  of  Eidersgeoill  ;  and  the  accessio7i  of 
.Xuadhneacht  to  the  throne,  and  his  death,  in  the  fifth  year  of  the  Christian  era. 

The  allied  army  encamped  in  Ardee,  which  was  then  called 
'^  liaile  na  Riog,''''  or  the  town  of  the  kings,  which  is  still  its  Irish 
appellation.  Here  Fergus  and  the  other  chiefs  wished  to  bring  the 
Ultonians  to  battle,  and,  with  this  intent,  they  raised  fortifications 
on  the  banks  of  the  river  Dee,  a  deep  and  rapid  stream,  that  rises 
from  a  small  lake  in  the  county  of  Meath,  five  miles  N.  W.  from 
Ardee,  and  after  passing  through  that  town  and  Dunleer,  and 
receiving  in  its  course,  the  waters  of  several  tributary  rivulets,  falls 

*  '•  It  must  be  confessed,  tliat  this  was  a  period  of  great  military  renown  in  Irisli 
history.  For  here  were  tliree  principal  tribes  or  order  of  knights  at  that  time,  who 
were  not  only  accounti>d  the  greatest  men  of  the  age  by  their  own  provinces,  but 
were  so  confessed  by  all  the  nations  ofthe  western  world.  •We  are  told  that  their 
valour,  their  strength,  and  the  largeness  of  their  stature,  were  the  wonder  of  the 
surrounding  nations ;  and  that  their  exploits  are  not  to  be  paralleled  in  history. 

It  was  one  ofthe  principal  customs  ofthe  ancient  Irish,  to  train  up  their  youth 
to  a  military  life  ;  that  tiiey  might  either  defend  their  country  in  time  of  distress, 
or  carry  the  fame  of  their  arms  abroad.'" — Waknek. 


148 

into  the  sea  at  Annagassin,  in  the  county  of  Louth,  at  the  distance 
of  fifteen  miles  from  its  original  source.  The  Rath,  or  Mound, 
which  the  Connacians  then  erected  adjoining  Ardee,  is  one  of  the 
most  majestic,  elevated  and  extensive  piles  of  earth  and  stone  in 
Ireland.* 

Connor,  in  tlie  meantime,  made  a  vigorous  preparation  to  oppose 
the  meditated  attack  of  the  approaching  foe,  and  liappily  succeeded 
by  his  artifice  and  address,  in  appeasing  tiie  resentment  of  the  hero, 
Cuchulhn,  and  in  persuading  iiirn  to  take  the  cliief  command  of  the 
Ultonian  army,  tlien  encamped  at  Diindalk.  The  very  name  of 
this  chief  of  the  Craub-rogh,  or  tlie  kniglits  of  the  Iled-wrealh  was 
a  "  tower  of  strength,"  to  (Connor's  forces.  Notwithstanding  that 
Ciichullin  could  never  forget  nor  forgive  the  baseness  and  cruelty 
of  the  king  of  Ulster  to  his  relatives,  he  still  was  impelled  to  assume 
the  command  of  the  army,  not  only  by  the  desire  of  glory,  but  by  the 
craving  of  revenge  ;  for  in  a  former  war  between  the  Connacians 
and  Ultonians,  Lugha,  the  champion  of  Munster,  had  killed  his 
father.  The  Ultonian  general  had  strict  orders  to  remain  on  the 
defensive  at  Dundealgan,  Dundalk,  until  he  should  be  reinforced  by 
a  legion,  under  Connul  Cearnach,  that  was  daily  expected  to  return 
from  an  expedition  to  Britain.  The  Connacians,  aware  of  their 
numeiical  superiority,  did  every  thing  which  artifice  could  suggest 
to  force  Cuchullin  to  a  battle.  They  abandoned  their  entrenciied 
camp  at  Ardee,  and  took  up  a  position  on  an  eminence  at  Muirthimme 
(Mullacrevvt)  four  miles  northward  of  their  former  camp,  and  in  the 

*  Tlii^  mound  was  called  "  Castle  Guard  "  by  the  English  invaders,  who  built  a 
citadel  on  its  summit,  A.  D.  1253,  to  defend  the  Castle  and  town  of  Ardee  from 
the  assault  of  the  "  Irish  enemy."  In  building  the  lofty  mound,  in  whose  bosom, 
it  is  supposed,  there  is  a  concavity,  which  once  served  either  for  a  Druid's  cave,  or 
a  regal  tomb  for  the  Princes  of  Louth,  (the  O'Carrolls)  several  ponderous  piers  and 
massy  arches  of  chiselled  limestone,  have  been  laised  one  above  the  other,  from 
the  foundation  to  the  summit.  The  castles  or  citadels  erected  by  the  English  on 
the  top  of  this  mound,  of  which  there  is  now  scarcely  a  vestige,  were,  according  to 
Camden,  Ware  and  Grose,  "  two  concentrate  octagonal  buildings,  the  one  a  strong 
tower,  the  other  a  kind  of  breastwork  by  way  of  battlements,  which  were  garri- 
soned by  British  soldiers,  to  protect  the  strong  castle  of  Ardee,  a  fine  edifice  which 
was  built  by  Sir  Roger  Pepper,  A.  D.  1207."  The  mound  was,  until  1811),  encom- 
passed with  a  double  ditch  and  vallum,  which,  as  a  singularly  ir.al  apropos  coinci- 
dence, was  then  levelled  by  the  direction  of  Mr.  Thomas  Pepper,  one  of  the  remote 
descendants  of  Sir  Roger,  in  order  to  make  arable  land  of  the  site  of  the  fosse. 
The  circumference  of  the  outward  ditch  was  measured  in  lS]<),by  James  S.  Law, 
Esq.  the  talented  author  of  the  Irish  Catholic,  and  the  author  of  this  historv,by 
which  we  ascertained  tliat  it  was  720  feet  :  by  the  same  admeasurement,  we  found 
that  the  circuit  of  the  mound  at  tlie  base  was  5G7,  and  the  conic  elevation  from 
thence  to  the  summit  'J8  feet;  the  breadth  of  the  vallum  30.  and  the  heijjhl  of  the 
ditch  40.  The  circumference  at  the  top  of  this  romantic  mound,  on  which,  in  our 
schoolboy  days,  we  often  played  the  truant ;  and  in  those  of  the  spring  of  our 
manhood  and  felicity,  read  and  mused,  and  watched  the  setting  sun  descending 
from  his  sapphire  throne  to  his  ruby  couch  of  clouds,  is  142  feet.  The  views  which 
open  to  the  eye  here,  are  as  picturesque  as  beautiful.  We  hope  it  will  not  be 
considered  a  culpable  piece  of  egotism  for  the  author  of  this  history  to  mention,  that 
Ardee  is  his  birth  place,  as  well  as  that  of  his  paternal  ancestors  since  the  twelfth 
century. 

t  Mullacrew  is  a  large  common,  about  five  miles  north  of  Ardee.  From  the 
days  of  St.  Patrick  to  those  of  Henry  VIII.  the  Prior  of  the  abbey  of  Louth  was 
the  lord  of  its  soil,  who  allowed  the  cattle  of  the  poor  to  graze  upon  it;  but  on  the 
suppression  of  the   Irish  mciiasteiics,  Henry  nsade  a  grant  of  it   to  Sir  Oliver 


149 

immediate  vicinity  of  Caislean  na  Calga,  or  Calga  Castle,  the  patri- 
monial residence  of  the  Ultonian  general.  This  movement  compelled 
Ciiclmlhn  toextend  the  right  wing  of  his  army  to  a  height  now  called 
Ard  Patrick,  or  the  Hill  of  Patrick.*  The  two  armies  approximated 
so  close,  that  it  was  impossible,  in  consequence,  to  avoid  a  battle. 
The  Ultonian  chief,  however,  notwithstanding  his  fiery  valour  and 
impetuous  courage,  wished  to  decline  coming  to  action,  until  the 
a.-rival  of  his  gallant  colleague,  Connal.  But  Fergus  and  Lugha 
caused  trumpeters  to  appr(»ach  Cuchullin's  camp,  in  order  to  mock 
and  deride  him,  and  by  this  means  provoke  him  to  join  battle  with 
them.  These  insults  had  the  desired  eftect  ;  for  they  irritated  the 
brave  hero  of  Ulster,  who,  impatient  to  avenge  them,  issued  the 
signal  for  the  attack  on  the  Connacian  camp.  At  that  moment, 
when  his  military  passion  reached  the  acme  of  enthusiasm,  some  of 
his  officers  endeavoured  to  persuade  him  to  postpone  the  action  for 
a  day,  he  indignantly  retorted,  "  What !  are  we  to  fear  their  supe- 
rior numbers  ?  No,  their  defeat  will  be  more  glorious  to  the  Ulster 
arms.  I  to  shrink  like  a  dastard,  from  the  face  of  the  vaunting  foe, 
O  !  never.  Since  my  first  arms  were  put  into  my  hands,  1  have 
never  declined  a  battle,  nor  shall  I  this.  If  I  am  to  fall  under  the 
spear  of  Lugha,  I  shall  fall  like  my  heroic  Sire,  covered  with  a  war- 
rior's glory,  and  with  a  spotless  fame,  worthy  of  being  embalmed  in 
the  song  of  Erin's  Bards."  The  onset  was  as  dreadful  as  it  was 
desperate  :  resentment  and  implacable  rage  burned  in  every  breast, 
and  rendered  the  conflict  of  the  belligerents  sanguinary  and  fierce 
beyond  any  former  example  on  record.  Cuchullin's  war  chariot, 
like  the  red  thunderbolt  felling  the  trees  of  the  forest,  flew  through 
an  avenue  studded  by  uplifted  battle  axes,  and  paved  with  dead 
bodies.  To  stop  his  fiery  car  of  carnage,  which  rolled  through  the 
Connacians  as  irresistible  as  the  headlong  torrent  of  burning  lava, 
when  sweeping  down  the  rocky  declivities  of  iEtna,  was  an  achieve- 
ment that  none  except  Lugha  had  the  daring  courage  to  attempt. 
The  IMunster  champion  bravely  resolved  to  cross    his   blood-flowing 

Phinkctt,  the  first  Baron  of  Louth,  as  well  as  of  all  the  lands  and  possessions 
which  then  belonged  to  that  rich  priory.  Lord  Louth  obtained  a  patent  for  hold- 
ing- a  monthly  fair  here,  for  the  sale  of  cattle,  yarn,  wool  and  coarse  cloth.  The 
quantity  of  wool  exposed  for  sale  at  the  great  fair  here,  on  the  17th  of  June,  is 
iinniense.  The  tolls  and  customs  are  the  property  of  the  present  Lord  Louth,  who 
farms  them  out  at  a  large  annual  sum.  It  was  at  the  fair  of  Mullacrew,  in  June, 
]8"26,  that  Richard  Sheii,,  the  Irish  Cicero,  harangued  the  Louth  forty  shilling 
freeholders,  with  a  potency  of  eloquence  which  shivered  from  their  minds  the 
corroding  chains  of  half  a  century  of  servility,  and  called  forth  from  a  torpor,  con- 
gealed by  the  degrading  dependence  of  sixty  years,  that  glorious  and  regenerated 
spirit,  which  levelled  the  despotism  of  the  Fosters  and  the  Jocdyns  in  the  dust,  and 
gave  a  triumph  to  toleration  and  honest  principle,  in  the  election  of  the  late 
Ai.EXA.MJF.R  Dawson,  Esc^. 

*  '■  He  (St.  Patrick,]  journeyed  from  Connaught  to  Slane,  thence  to  Ardee, 
and  thence  to  Lugh,  now  called  Louth,  a  place  famous  for  abbeys  and  seven 
churches.  It  derived  this  name  from  Ludha  O'Carroll,  prince  of  Conal  Muir- 
ihinine,  to  whom  St.  Lupita,  Patrick's  companion,  was  sold  as  a  slave.  At  Louth, 
St.  Patrick  intended  to  have  established  a  Bishop's  See,  but  he  was  diverted  from 
his  purpose  by  St.  Mochthe,  the  first  prior.  He*  retired  to  a  place  called  Ard 
Patrick,  a  few  miles  east  of  the  town  of  Louth,  which  is  renowned  in  our  history 
for  being  the  site  of  the  great  Cuchullin's  camp,  where  he  built  a  small  church." 
Book  of  Donegal. 


150 

path,  and  arrest  his  destructive  career,  or  nobly  die  in  the  glorious 
attempt.  Our  ancient  historians  compared  the  collision  of  the  war 
cars  of  Luglia  and  Cuchullin,  to  that  of  two  huge  rocks  of  flame, 
thrown  in  contact  by  a  violent  volcanic  concussion.  The  combatants 
fought  with  a  force  and  a  fury,  which  astounded  the  contending 
armies.  It  was  a  murderous  conflict  of  two  enraged  giants,  each  of 
whom  was  at  once  flred  with  the  desire  of  vengeance  and  glory. 
After  fighting  from  noon  to  dusk  with  unexampled  bravery  and  un- 
shaken resolution,  Lugha  succeeded  in  piercing  the  heart  of  the 
Ultonian  champion  with  his  javelin.  Thus  fell  the  renowned  cham- 
pion of  Ulster,  a  hero  whose  exploits  have  been  the  theme  of  count- 
less songs  and  stories  of  Irish  and  Scottish  writers.* 

IMoore,  in  his  epitome  of  the  history  of  Ireland,  in  alluding  to 
Cuchullin,  observes: — "In  the  commencement  of  the  christian  era, 
the  name  dwelt  upon,  with  most  interest,  by  the  chroniclers,  is  that 
of  the  young  hero  Cuchullin,  whose  death,  in  the  full  flush  and 
glory  of  his  career,  took  place,  according  to  these  authorities 
(Keating,  and  O'Flaherty)  in  the  second  year  of  Christ.  With  the 
fame  of  this  Irish  warrior,  modern  readers  have  been  made  acquaint- 
ed by  that  splendid  tissue  of  fiction  and  forgery  imposed  upon  the 
world  as  the  poems  of  Ossian,  where,  in  one  of  those  flights  of  ana- 
chronism, not  infrequent  in  that  work,  he  is  confronted  with  the 
Bard  and  hero  Oisin,  who  did  not  flourish  till  the  middle  of  the  third 
century.  The  exploits  of  Cuchullin,  Connal  Cearnach,  and  other 
heroes  of  the  red-branch,  in  the  memorable  seven  years'  war  between 
Connaught  and  Ulster,  are  among  those  themes  on  which  the  old 
chroniclers  and  Bardic  historians  most  delight  to  dwell.  The  cir- 
cumstance recorded  of  the  young  Cuchullin  by  these  annalists,  that 
when  only  seven  years  old,  he  was  invested  with  knighthood,  might 
have  been  regarded  as  one  of  the  marvels  of  traditionary  story;  had 
we  not  direct  evidence,  in  a  fact  mentioned  by  Froissart,  that  so  late 
as  the  time  of  that  chronicler,  the  practice  of  knighting  boys  at  the 
very  same  age,  more  especially  those  of  royal  parentage,  was  still 
retained  in  Ireland." 

The  result  of  this  battle  broke  for  the  present  the  spirit  of  the 
Ultonians,  who  were  obliged  to  retreat  in  great  disorder  to  Armagh. 
The  victorious  allied  army  sacked  the  castle  of  Calga,  and  carried 
off  immense  spoils  which  they  found  in  it,  as  well  as  in  the  town  of 
Dundalk.     After   this   victory,  the    king   and   queen  of  Connaught, 

*  "The  relation  of  the  death  of  Cuchullin,  at  the  battle  of  Muirthinime,  about 
twenty-five  years  before  the  birth  of  Clirist,  in  the  Bookof  Leinster,  is  full  of  ani- 
mation and  spirit ;  but  while  I  cannot  help  admiring  the  richness  of  the  language 
and  the  sublimity  of  the  thought,  T  cannot  help  deprecating  the  folly,  and  censur- 
ing the  credulity  of  Keating  and  O'Flaherty,  who  gravely  tell  us  that  it  was  by  the 
power  of  Druidical  enchantment  Cuchullin  was  defeated,  and  not  by  the  sword  of 
Lugha." — Lynch. 

"  In  this  battle  wo  find  war  chariots  were  used,  and  numbers  of  them  destroyed 
in  the  sanguinary  conflict,  which  is  as  memorable  for  carnage  as  it  is  for  the  valour 
cisplayed  by  the  armies  of  Ulster  and  Connaught." — O'Halloran. 

"  By  the  concurring  testimony  of  all  our  annalists.  Cuchullin  was  killed  at  this 
battle,  twenty-five  years  before  the  incarnation,  although  Mr.  M'Pherson,  in  de- 
fiance of  chronological  evidence,  makes  him  contemporary  with  Ossian,  who  did 
not  exist  until  the  latter  end  of  the  third  century." — Flanagan. 


151 

accompanied  by  Fergus,  returned  to  tlieir  palace.  Great  fcstivitieg 
and  rejoicings  in  celebration  of  tlieir  triunipli,  took  place  on  tlieir 
arrival  at  the  Connacian  court.  At  this  juncture,  the  amours  of  the 
queen  and  prince  Fergus,  became  so  openly  immodest  and  indecently 
notorious,  that  all  the  courtiers  loudly  censured  them  as  disgraceful 
at  once  to  morality  and  royalty.  Olioll,  the  old  king,  had  long 
cherished  acrimonious  feelings  of  jealousy  and  indignation  in  his 
bosom,  whose  vindictive  impulse,  at  the  instigation  of  some  of  the 
nobles,  he  determined  to  follow,  as  soon  as  an  opportunity  should 
present  itself.  The  hour  of  vengeance  soon  arrived.  IMeibhe  and 
lier  paramour  were  in  the  habit  of  bathing  in  a  secret  part  of  the  lake, 
where  tlie  banks  were  shaded  with  the  thick  foliage  of  willows  and 
laburnums,  which  formed  a  sylan  arbour,  from  which  Flora  herself 
would  love  to  leap  into  the  limpid  water,  with  the  gallant  Zephyrus. 
The  king,  with  a  trust-worthy  nobleman,  concealed  himself  in  the 
labyrinths  that  adorned  the  banks  of  this  lake,  until  Fergus  plunged 
into  the  deep,  when  the  provoked  prince  darted  a  javelin  at  him 
with  such  an  accuracy  of  aim,  and  violence  of  force,  that  it  transfixed 
Fergus'  body.  The  brave  but  unfortunate  prince,  tlmiigh  mortally 
wounded,  swam  to  the  bank,  and  twisting  the  barbed  steel  out  of  his 
entrails,  he  flung  it  with  all  his  might  at  the  monarch,  whom  it 
missed,  though  it  was  so  dexterously  directed,  that  it  killed  the  grey 
hound  which  stood  at  his  feet.  In  a  few  moments  afterwards 
Fergus  died,  and  his  body  was  honourably  interred  with  all  the 
funeral  pomp  and  sepultural  distinction  due  to  his  eminent  rank  as 
a  prince  of  the  blood  royal  of  Ulster,  and  a  chieftain  knight  of  the 
illustrious  order  of  the  Red  Branch.  Connor,  far  from  being  intimi- 
dated or  dispirited  by  the  disasters  that  attended  his  army,  on  the 
contrary,  was  stimulated  by  reverses  to  make  greater  ellbrts  to  com- 
mand success.  Reemployed  himself  in  the  most  sedulous  endeavours 
to  recruit  his  army,  and  inflame  the  pride  and  fan  the  resentment  of 
the  Ultonians.  While  in  jiursuit  of  this  object,  the  intelligence  of 
the  treacherous  death  of  Fergus  arrived,  which  served  as  an  electric 
spark  to  set  the  vengeance  of  the  people  in  a  blaze.  The  apathy  in 
which  the  public  feeling  was  before  congealed,  now  instantly,  on  the 
promulgation  of  the  death  of  a  prince,  whose  popularity  was  un- 
Ijounded,  became  thawed,  and  the  blood  of  every  heart  boiled  in  the 
vehement  eft'ervescence  of  vindictive  resentment. 

The  whole  population  of  Tester,  glowing  with  indignation  took  up 
arms,  and  flew  en  masse  to  the  royal  standard.  At  the  moment  that 
this  intense  enthusiasm  pervaded  every  bosom,  and  united  every 
opinion  in  a  community  of  purpose,  Connal  Cearnach  returned  from 
an  expedition  in  Britain,  flushed  with  victory  and  laden  with  the 
spoils  and  trophies  of  con(inest.  When  the  victor  heard  of  the  fate 
of  his  attached  friend  and  cousin,  Fergus,  he  swore  by  his  knighthood 
that  he  would  offer  a  holocaust  of  Connacians  to  his  manes.  The 
very  name  of  Connal  was,  like  that  of  Napoleon,  "  a  host  in  itself," 
a  tower  of  strength,  whom  the  Ultonians  regarded  as  invincible,  and 
whose  heroic  exploits  and  renowned  deeds  of  arms  in  Britain,  Alba- 
nia and  Gaul,  acquired  for  him  the  reputation  of  being  the  most 
valiant  champion  in  Europe. 


152 

Connf)r,  who  resolved  to  lead  the  invadin<r  army  to  Connaufiht  in 
person,  appointed  (y'onnai  ('carnacli  liis  second  in  command.  L'nder 
such  leaders  as  these,  an  army  so  animated  as  the  Ultonians  then 
were,  could  not  for  a  moment  tiouht  the  success  with  which  a  victory 
over  their  enemies  must  eventually  crown  their  arms.  Inspired  with 
these  encouragin<r  hopes,  the  troops  commenced  their  march,  in 
two  divisions,  for  Dundalk,  tiie  head  quarters  of  the  Connacians; 
the  first  division  was  led  on  by  the  king,  the  second  by  Connal 
Cearnach. 

Wlien  Ceat  the  commander  of  the  Connacians,  was  apprised  of 
the  approach  of  such  a  numerous  army,  he  broke  up  his  encampment 
at  Dundalk  and  Ardee,  and  precipitately  retreated  to  R.f>scomn)on, 
where  he  expected  to  receive  a  reinforcement  that  would  enable  him 
to  make  a  stand  against  the  enemy.  The  Ultonians  pursued  him  by 
forced  marches.  As  Ceat  had  expected,  tlie  king  of  Connaught, 
Olioll  More,  formed  a  junction  with  him  on  his  arrival  at  Roscommon, 
where  they  entrenched  their  united  forces  in  a  strong  position,  and 
resolved  to  await  the  attack  of  the  Ultonians.  They  had  scarcely 
formed  their  lines,  when  the  king  of  Ulster  drew  up  his  army  in  order 
of  battle  before  them,  and  despatched  heralds  to  their  camp  to  chal- 
lenge them  to  the  conflict,  which  it  was  now  im]>ossible  to  evade. 
The  signal  was  quickly  given  for  the  onset,  and  both  armies  rushed 
upon  each  other  with  an  implacable  fury,  and  a  direful  tliirst  of  ven- 
geance, that  cou'd  only  be  satiated  by  death.  The  sanguinary  con- 
test was  maintained  with  a  bravery  and  intrepidity  that  long  trembled 
on  the  equililirate  of  victory;  when,  at  length,  Connal  Cearnach,  at 
the  head  of  the  knights  of  the  Red  Branch,  charged  the  centre  of  the 
Connacian  army,  under  their  king,  with  irresistible  valour,  and  suc- 
ceeded in  breaking  their  line,  and  in  killing  Olioll  and  all  his  guards  ; 
while  Connor  overthrew  their  left  wing,  which  he  drove  in  confusion 
from  its  strong  position.  Ceat,  on  this  occasion,  evinced  his  accus- 
tomed spirit  and  gallantry  ;  but  finding  that  all  his  eft'orts  could  not 
make  his  panic  struck  troops  rally,  he  felt  himself,  in  consequence, 
constrained  to  make  a  rapid  retreat  to  the  borders  of  Lough  Conn, 
in  the  county  of  Mayo,  whither  he  was  speedily  pursued  by  the 
victorious  Ultonians. 

The  flight  of  the  Connacians  from  Roscommon*  to  Lough  Conn,t 
was  in  all  the  consternation  and  confusion  of  a  discomfited  army. 
But  when  they  reached  the  foot  of  Nephin  mountain,  w  hose  summit 
overlooks  the  lake,  Ceat  concentrated  them  in  one  of  its  defiles, 
where  he  justly  calculated  he  could  advantageously  resist  the  attack 
of  his  pursuers.     When  Connor  arrived  on  the  banks  of  the  lake,  he 

*  Roscommon  is  a  very  ancient  town,  the  capital  of  the  county  of  that  name. 
It  is  situated  in  the  bosom  of  a  picturesque  valley,  at  the  distance  of  eighty  miles 
N.  W.  from  Dublin.  Of  its  monastic  ruins,  feudal  castles,  and  the  beautiful  land- 
scape scenery  that  environs  it,  we  shall  give  a  description  in  our  topography  of 
the  county  of  Roscommon. 

t  Lough  Conn  is  a  laige  lake  in  tlie  count3'  of  Mayo,  which  is  ten  miles  long 
and  six  broad.  Its  lucid  waves  are  dotted  with  beautiful  green  islands,  and  border- 
ed with  shrubby  banks,  decked  by  the  hand  of  Flora.  The  lofty  mountain  of 
Nepiiin  raises  its  gigantic  crest  above  this  lake,  over  which  it  casts  the  gloom  of 
its  shade.  A  fine  species  of  trout,  called  gillanoo,  considered  the  best  in  Ireland, 
abounds  in  Lough  Conn. 


153 

was  greatly  disappointed  to  find  tiie  foe  occupying  a  position  guard- 
ed by  a  pass  and  secured  by  mountain  acclivities,  out  of  which  he 
foresaw  it  would  be  impossible  to  dislodge  them.  The  Ultoniaii 
king  pitched  his  tents  as  near  as  possible  to  Ceat's  lines,  in  the  hope 
that  he  might  by  some  means  or  other  induce  him  to  hazard  another 
battle,  from  which  he  confidently  anticipated  decisive  results,  that 
would  end  the  campaign,  and  reduce  and  humble  Connaugiit  to  his 
subjection.  Bands  of  the  Ultonian  archers  and  slingers  were  con- 
stantly assailing  the  Connacian  position  ;  but  Ceat,  to  render  such 
a  mode  of  assault  harmless,  soon  raised  a  breastwork  which  eflect- 
ually  protected  his  troops  from  this  annoyance.  Thus  Ceat,  with 
the  constmimate  prudence  of  a  wise  and  steady  general,  cautiously 
declined  coming  to  an  engagement  with  superior  numbers,  notwith- 
standing that  Connor,  with  a  view  of  forcing  him  out,  frequently  and 
repeatedly,  through  his  heralds, jeered,  taunted,  and  even  reproached 
him  with  being  a  coward. 

Ceat,  conscious  of  his  inahility  to  compete  with  Connor,  in  fair 
battle,  endeavoured  to  effect  by  stratagem,  what  he  coidd  not  accom- 
plish by  arms.  During  several  days  on  which  the  hostile  armies 
were  in  sight  of  each  other,  the  princi]Kd  ladies  of  Mayo  generally 
ascended  the  acclivities  of  the  mountain,  in  order  to  view  the  martial 
array  of  hostile  legions,  in  the  valley.  The  king  of  Ulster,  who 
although  then  sixty  years  of  age,  evinced  as  warm  a  passion  for 
amorous  pleasures  as  ever,  was  in  the  constant  htibit  of  approaching 
quite  near  tlie  station  which  these  ladies  occupied,  in  order  to  gaze 
upon  their  charms  and  converse  with  them.  On  one  of  these  occa- 
sions, a  youthful  maiden  of  extraordinary  beauty,  allured  the  king 
to  the  mountain,  where  she  promised  to  grant  him  the  last  favour. 
The  monarch,  panting  with  the  hope  of  expected  bliss,  and  not 
dreaming  of  the  treachery  wliich  was  planned  by  his  enemy,  gladly 
repaired  to  the  spot  of  assignation,  which  he  had  no  sooner  reached, 
than  to  his  confusion,  but  not  terror,  he  found,  not  a  blushing  nymph, 
but  his  implacable  enemy,  Ceat,  armed  with  a  spear  and  cran  tubal, 
or  sling,  to  receive  him.  Connor,  seeing  the  danger  that  environed 
him,  and  being  unarmed,  began  to  retreat  from  his  dishonourable 
foe,  but  ere  he  went  many  paces,  Ceat  darted  a  ball  at  him  from  his 
sling,  which  struck  and  fractured  his  skull.  Notwithstanding  the 
severity  of  his  wound,  Connor  succeeded  in  escaping  to  one  of  the 
outposts  of  his  own  troops.  When  the  royal  surgeon,  Fignin  Fea- 
sac,  or  the  skilful,  examined  the  fearful  contusion  made  by  the 
ball,  on  the  king's  head,  he  told  his  majesty  that  by  the  operation  of 
the  trepan  alone,  he  could  save  his  life.  The  king  willingly  sub- 
mitted to  the  painful  operation,  which  the  surgeon  performed  with 
such  unexampled  skill  and  care,  that  the  wound  was  cured  in  a  short 
time.*  The  surgeon  then  assured  the  king,  that  as  the  wound  had  in- 
jured his  brain,  he  felt  it  his  duty  to  warn  his  majesty  never  to  get  into 
a  heat   of  passion,  as  under  such  an  excitement  of  feeling,  it  would 

*  "  From  this  circumstanco,  the  use  of  the  trepan  or  trephine,  was  introduced,  in 
the  most  early  ages,  in  Irish  surgery." — Warner. 

"This  is  only  one  testimony,  amono;  the  many  which  the  Irish  annals  furnish, 
of  the  professional  eminence  of  the  ancient  physicians  of  Ireland." — Ravmond. 

20 


154 

probably  break  out  again,  and  produce  consequences  which  might 
prove  fatal  to  his  life.  When  he  was  thus  in  a  state  of  convalescence, 
he  received  with  joy,  overtures  of  peace  from  the  monarch  of  Ireland, 
Eochaidh  X.,  who  signified,  througli  his  ambassadors,  his  intention 
of  withdrawing  his  assistance  from  the  Con  naught  Confederacy.  As 
soon  as  the  wisiies  of  the  monarch  were  intimated  to  Connor,  he 
sent  an  embassy  to  Tara,  to  solicit  the  hand  of  the  Princess  EiUine 
in  marriage.  This  solicitation  was  proinply  complied  with,  and  the 
Princess,  without  delay,  accompanied  Connor's  ambassadors  to  her 
intended  spouse's  head  quarters.  Among  these  ambassadors,  was 
Connor's  poet  laureate,  who  in  mind  and  person  united  the  attributes 
of  Apollo  to  the  prepossessing  graces  of  Adonis.  On  the  journey, 
the  incense  of  adulation  was  never  quenched  in  the  censer  of  his 
poetic  encomium  ;  the  beauty  and  accomplishments  of  the  young 
queen  were  the  subjects  of  all  his  odes  and  songs.  She  read  and 
listened  to  those  eftiisions,  with  pleasure,  and  conceived  at  the  same 
time,  a  tender  attachment  for  the  young  bard.  Shortly  after  the 
marriage  of  Connor  with  this  lady  had  been  celebrated,  the  poet  and 
the  Queen  were  surprised  one  evening,  in  a  dark  labyrinth,  near  the 
royal  tent,  in  a  very  suspicious  situation.  This  discovery  was  soon 
communicated  to  the  jealous  king,  who  became  sn  enraged,  when 
he  heard  the  particulars,  that  he  ordered  the  luckless  bard  to  be 
drowned  in  Lake  Conn,  immediately  adjacent  to  the  house  of  Laog- 
hairc  Buadkaig,  a  powerful  chief,  and  one  of  Connor's  allies.  The 
underlings  of  Connor  quickly  seized  the  devoted  bard,  and  putting 
him  in  massy  chains  of  iron,  instead  of  crowning  him  with  laurels 
and  roses,  dragged  him  to  the  margin  of  the  lake,  where  they  were 
about  throwing  him  in  headlong,  when  one  of  Laoghaire's  shepherds 
came  up  to  the  executioners,  and  told  them  that  a  poet  should  not 
die  so  near  his  master's  liouse.  At  this  juncture,  Laoghaire  himself, 
heard  the  loud  clamour  of  their  debates,  and  suddenly  starting  up, 
rushed  towards  the  expostulating  parties,  and,  while  generously  res- 
cuing the  Parnassian  victim,  he  received  a  wound  from  a  spear, 
which  proved  mortal ;  but  his  last  moments  were  cheered  and  illu- 
minated by  the  satisfaction,  that  arose  in  his  mind,  from  his  having 
snatched  the  votary  of  the  Muses  from  a  watery  grave.  Of  the 
ultimate  fate  of  the  minstrel,  our  annals  tell  us  nothing. 

About  this  period,  queen  Meibhe,  whose  grief  for  the  death  of  her 
lover,  Fergus,  was  deep  and  inconsolable,  retired  from  the  seat  of 
war,  to  a  country  palace,  in  the  County  of  Galway,  situated  on  the 
borders  of  Loch  Ribh,  where  she  wished  to  indulge,  during  the  re- 
mainder of  her  life,  in  the  luxury  of  sorrow,  without  molestation  or 
annoyance.  It  was  her  custom,  after  coming  here,  to  bathe  in  the 
lake  every  morning;  which  circumstance  coming  to  the  ears  of  one 
of  Connor's  illegitimate  sons,  Forbiiihc,  he  formed  the  unmanly  reso- 
lution of  taking  away  her  life.  To  effect  this  infamous  purpose,  he 
watciied  the  Queen,  and  when  she  was  in  the  water,  he  darted  from 
his  sling,  a  ball,  with  such  ])ovver  and  direction,  at  the  helpless 
woman,  that  she  was  instantly  killed. 

"  In  this  manner,"  observes  Keating,  "  fell  this  heroic  Queen, 
after  she  had  enjoyed  the  government  of  Connaught  ninety  years." 


155 

Ceat,  at  this  time,  in  single  combat,  having  overthrown  three  of  the 
bravest  champions  of  Ulster,  sent  a  herald  to  Connal  Cearnach,  to 
rhallenire  him  to  a  personal  conflict,  which  was  instantly  accepted. 
For  two  days,  we  are  told,  the  contest  between  these  chivalrous 
heroes  lasted,  of  which,  both  the  armies  of  Connanght  and  Ulster 
were  spectators.  AUhongh  Ceat  was  slain  first,  he  sold  his  hfe  at 
the  dear  price  of  his  rival's,  for  Connal  lost  so  much  blood  in  the 
fierce  and  desperate  struggle,  that  he  fell  down  exhausted,  in  a  swoon 
upon  the  body  of  Ceat.  The  gigantic  exploits,  and  heroic  deeds, 
which  our  bards  attribute  to  Connal  Cearnach,  might  embellish  the 
most  extravagant  of  poetic  tales;  but  they  have  too  much  of  the  air 
of  romance  and  improbability  to  impose  on  the  incredulity  of  stern 
history.  We  therefore  omit  as  O'llalloran  and  McDermott  have 
done,  several  of  Dr.  Keating's  legendary  relations  of  this  champion 
of  Ulster.  Shortly  after  the  death  of  the  Queen  of  Connanght,  the 
mediation  of  the  monarch  of  Ireland  proved  so  fortunate  as  to  efiect 
a  peace  between  the  provinces  of  Ulster  and  Connanght.  As  soon 
as  the  peace  was  definitely  ratified,  Connor  returned  to  the  palace 
of  Emania,  loaded  with  spoils  and  elated  with  the  glory  which  his 
exploits  lilew  in  the  trumpet  of  martial  fame  over  Europe,  This 
prince,  the  son  of  Cais,  who  was  lineally  descended  from  the  lionse 
of  Ir,  was  as  remarkable  for  great  vices,  as  Ir  was  for  great  virtues. 
His  flagitious  and  barbarous  cruelties  to  the  sons  of  Usnach,  must 
ever  fasten  indelible  infamy  on  his  memory.  To  palliate,  however, 
in  some  degree,  the  atrocity  of  his  conduct,  it  must  be  admitted,  in 
its  extenuation,  that  he  was  valiant  in  battle,  and  wise  in  council; 
and  his  memorable  protection  of  the  bards  who  were  banished  by 
order  of  the  Brehons,  at  this  era,  from  the  kingdoms  of  Mnnster, 
Leinster,  and  Meath,  furnishes  an  honourable  testimony  of  his  muni- 
ficence, and  of  his  love  of  literature  and  the  arts.* 

*  "  Connor,  King  of  Ulster,  opened  an  asylum  at  his  palace  in  Emania,  lor  tlie 
banished  minstrels." — Book  of  the  four  Masters. 

••  In  the  reign  of  Connor,  King  of  Ulster,  the  whole  nation  raised  objections  and 
clamours,  against  the  insolence  of  the  bards,  who  fiercely  abused  every  one  that 
incurred  their  displeasure  ;  consequently,  their  charter  was  cancelled  in  Tara,  and 
Ferns,  and  more  than  1000  poets,  took  refuge  at  the  palace  of  Ulster." — Bishop 
Hutchinson's  Vi.nd. 

'•'  Connor  was  a  great  protector  of  the  arts  and  sciences,  to  him  we  arc  in  a  great 
measure  indebted,  for  what  records  and  history  we  possess,  of  these  remote  days. 
For  the  pride  and  power  of  the  bards,  and  of  the  literati,  had  at  this  time  risen  to 
so  high  a  pitch  of  arrogance  and  impertinence,  that  scarce  any  thing  tliey  demanded 
durst  be  refused  to  them.  Tiiey  grossly  abused  their  privileges,  and  trampled  the 
immunities  of  their  compeers  under  their  feet,  and,  with  unsparing  severity, 
libelled  and  satirized  every  person  who  was  so  unfortunate  as  to  fall  under  their 
resentment,  so  that  their  aggressions  became  insupportable,  and  the  monarch  of 
Ireland,  in  consequence,  felt  himself  constrained  to  procure  a  decree  from  the 
national  estates,  for  their  expulsion." — Strictures  on  Irish  Bakdic  Hir^TORY. 

'•  Connor,  who  entertained  tiie  proscribed  poets,  to  the  amount  of  one  thousand, 
in  a  remonstrance  which  he  transmitted  to  the  cabinet  of  Tara,  clearly  demonstrated 
that  the  total  abolition  of  the  literary  orders,  would  be,  to  the  last  degree,  detri- 
mental to  the  state ;  but  that  a  proper  restraint' of  censorship,  laid  on  them,  would 
be  a  most  useful  and  necessary  step." — O'Halloran. 

"  It  was  through  the  interiwsition  of  Connor  Mac  Nessa,  King  of  Ulster,  that 
the  order  of  the  bards  was  put  under  legal  restriction,  as  new  law-tables  were  then 
published,  and  every  poet,  in  some  degree,  made  a  judge  of  what  he  owed  to  the 
public,  as  a  fellow  subject,  and  to  himself  as  an  individual." — O'Connor. 

■'  The  father  of  Connor,  was  Fochlnn  Ffifhaac/i,  the  son  of  Caes,  son  of  Rugh- 


156 

"  From  what  lias  been  said  of  the  high  station  and  dignities 
assigned  to  their  bards  and  antiquarians,  it  will  have  been  seen  that 
in  the  political  system  of  the  ancient  Irish,  the  literary  or  Bardic 
order,  which  appears  to  have  been  distinct  from  the  Driiidical, 
formed  one  of  the  most  active  and  powerful  springs.  Supported  by 
lands  set  aside  for  their  use,  and  surrounded  by  privileges  and  im- 
munities which  even  in  the  midst  of  civil  commotion,  rendered  their 
persons  and  property  sacred,  they  were  looked  up  to  not  only  as 
guardians  of  their  country's  history  and  literature,  but  as  interpre- 
ters and  dispensers  of  its  laws.  Thus  endowed  and  privileged, 
this  class  of  the  community  came  at  length  to  possess  such  inordi- 
nate power,  and  by  a  natural  consequence,  so  much  to  abuse  it,  that 
a  popular  reaction  against  their  encroachments  was  the  result,  and 
their  whole  order  was  about  to  be  expelled  from  the  kingdom.  In 
this  crisis  of  their  fate,  the  Conquovar,  or  Connor,  King  of  Ulster, 
espoused  the  cause  of  the  Bards,  and,  protesting  strongly  against 
the  policy  of  suppressing  them  altogether,  succeeded  in  effecting 
such  reformation,  in  the  constitution  of  their  order,  more  especially 
in  all  that  related  to  their  judicial  proceedings,  as  at  length  restored 
them  to  public  favour.  The  better  to  regulate  their  decisions  for  the 
future,  he  caused  a  digest  of  the  ancient  laws  to  be  formed,  under 
the  auspices  of  Forchern,  and  two  other  distinguished  poets  ;  and 
the  code  thus  compiled,  was  called  by  their  admiring  contempora- 
ries, Jireathe  Neimidh,  or  celestial  judgments.  In  having  Poets 
thus  for  their  law  givers,  the  Irish  but  followed  the  example  of  most 
of  the  ancient  nations  ;  among  whom,  in  the  infancy  of  legislation, 
the  laws  were  promulgated  always  in  verse,  and  often  publicly  sung; 
and  even  so  late  as  the  time  of  Strabo,  the  chief  Magistrate  of  the 
people  of  Mazaca,  in  Cappadocia,  (who  was  to  them  what  juris- 
consults were  to  the  Romans)  bore  the  title,  as  we  are  informed  by 
Strabo,  of  the  Law-Giver." — Moore. 

His  ambition  was  daring,  insatiable,  and  inordinate,  and  his 
passions  were  as  warm  as  they  were  often  violent  and  licentious, 
for  he  was  indifferent  and  regardless  whether  their  gratification 
transgressed  the  rules  of  justice,  or  subverted  the  barriers  of  morali- 

ruidlip,  a  descendant  from  the  royal  line  of  Ir.  from  wlioni  Ireland  derives  its  name. 
His  mother  was  Nessa,  the  daughter  of  Eochaidh  IX.  monarch  of  Ireland,  and  step 
sister  to  Mcibhc  Cruachna,  Queen  of  Connaug-ht.  Though  this  famous  Queen 
was  his  aunt,  he  yet  carried  on  a  long  and  bloody  war  with  lier,  and  in  her  old 
age,  one  of  his  sons,  swayed  by  the  desire  of  revenge,  killed  her  while  she  was 
bathing  in  a  lake,  in  Connaughi. 

One  of  the  daughters  of  King  Connor  was  married  to  Carhre  Kindfar,  King  of 
Leinster.  who.  to  obtain  her,  made  over  part  of  his  own  dominions  to  her  father  ; 
so  that  in  after  ages,  the  O'Neils,  as  kings  of  Ulster,  claimed  a  great  part  of 
Leinster,  particularly  the  whole  County  of  Louth,  and  all  the  districts  of  Meath, 
east  of  Tara." — Mairicf,  Regan's  "  Royal  Irish  Gexf.alogy." 

"  A  poet  of  great  antiquity,  in  narrating  the  cession  of  territory  made  by  the 
king  of  Leinster  to  Connor,  in  consequence  of  obtaining  his  beautiful  daughter, 
Feidklin,  in  marriage,  observes — 

"  Connor  enlarged  the  bounds  of  liis  command  ; — 

And  as  a  dowry  for  his  daughter's  beauty, 

Obtained  most  fruitful  tracts  of  land,  from  Leinster, 

And  joined  them  to  his  own  dominions." — Brvan  O'Co.vnor. 


157 

ty.  Dr.  Keating's  relation  of  his  death,  is  so  singularly  improbable, 
that  we  will  transcribe  it  here.  "  The  king  strictly  observed  the 
directions  of  the  surgeon  ;  for  the  violence  of  heat  or  passion  would 
force  tlie  wound  open,  and  by  that  means  bring  his  life  into  the 
utmost  danger  ;  and  in  this  state,  Connor  continued  for  seven  years, 
to  the  great  joy  of  his  subjects,  till  the  Friday  on  which  our  blessed 
Saviour  was  crucified  ;  and  then  the  king  being  surprised  at  the 
dreadful  and  supernatural  eclipse  of  tiie  sun,  and  shocked  at  the 
horrid  darkne?^  and  convulsion  of  nature,  that  followed  the  death 
of  the  Son  of  God,  consulted  with  the  Arch-Druid,  to  ascertain  the 
occasion  and  design  of  that  wonderful  event.  The  Pagan  prophet 
replied  that  the  cause  of  those  strange  and  violent  alterations  arose 
from  a  barbarous  murder,  that  day  committed  by  the  wicked  Jews, 
upon  a  most  innocent  and  divine  [)erson,  Jesus  Christ,  the  son  of  the 
everlasting  God.  The  king  resented  that  inhuman  act  with  such  a 
gust  of  passion,  that  he  cried  out  "if  he  were  a  spectator  of  the 
vile  sacrifice,  he  would  take  ample  vengeance  on  the  murderous  per- 
secutors of  a  deified  Messiah,  who  came  on  this  earth  as  the  vice- 
gerent of  heaven."  He  immediately  drew  his  sword,  and  in  his 
w rath,  v.ent  to  an  adjacent  grove,  and,  in  the  fury  of  his  rage,  began 
to  cut  down  the  trees,  protesting  that  if  he,  w  ith  his  knights  of  the 
red  branch,  were  in  the  country  of  tlie  Jews,  where  the  Son  of  God 
was  executed,  he  would  be  revenged  upon  the  murderers,  whom  he 
would  chop  to  pieces,  as  he  did  tiie  boughs  of  the  trees,  and  by  this 
violence  and  heat  of  his  anger,  his  blood  and  spirits  were  disordered 
and  fermented,  which  had  the  efiect  of  bursting  open  his  wound, 
throiigh  which  his  brains  gushed,  so  that  he  died  upon  the  spot." 

Now  this  is  certainly  the  invention  of  mere  fiction,  as  Connor  was 
dead,  according  to  O'Flaherty,  long  before  the  birth  of  Christ;  but 
all  our  annalists  agree  in  asserting  that  there  was  a  famous  Druid 
and  prophet,  called  Bacrach,  who  flourished  in  Leinster,  at  this 
epoch  who  predicted  the  birth  and  crucifixion  of  the  Redeemer  of 
mankind.  "We  are  not  to  wonder,"  says  Dr.  Molloy,  "that  the 
God  of  the  universe  should  vouchsafe  to  enlighten  the  mind  of  a 
Pagan  with  the  light  of  inspiration,  and  lay  open  before  him  that 
volume  of  futurity,  in  which  he  might  read  of  the  events  which  were 
to  occur  in  an  approaching  age.  The  truth  and  probabihty  of  this 
assumption  are  borne  out  in  fuller  strength  of  evidence  and  illustra- 
tion, by  the  testimony  which  history  adduces  of  the  prediction  of  the 
Heathen  pro|»hetesses,  the  sybils,  as  well  as  of  the  augury  which 
enabled  other  blind  and  idolatrous  soothsayers,  ignorant  of  the 
existence  of  the  true  God,  to  foretel  the  birth  and  passion  of  our 
Saviour." 

Some  of  our  historians,  Keating  and  O'Flaherty,  relate  what  we 
hope  for  the  sake  of  humanity,  is  unfounded,  that  Connor,  in  addi- 
tion to  his  other  atrocious  crimes,  was  guilty  of  the  diabolical  and 
execrable  sin  of  incest.  Eochaidh  X.  the  monarch  whose  long  reign 
of  forty  years  was  distinguished  for  mildness,  justice  and  prudence, 
died  at  Tara,  A.  M.  3965,  shortly  after  the  dissolution  of  Connor, 
much  lamented  by  the  nation.  In  our  Essay  on  Irish  Sepulture, 
and  monuments,  which  we  will  give  in  the  next  chapter,  we  shall 


158 

relate  that  it  was  this  monarch  of  Ireland,  Eochaidh  Adhnocht,* 
who  caused  a  law  to  he  passed  lor  regulating  the  ohseciuies  and 
sepulture  of  tlie  Irish,  in  consequence  of  which  our  annalists  have 
given  him  the  distinctive  appellation  of  Adlmocht,  an  Irish  epithet, 
that  signifies  hurial. 

There  are  critics,  we  are  aware,  who  might,  with  a  great  show  of 
reason,  ohjectto  the  minuteness  with  which,  in  the  course  of  this 
history,  we  have  explained  and  illustrated  facts  and  circumstances, 
that  to  a  superficial  reader,  may  appear  divested  of  material  impor- 
tance ;  hut  we,  in  our  arrangement  of  incidents,  and  narration  of 
facts,  have  endeavoured  to  profit  by  the  advice  which  the  philosophic 
historian,  Hume,  gives  in  one  of  his  essays.  "  In  reading  history," 
says  he,  "trivial  incidents,  which  show  the  manners  of  the  age,  are 
often  more  instructive,  as  well  as  entertaining,  than  the  great  transac- 
tions of  wars,  and  negotiations,  which  are  nearly  similar  in  all 
periods,  and  in  all  countries  of  the  world." 

Eochaidh  X.  dying  without  male  issue,  the  national  estates  elected, 
at  Tara,  Prince  Eideusgeoill,  the  son  of  Eogan,  king  of  Munster, 
monarch  of  Ireland,  A,  M.  3965.  This  prince  was  of  the  dynasty 
of  Ileremon,  and  his  martial  fame,  and  great  literary  attainments, 
contributed  their  aids  to  gain  for  him  an  election,  which  was  warmly 
contested.  He,  before  his  accession  to  the  throne,  eminently  signal- 
ized himself  in  the  wars  of  the  Connacians,  with  the  I'ltonians, 
against  whom  he  cherished  the  most  inveterate  resentment,  in  con- 
sequence of  their  having  expelled  his  ancestors  from  their  throne, 
to  make  room  for  the  Irian  princes.  He  married  the  grand  daughter 
(Eff'a)  of  his  predecessor,  Eochaidh,  and  by  this  princess,  he  became 
the  father  of  Connaire,  the  Great,  who  makes  such  a  shining  figure 
in  the  Irish  annals.  Eidersgeoill  was  not  long  suftered  to  enjoy  the 
regal  power,  for  in  the  sixth  year  of  his  reign,  he  lost  life  and  crown 
in  a  battle  fonght  witli  his  successor,  Nuadh  Neacht,  A.  M.  3971. 
NuADii  was  crowned  on  the  stone  of  destiny,  at  Tara;  but  his  reign 
scarcely  attained  its  seventh  year,  when  Connaire,  the  son  of  the 
late  monarch,  Eidersgeoill,  wrested  the  sceptre  from  his  grasp,  and 
extinguished  the  lamp  of  his  life,  at  the  battle  of  Cliach,  in  Meath, 
A.  C.  5. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 


The  ancient  sepulture  of  the  Irish. —  The  reign  of  Connaire  therGreat — His  death. — 
Jlcccssion  of  Lvghaidh  to  the  throne. — The  reigns  of  Connor  and  Criomthan. 

The  ancient  mode  of  interment  among  the  Irish,  bore  a  strong 
resemblance  to  that  of  the  Greeks,  which  furnishes   another   strong 

*  "  It  will  be  perceived,  by  all  those  acquainted  with  the  Irisli  idiom,  that  our 
orthography  of  Irish  words,  differ  materially  from  fhatof  O'Halloran  ;  but  we  spell 
thorn  according  to  the  authority  of  O'Reilly's  classical  and  standard  dictionary  of 
the  Irish  language. 


159 

corroborating  fact  to  sustain  the  autlienticitj  of  our  true  eastern 
origin.  Embalminij  was  never  practised  among  our  Pagan  ances- 
tors ;  for  when  a  chieftain  or  warrior  died,  naturally,  or  in  battle, 
the  funeral  pile  was  reared  on  a  lofty  eminence,  in  which  the  body 
was  consumed  ;  the  ashes  were  carefully  preserved,  and  placed  in  a 
golden,  marble,  or  brazen  urn,*  which  was  interred  in  a  superb  tomb, 
over  which  the  cairn,  cromlech,  or  tumulus  was  reared,  to  immor- 
talize the  spot  consecrated  to  the  sepulture  of  the  deceased. 

About  two  centuries  before  the  introduction  of  Christianity  into  the 
Island,  the  monarch  EocJiaidh,  as  related  in  our  last  chapter,  who  is 
distinguished  in  Irish  history  by  the  appellation  of  the  regulator  of 
the  grave,  promulgated  a  law  of  burial.  "  He  ordained,"  says 
O'Halloran,  "  that  the  head  should  be  placed  to  the  west,  the  feet  to 
the  east,  and  a  mound  of  earth,  or  mural  tomb,  placed  over  the 
whole."  At  this  |>eriod,  the  Knights  of  the  Red  Branch  were  im- 
mured in  a  deep  grave,  whose  bottom  was  paved  with  white  marble  ; 
the  sides  were  lined  with  brick  and  durable  cement,  and  the  surface 
was  covered  with  a  large  marble  flag,  raised  on  low  {)illars,  resem- 
bling the  table  of  a  Druidical  altar:  the  margins  of  this  flag  were 
ornamented  with  sculptured  figures,  emblematic  of  the  chivalrous 
actions  of  the  deceased  ;  while  the  inscri|)tioii  recorded,  in  heroic 
verse,  his  martial  valour,  exploits,  and  moral  virtues.  The  elegance 
of  the  bas-reliefs,  and  cut  letters,  of  some  of  these  tombs  which  have 
been  discovered  in  the  royal  cemetries  of  Cong,t  in  the  county  of 
Mayo — of  Lismore4  in  the  county  of  Waterford — of  Bangor,  in  the 
county  of  Down,  of  Cruachan,  in  Roscommon,  of  Clonmacnois,  in 

*  '•  It  appears  that  tlie  first  and  most  ancient  manner  of  bur3nng  their  dead,  was 
that  of  burning-  on  the  funeral  pile.  They  also,  like  the  Hebrews,  piled  great 
heaps  of  stones  over  the  spot  where  the  urn,  containing  the  ashes  of  tiie  dead,  was 
deposited.  Several  golden  urns  have  been  found  under  these  cairns,  as  they  are 
called. ' ' — Wa  r.n  er. 

t  "  CosG  Abri-.v  was  founded  by  St.  Feclian  in  the  sixth  century,  on  the  ruins 
of  the  sepulchral  fane  that  entombed  the  dust  of  several  of  the  Pagan  kings  of 
Connaught.  Roderick  O'Connor,  the  last  monarch  of  Ireland,  was  interred  here, 
but  no  visible  monument  proclaims,  in  marble  eloquence,  the  eulogium  of  his 
virtues,  or  points  out  his  unknown  grave.  Lady  Morgan,  in  her  deservedly  popu- 
lar novel  of  O'Do.NNEL,  says,  '•  that  the  monastery  of  Cong,  on  the  borders  of  Mayo 
and  Galway,  is  a  model  of  the  finest  ecclesiastical  architecture  in  Ireland."  Dv. 
Pococke,  whose  celebrated  travels  are  known  to  every  intelligent  reader,  observed 
in  relation  to  this  village  of  monastic  ruins,  and  the  monumental  relics  of  the 
"  wrecks  of  time," — "  There  is  a  spot  in  Ireland,  that  comprises  within  its  verge, 
more  of  the  loftier  features  of  picturesque  beauty,  than  any  one  scenic  combina- 
tion I  saw  in  the  course  of  my  oriental  travels." 

+  LisMORE  furnishes  many  relics  of  former  glory  for  the  reflection  of  the  anti- 
quary, who  wishes  to  mvise  amid  mouldering  porticoes,  ruined  castles,  and  crumb- 
ling sepulchres.  Here  Caius  Marius  would  find  piles  of  national  ruins  as  worthy 
of  his  philosophic  reflections,  as  any  he  ever  saw  among  the  fallen  fanes,  and 
dilapidated  monuments  of  Carthage.  The  town,  which  is  a  flourishing  one,  is 
agreeably  situated  on  the  river  Blackwater,  in  the  county  of  Waterford,  at  the  dis- 
tance of  ins  miles  from  Dublin.  Lisniore  was  as  noted  for  its  druidical  temples, 
and  royal  tombs,  in  the  Pagan  ages,  as  it  has  been  in  the  early  ages  of  Christiani- 
ty, for  its  abbeys,  castles,  colleges,  and  royal  sepulchres.  In  the  seventh  century, 
St.  Carthagh  erected  a  noble  abbey  and  university  here.  In  the  middle  ages,  the 
fame  of  the  college  of  Lismore  attracted  students  from  Greece,  Rome,  France, 
Germany,  and  England.  The  site  of  this  town  before  the  Christian  era,  was  called 
inTrlsh,  from  the  great  number  of  its  tombs,  Maig  sgiath  or  the  chosen  shade  of 
the  dead.     In  addition  to  its  monastic  and  collegiate  ruins,  the  traveller  will  also 


160 

King's  County,  of  Ardfert,  in  Kerry,  and  of  Kilgowan,  in  Kildare, 
demonstrates  the  perfection  to  which  scidptnre  was  carried  by 
our  progenitors,  in  these  dark  days  of  harbarism,  when  the 
chisel  and  the  pencil  were  equally  unknown  to  the  naked  Britons. 
The  corpse  of  the  knight  was  laid  in  the  "  narrow  house"  with 
his  armour  on,  and  his  sword,  spear,  and  target  were  placed  by  his 
side.*  The  name  of  the  knight  or  warrior  interred,  was  inscribed 
on  tlie  tablet  in  the  hieroglyphic  characters  used  by  the  druids, 
called  the  Ogham  epitaph.  Many  of  these  sepulchral  tablets,  bear- 
ing the  Druidical  inscription,  have  been  dug  up,  some  years  ago,  in 
the  county  of  Sligo. 

Lady  Morgan,  our  illustrious  countrywoman,  when  on  a  visit  at 
the  house  of  that  truly  patriotic  gentleman,  Mr.  OTIara,  of  Nymph- 
field,  in  the  county  of  81igo,  saw,  in  1809,  and  admired  an  urn  which 
was  dug  up  in  the  glen  of  Knockna-righ,  or  the  King's  Ilill,  a  part 
of  his  domain,  wliere  there  is  an  immense  pile  of  huge  stones,  called 
the  Giant's  Grave,  raised  in  a  curious  manner  on  the  tops  of  others, 
which  stand  perpendicularly,  like  the  pillars  of  Stonehenge,  in  Eng- 
land, and  serves  as  the  sepulchral  monument  of  Milesian  warriors. 
"The  urn,"  says  her  ladyship, ""  is  composed  of  the   finest  clay, 

perceive  the  remains  of  its  seven  churches.  In  the  tenthcentury,  the  royal  author 
of  the  Psalter  of  Cashel.  King  Cormac  Mac  Ciiillenan,  caus(>d  a  superb  mauso- 
leum, finished  in  all  the  elegance  of  architectural  and  sculptural  taste,  to  be  erected 
here  for  the  receptacle  of  his  remains,  after  his  dissolution  ;  but  of  this  monument 
there  is  not  now  even  a  vestige  to  be  seen.  Lismore,  prior  to  the  invasion  of  the 
English,  was  part  of  the  principality  of  the  OPhealans,  princes  of  the  Deisies. 
The  castle  of  Lismore  was  built  by  King  John,  A.  D.  118.5.  It  is  boldly  situated 
on  the  verge  of  a  rocky  hill,  raising  its  gray  turrets  perpendicularly,  to  aconsider- 
able  elevation  above  the  river  Blackwater.  The  avenue  approaching  its  arched 
portal,  is  studded  on  either  side  by  rows  of  majestic  oaks,  which  were,  it  is 
said,  planted  by  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  who  purchased  the  manor  of  Lismore  from 
Myler  Magrath,  then  archbishop  of  Cashel,  as  well  as  prelate  of  this  see.  In  1189, 
the  Irish,  under  M'Carthy  More,  king  of  Desmond,  demolished  this  castle,  and 
made  captives  of  its  English  garrison.  It  was  rebuilt  in  the  reign  of  Henry  VII. 
In  a  future  chapter  of  this  history  we  shall  narrate  the  different  sieges  it  sustained 
from  the  reign  of  Henry,  to  that  of  James  II.  This  castle  is  famous  for  being  the 
birth  place  of  the  renowned  philosopher,  Robert  Boyle;  whose  father,  the  Earl  of 
Cork,  purchased  it  from  the  heirs  of  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  A.  D.  1G21.  Lismore 
Castle  now  belongs  to  that  liberal  and  enlightened  nobleman,  the  Duke  of  Devon- 
shire, whose  father  had  it  elegantly  repaired  and  ornamented.  Over  the  gateway 
leading  to  the  entrance  of  the  castle,  are  the  arms  of  the  Earl  of  Cork,  in  basso 
relievo;  and  opposite  to  this  entrance  is  a  fine  Doric  portico  of  marble,  which  was 
designed  by  Sir  Inigo  Jones  for  the  Earl  of  Cork,  in  1(544.  Tli'»  noble  bridge 
which  the  late  Duke  of  Devonshire,  at  his  own  expense,  built  over  liie  Blackwater, 
is  an  imposing  structure  ;  the  span  of  the  principal  arch  reaching  the  e.xtremity  of 
112  feet.  The  see  of  Lismore  was  united  to  that  of  Waterford  in  1303,  seven 
hundred  and  thirty  years  after  its  foundation.  The  Duke  of  Devonshire  is  a  muni- 
ficent patron  to  this  town,  under  whose  encouraging  auspices  it  has  grown  into 
consequence  and  respectability. 

*  "  Under  a  cairn  at  Lismore,  some  workmen  dug  up  in  1791,  a  brazen  sword, 
quite  free  from  rust,  formed  exactly  like  that  which  the  venerable  Vallancey  des- 
cribes as  resembling  the  Carthaginian  swords." — Hist,  of  Wdterford. 

"  Part  of  a  golden  tiara  was  found  about  sixteen  years  ago,  in  the  drained  bed  of 
Loughadian,  near  Pointzpass,  in  the  county  of  Armagh,  and  is  yet  in  the  possession 
of  William  Fivey,  Esq." — vide  Sturat's  Jirmagh. 

"  A  brass  hatchet,  which  the  ancient  Irish  called  Tuach-snouglit,  and  a  small 
spear,  or  pike,  the  well  known  Laincach  of  the  Milesian  soldiers,  were  found  in 
the  old  abbey  of  Innis  Murray,  in  the  county  of  Sligo." — Ludij  Morgan. 


161 

highly  polished,  elegantly  formed,  and  exquisitely  carved :  it  was 
nearly  tilled  with  ashes,  and  a  kind  of  bituminous  stutf,  over  which 
was  placed  a  beautiful  lozenge,  of  thin  variegated  marble,  once, 
])erhaps,  marked  with  an  inscription,  now  entirely  defaced.  The 
urn,  most  probably,  contained  the  ashes  of  some  Milesian  prince,  or 
sacred  Druid,  to  whom,  in  days  of  Paganism,  this  privilege  alone 
was  accorded  ;  for  when  the  body  of  the  warrior  was  consigned  to 
the  earth,  his  entire  arms  and  coat  of  mail  were  buried  with  him  : 
thus  the  ancient  Irish,  like  the  ancient  Etruscans,  used  both  modes 
of  inhumation  at  the  same  time." 

After  tlie  hero,  Cuchullin,  was  mortally  wounded,  at  the  famous 
l)attle  of  Midrthimmc,  (now  Mullacrew,  in  the  county  of  Louth,) 
fought  a  century  before  tlie  incarnation,  he  commanded  his  charioteer 
to  drive  quickly  to  Dundnlgnn,  (Dundalk  :)  "  there,"  said  the  dying 
cliam|Mon,  "let  me  die;  and  let  the  carraig,  cairn,  and  the  two 
tall  stones,*  cover  the  j)lace  of  my  rest,  and  proclaim  to  the  brave 
of  other  days,  that  he  who  sleeps  below  was  valiant  among  the 
champions  of  Erin.  Lay  my  shield  on  my  breast,  my  two  spears 
by  my  left  side,  and  my  sword  and  bow  by  my  right :  as  to  my  fame, 
the  bards  of  my  country  will  consecrate  it  in  song,  and  my  deeds  shall 
be  rolled  down  to  posterity  on  the  tide  oi  Banbha's  heroic  story. "t 

There  is  scarcely  a  parish  in  Ireland  without  its  gianVs  grave,  its 
cairn,  its  cromlech,  and  sepulchral  tumuli.  The  Pagan  Irish  sup- 
posed that  the  spirits  of  their  departed  heroes,  and  Druidical  sages, 
resided  in  these  tombs ;  so  that  they  were  uniformly  regarded  with 
reverential  respect  by  the  living.  On  the  introduction  of  Christianity, 
the  missionaries  observing  the  superstitious  attachment  of  the  people, 
to  these  monuments,  preached  the  sublime  truths  of  the  gospel  in  the 
fanes  of  the  Druids,  and  raised  their  churches  over  the  graves  of 
royal  heroes,  gallant  knights,  and  celebrated  Druids,  which  had  the 
eftect  of  propitiating  the  prejudices  of  the  people,  and  enlisting  their 
passions  under  the  banner  of  the  cross.  The  first  Christian  edifices, 
erected  in  Ireland,  were  generally  denominated,  in  consequence,  Cil, 
or  Coil,  in  the  old  Irish,  from  the  Scythian  Kille,  or,  rest  of  the  dead. 
Hence  every  place  of  cemetery,  where  the  gospel  was  first  preached 
in  Ireland,  received  the  name  of  Kille,  and  consequently  explains 
the  reason  why  the  denomination  of  so  many  towns  in  the  kingdom 
begins  with  this  appellation,  as  Kilkenny,  Killarney,  Killaloe,  Kii- 
rush,  and  Kilgowan.  The  large  pillar  stone  of  Kilgowan,  which  is 
standing  on  an  elevated  hill,  near  Kilcullin,  in  the  county  of  Kildare, 
is  a  singular  sepulchral  monument.  At  a  distance  it  looks  like  the 
statue  of  Fingal,  in  the  attitude  of  planning  an  attack,  with  his  Irish 
militia,  on  the  Roman  legions.  It  is  ten  feet  above  the  ground,  and 
four  feet  thick,  sloping  rather  to  a  recumbent  position  ;  and  on  its 
south  side  is  rudely  engraven  a  cross,  in  creux. 

*  It  was  from  the  ^'two  tall  viuimmcntal  stones,"  that  were  always  raised  over 
tlie  tombs  of  our  ancient  chieftains,  that  Macpherson  derived  the  idea  of  decorat- 
ing the  graves  of  his  .'lllianuins  with  "  two  grey  stones,"  which  he  stole  out  of  the 
quarries  of  the  Irish  bards. 

t  B.VNBiiv  was  a  name  given  to  Ireland, in  lionour  of  one  of  the  Belgian  queens. 
Cuchullin's  dyin-r  words  we  have  translated  from  M'Cleary's  Annals  of  Donegal 

21 


1G2 

The  funeral  processions  of  the  old  Irish  were  conducted  with  great 
pomp,  order,  and  solemnity.  The  hody  was  home  on  a  grand 
funeral  car,  richly  ornamented  with  plumes,  blazoned  palls,  and  bril- 
liant escutcheons,  as  well  as  armorial  banners  of  heraldic  splendour 
storied  with  the  fame  and  actions  of  the  deceased.  This  car  was 
preceded  by  the  Druids,  robed  in  their  sacerdotal  vestments,  and 
singing  hymns ;  and  followed  by  the  relatives  of  botli  sexes,  arrayed 
in  deep  mourning  ;  after  them  came  the  bards,  headed  by  the  Ard- 
Jile-laibrcil,  or  high  laureate.  When  the  procession  reached  the 
tomb,  the  coffin  was  lowered  into  the  vault,  and  as  soon  as  the  Druids 
performed  all  the  religious  ceremonies  prescribed  by  their  ritual,  the 
chief  genealogical  antiquarian,  in  a  narrative  poem,  recited  aloud 
the  pedigree  of  the  family  up  to  IMilesias  :  then  the  laureate,  in  a 
species  of  elegiac  poetry,  called  cloiiitc,  or  the  lamentation,  pronounc- 
ed a  glowing  and  enthusiastic  encomium  on  the  chivalry,  magna- 
nimity, hospitality,  and  martial  exploits  of  his  dead  patron  ;  this  was 
succeeded  by  a  plaintive  chorus,  breathed  from  the  mournful  melody 
of  a  hundred  harps,  attuned  to  the  funeral  song,  which  was  succeed- 
ed by  a  wailing  howl,  whose  tide  of  melancholy  music  was  swollen 
to  an  ebb  of  the  most  touciiing  and  atHicting  patiios.  The  casting 
of  a  stone,  by  every  person  in  the  assembled  concourse,  on  the  grave, 
finished  the  last  sad  honours  of  the  obsequies  ;  this  pious  act  con- 
cluded the  soletnnity — pronounced  the  apotheosis,  and  raised  the 
monument, 

"  Among  all  the  arts,"  says  the  learned  Charles  O'Connor,  "  which 
wind  up  the  human  passions,  the  legislators  of  this  island  found  none 
more  effectual  than  the  united  powers  of  verse  and  song.  The 
mournful  elegies  sang  at  funerals  by  the  bards,  made  such  an  im- 
pression on  the  hearers,  as  produced  the  effects  intended ;  a  rever- 
ence and  imitation  of  virtue,  or  of  what,  in  those  ages  of  heathenism, 
was  deemed  virtue.  This  inveterate  custom  entered  so  deeply.into 
the  manners  of  the  nation,  as  to  outlive,  in  some  degree,  all  revo- 
lutions." 

The  practice  of  employing  weeping  rhymesters,  at  the  funerals  of 
the  middle  classes  of  the  Irish,  in  some  counties,  is  still  prevalent. 
These  sorrowing  women,  like  the  mourning  Hebrew  females  men- 
tioned by  Jeremiah,  follow  the  hearse,  and  in  a  kind  of  extempora- 
neous melancholy  cry,  in  which  they  are  accompanied  by  the 
plaintive  chorus  of  several  other  women,  who  have  sweet  Irish 
voices,  extol  the  goodness  and  nobleness,  and  lament  the  dissolution 
of  the  deceased,  in  affecting  strains  of  pathetic  wailing.* 

*  "  The  female  chorus  is  continued  to  this  day,  at  the  funerals  of  farmers  of  the 
Milesian  stock:  the  custom  also  exists  in  the  Highlands  of  Scotland,  but  so 
remotely  from  the  original  institutions,  so  debased  by  extemporaneous  composi- 
tion, and  so  disagreeable  from  unequal  tone,  that  no  passion  is  excited." — Dissert, 
on  Irish  Historij. 

"  A  faint  trait  of  Druidical  superstition  still  lingers  among  the  Irish  peasantry. 
If  a  murder  is  committed  in  the  open  air.  it  is  considered  indispensable,  in  every 
pious  person,  who  passes  by,  to  throw  a  stone  on  the  spot  where  the  victim  died, 
which,  from  a  strict  adhesion  to  this  custom,  presents  a  considerable  pyramid  of 
stones.  These  monuments  are  beautilully  and  expressively  called  in  Irish,  Cloct- 
breegh,  or  the  stony  heap  of  sorrow." — Stranger  in  Ireland. 


103 

Not  only  the  arms,  hut  also  the  rings  and  amulets  of  the  ancient 
Irish  warriors  were  immured  in  the  grave;  for  scarcely  a  year 
elapses  that  one  of  these  talismanic  amulets  are  not  found.  The  Irish, 
no  doubt,  derived  their  superstitious  belief  in  the  power  and  efficacy 
of  charms,  from  their  eastern  ancestors  ;  as  we  learn  from  history, 
that  the  Egyptians,  Jews,  Arabians,  and  Persians,  were  much  given 
to  this  species  of  supernatural  protection.  All  tlie  Roman  ladies 
wore  amulets  of  various  figures,  forms,  and  materials,  according  to 
the  rank  and  state  which  they  occupied  in  society. 

"  The  Irish  cliieftains,"  says  Lady  Morgan,  in  that  truly  elegant 
and  national  woik,  '■'■  Pati-iotic  Sketches,^''  "disposed  by  the  ardour 
of  their  imagination  to  every  illusion  of  Druidical  superstition,  held 
the  influoitial  potency  of  charms  in  religious  estimation.  The 
warrior,  or  knight,  never  entered  the  field  of  battle  without  his  ring 
or  amulet ;  and  on  the  fair  bosoms  of  the  noblest  dames,  sparkled 
the  consecrated  talisman."  A  large  amulet  of  gold,  elegantly 
chased,  and  beaded  with  pearls,  was  found  by  the  labourers  of  Mr. 
Faulkner,  in  1803,  while  digging  a  trench  in  his  domain,  at  Castle- 
town, in  the  county  of  Carlow.  Each  side  of  this  antique  exhibited 
a  legendary  motto,  finely  engraved,  in  Gothic  letters  of  the  tenth 
century. 

In  a  dissertation  on  the  ancient  architecture  of  the  Irish  we  will 
give  a  description  of  the  cromlech,  and  other  sepulchral  monuments. 

The  victor  Connaire,  surnamed  by  our  annalists  the  Great,  mount- 
ed the  throne.  The  military  fame  which  he  won  by  his  valour  in 
many  exploits,  attracted  general  popularity  and  admiration.  The 
only  memorable  circumstance  of  his  reign,  however,  on  record,  is 
one  ;  and  to  it  he  is  pro!)ably  indebted  for  the  appellation  of  the 
Great,  he  caused  a  law  to  be  enacted  which  invested  the  Irish  bards 
with  their  primeval  prerogatives.  No  sooner  had  this  ordinance  been 
promulgated,  than  the  concert  of  a  thousand  harps  swelled  the  tide 
of  bardic  adulation  to  a  boundless  ocean  of  eulogium  ;  while  the  pens 
of  poets,  and  the  tongues  of  orators,  delighted  to  praise  and  extol 
a  prince  who  delivered  the  "  sons  of  song"  from  the  penal  restraints 
which  his  predecessors  had,  as  they  conceived,  unwarrantably  im- 
posed upon  them.  In  the  book  of  reigns,  he  is  distinguished  by  the 
epithet  of  Connaire  "  na  ygiath,''''  or  of  the  Golden  Shield,  as,  before 
his  accession  to  the  throne,  he  always  bore  a  shield  of  this  precious 
metal  in  battle. 

In  the  first  year  of  his  reign,  he  invaded  Munster,  which  he 
cruelly  devastated  with  fire  and  sword,  in  revenge  for  the  death  of 
his  father  by  Nuadh  NeacJit,  a  prince  of  that  province,  (as  related  in 
our  last  chapter.)  After  he  had  thus  reduced  the  people  of  Munster 
to  sidijection,  he  imposed  heavy  contributions  upon  them,  and  com- 
pelled their  princes  to  bind  themselves  by  a  special  covenant  to  pay 
him  and  his  successors  the  following  annual  tribute,  viz.  three  hun- 
dred golden-hafted  swords,  three  hundred  cows,  three  hundred  purple 
cloaks,  three  hundred    war  horses,  three  hundred   wolf-dogs,*  and 

*  The  breed  of  the  famous  Irish  wolf-dog  is  now  nearly  extinct  in  Ireland.  A 
few  years  ago, the  late  Hamilton  Rowan,  Esq.  possessed  two  beautiful  dogsof  the 
fleet  race  of  Ossian's  Bran.     These  Mr.  Rowan  himself  assured  ua,  nine  years  ago. 


164 

three  hundred  vessels  of  ale.  He  then,  elated  with  success  and 
amhition,  turned  his  arms  against  Ulster,  which  he  soon  suhjected 
to  his  despotic  dominion  ;  but  during  his  absence  in  that  province, 
the  chieftains  of  Munstcr,  made  an  incursion  into  Meatli,  and  burned 
his  palace  at  Kells.  Provoked  by  this  daring  act  of  retaliation,  the 
monarch  again  inflicted  a  severe  chastisement  on  the  people  of 
Munstcr.  The  bards,  no  doubt  for  the  reason  already  mentioned, 
extol  Connaire  for  his  clemency,  justice,  and  valour,  and  represent 
the  nation  basking  during  his  reign  in  the  sunshine  of  prosperity. 

Some  of  our  historians  relate  that  he  invaded  Britain,  from  whence 
as  they  assert,  he  carried  home  such  trophies  and  spoils,  that  the 
annalists  bestowed  on  him  the  distinctive  nomenclature  of  "  Chunaiix 
na  creich  is  na  Lann"  or  Connaire  of  the  tributes  and  swords.  Dr. 
O'Halloran,  in  noticing  this  allegation,  says,  "It  is  highly  probable, 
that  a  warlike  and  ambitious  prince  like  Connaire  could  not  behold 
with  indifference  the  progress  of  the  Roman  arn)s  in  Britain  ;  and 
with  the  means  he  possessed,  that  he  could  have  remained  an  idle 
spectator  of  the  conquests  of  an  enemy  of  whom  he  was  always  \evy 
jealous." 

Connaire  enjoyed  a  pi-osperous  reign  of  forty  years  ;  but  at  the 
expiration  of  that  period,  an  army  of  malecontents,  whom  the 
monarch  had  previously  exiled  to  AVales,  invaded  the  kingdom,  under 
the  command  of  Haingteil,  who  had  married,  during  his  exile,  a 
British  princess,  and  succeeded  in  defeating  this  supreme  prince, 
and  depriving  him  of  life,  in  the  year  of  Christianity,  10.*     O'Fla- 

when  we  had  the  pleasure  of  an  interview  with  liim,  were  the  last  remains  of  the 
Milesian  wolf-dogs,  of  whose  strength  and  sagacity  we  will  have  to  relate  so  much 
in  our  future  history. 

Cambrensis,  in  his  topography  of  Ireland,  says,  "  They  have  a  species  of  dogs 
here  remarkable  for  great  strength,  fine  shape,  and  large  size."  We  are  told  by 
Harris  and  Vallancey,  that  James  I.  A.  D.  161.5,  so  highly  prized  the  Irish  wolf- 
dogs,  that  he  esteemed  tliem  a  present  worthy  of  the  acceptance  of  monarchs,  and 
that  he  sent  a  pair  of  them,  by  his  ambassador,  Sir  Thomas  Rowe,  to  the  Great 
Mogul.  "  There  is,"  says  an  ancient  writer,  "  extant  in  the  rolls  office  of  Ireland, 
a  privy  seal  from  king  Henry  VIII.  obtained  at  the  suit  of  the  Duke  of  Alberk^'rke, 
of  Spain,  (who  was  of  the  privy  council  of  that  monarch.)  for  the  delivery  of  four 
Irish  wolf-dogs  to  the  Spanish  Marquis  Dessaraya,  which  shows  the  high  value 
put  by  foreigners  on  such  presents." 

"  We  believe  that  there  is  not  now  a  wolf-dog  of  the  genuine  breed  in  Ireland. 
Lord  Sligo  had  two  wolf-dogs,  in  1783,  at  his  seat  at  West  Fort,  the  last  of  their 
race." — F/V/c  Stuart's  .'innagh. 

In  the  notes  appended  to  Lady  Morgan's  popular  novel  "  O'Donnel,"  the  in- 
quisitive reader  will  find  further  particulars  of  the  descendants  of  "  breeze-footed 
Bran." 

We  find  in  an  old  Irish  manuscript  in  our  possession  a  spirited  description  of 
Fingal's  famous  wolf-dog,  of  which  the  following  is  a  literal  translation  : — "  Swifter 
than  the  wintry  tempest  that  rolls  the  waves  of  the  Shannon  over  the  adjacent 
meadows,  was  I3ran  in  the  chacc  of  the  wolf  and  the  mouse-deer.  He  ascended 
the  loftiest  mountain  like  a  hawk  in  pursuit  of  prey.  He  was  the  first  in  the  chace, 
as  his  master,  Finn,  was  in  the  strife  of  spears."  This  famous  animal,  which  was 
so  highly  valued  by  Erin's  stormy  hero  of  battles,  had  yellow  legs,  black  sides, 
white  belly,  speckled  back  and  loins,  and  small  ears  of  crimson  red. 

*  "  I  find  myself  obliged  to  depart  in  this  instance  from  O'Flaherty's  chronology 
which  I  have  adopted  hitherto  all  along,  as  being  the  most  accurate.  The  chrono- 
logy of  Archbishop  Usher,  which  places  the  death  of  Connaire  in  the  tenth  year  of 
the  Christian  era,  is  that  which  is  laid  down  by  learned  writers  as  correct." — 
Warner. 


165 

herty,  on  the  authority  of  the  hook  of  reigns,  conjectures  that  tliig 
king's  reign  lasted  seventy  years  ;  hut  wc  think,  with  Keating,  and 
Lucius  O'Kennedy,  in  his  history  of  the  house  of  Stuart,  that  lie  fell 
within  the  period  we  have  stated.  Tiic  concjueror  Ilaingtcil,  how- 
ever, did  not  like  other  victors,  reap  the  harvest  of  trium[)h  ;  for  the 
national  estates  refused  their  sanction  of  his  pretensions  to  the  throne. 
Indeed,  the  popularity  in  which  Connaire  was  held  hy  the  whole 
nation,  raised  a  harrier  of  insurmountahle  prejudice  against  the 
invader. 

An  interregnum  of  five  years,  an  instance  without  precedent  in 
our  annals,  was  the  consequence.  At  length,  however,  the  estates, 
in  the  convention  of  Tara,  elected  Lughaidh  Iliabhdearg  monarch 
of  Ireland.  This  prince  was  the  son  oi  Fincarnhnas,  of  the  house  of 
Heremon.  Shortly  after  his  elevation  to  the  throne,  he  married 
Dearhorgidll,  the  fair  daughter  of  the  king  of  Denmark.  "  He 
received,"  writes  Keating,  "  the  title  of  Lughaidh  Iliabhdearg,  on 
account  of  two  red  circles,  one  of  which  encompassed  his  neck,  the 
other  surrounded  his  hody."  This  monarch  was  so  passionately 
fond  of  his  wife,  that  on  her  death  his  affliction  became  so  insupport- 
able, that  he  put  an  end  to  his  existence  by  the  commission  of  suicide. 
In  a  lake  iu  Connaught,  called  Lugh  Ilibh,  there  is  an  island,  which 
was  denominated /hh/s  Clothra,  in  honour  of  the  mother  of  Lughaidh, 
whose  name  was  Clothra. 

After  the  occurrence  of  this  event,  which  was  unexampled  in  Irish 
history,  the  national  estates  assembled  at  Tara,  and  elected  Connor 
Abra  ritadh,  (so  called  from  his  red  eye-brows,)  supreme  monarch. 
He  was  the  son  n(  Feargus  Fairghc,  king  of  Leinster,  or  Feargus  of 
the  Sea,  an  appellation  given  him  on  account  of  his  great  navy. 
Connor  was  tlie  grandson  of  the  monarch  Nuadh,  of  the  house  of 
Heremon.  His  regal  power  was  not  afforded  time  to  develope  either 
virtues  or  vices,  for  he  was  vanquished  and  'slain  in  battle,  in  the 
first  year  of  his  reign,  by  his  successor  Criomthan. 

The  victorious  Criomthan  was  the  son  of  the  monarch  Lughaidh. 
He  is  represented  by  our  annalists  to  have  been  a  prince  of  rare  en- 
dowments, and  of  such  invincible  courage  in  martial  exploits,  as  to 
obtain  from  his  countrymen  the  honourable  adjunctive  name  of 
Adaoine,  which  signifies,  in  Irish,  the  hero.  Keating  and  OTIal- 
loran  concur  in  asserting  that  this  monarch  carried  the  terror  of  his 
arms  from  Britain  to  Gaul,  and  that  he  van(juished  the  Roman  legions 
in  several  pitched  battles.  His  romantic  courage,  according  to  these 
authorities,  was  seconded  by  a  great  military  genius.  The  matured 
experience  he  had  accjuired  in  war,  enabled  him  to  introduce  a  new 
discipline  among  his  troops,  which  rendered  them  the  most  formid- 
able body  that  combated  with  the  Romans  at  that  period.  Shortly 
after  the  victorious  monarch  had  returned  from  his  foreign  conquest 
to  Tara,  he  was  thrown  from  his  liorse,  while  hunting  in  Meath,  and 
killed  in  the  vicinity  of  the  palace,  in  the  sixteenth  year  of  his  reign. 


CHAPTER  XXir. 

The  rise  of  the  AUachotic  war. —  Tlic  usurpation  of  Cairhrc. — Morans  disinterested 
conduct,  and  the  accession  of  Fcaruidach  to  the  throne. — An  accuuiit  of  Morans 
famous  collar. 

The  attentive  readers  of  this  history  are  aware,  that  during  the 
period  intervening  tiie  landing  of  the  Milesians,  and  the  death  of 
Criomthan,  which  comprises  a  term  of  thirteen  hundred  and  five 
years,  Ireland  was  successively  governed  by  a  race  of  kings  lineally 
descended  from  the  hero  of  Spain.  But  an  unexpected  revolution  at 
this  epoch  subverted,  for  a  time,  the  legitimate  succession.  The 
descendants  of  the  Belgians,  still  cherishing  the  hope  of  recovering 
the  regal  authority  from  the  posterity  of  the  conquerors  of  their  pro- 
genitors, fomented  a  conspiracy,  which  resulted  in  elevating  Cairbre, 
a  Belgian  chieftain,  to  the  Irisii  throne. 

Cairbre  possessed,  we  are  told,  shining  abilities  both  as  a  warrior 
and  a  statesman,  and  by  their  efficient  exertion  he  succeeded  in  win- 
ning over  to  his  interest  the  discontented  Damnonii,  and  in  enlisting 
under  his  standard  bands  of  Britons  and  Gauls.  His  plans  were 
managed  with  consummate  address  and  profound  secrecy  ;  and  the 
period  he  selected  for  making  a  bold  cftbrt  for  the  sovereignty  was 
one  that  fairly  promised  success.  Shortly  after  the  funeral  of  the 
late  lamented  monarch,  Criomthan,  had  been  suitably  solemnized, 
the  national  estates,  and  the  princes  and  nobles  of  the  kingdom  assem- 
bled at  Tara,  for  the  purpose  of  electing  a  successor  to  the  crown. 
The  festal  entertainments  that  usually  took  place  on  such  occasions 
were  observed  now  with  as  much  pomp  and  parade  as  ever.  For 
three  days  the  rich  banquet  and  the  racy  goblet  ministered  to  the 
gratification  of  the  assembled  nobles  and  representatives.  Convivial 
hilarity  banislied  care  and  lulled  suspicion,  and  in  moments  conse- 
crated to  mirth  and  revelry  the  existence  of  the  conspiracy  was  not 
even  dreamed  of  by  the  pretended  omniscient  druidical  prophets. 
Cairbre,  aware  of  the  state  of  things  in  Tara,  and  that  festive  plea- 
sures engrossed  the  whole  attention  of  its  inmates,  conducted  his 
troops  by  private  pathways  to  an  ambuscade  in  the  forest  adjoining 
the  palace,  where  he  w^atched  a  favorable  opportunity  to  achieve  his 
daring  project.  At  a  late  hour  of  the  night,  when  the  Milesians 
were  disordered  and  stultified  with  wine,  Cairbre  and  his  adherents 
rushed  into  the  palace,  and  slaughtered  all  the  assembled  guests,  in 
cold  blood,  without  either  mercy  or  distinction.  The  sanguinary 
Cairbre  was  then  proclaimed  king  by  his  soldiery,  who  compelled 
the  terrified  arch-druid  to  inaugurate  him  with  the  accustomed 
solemnities,  on  the  stone  of  destiny.  From  that  throne,  which  he 
reared  as  it  were  in  the  midst  of  a  charnel-house,  he  made  strong 
professions  of  patriotism,  and  of  his  intention  to  govern  the  Irish 
nation  in  the  spirit  of  justice  and  constitutional  law. 

For  five  years,  the  period  of  his  reign,  more  no  doubt  from  fear 
than  inclination,  he  acted  towards  the  nation  with  singular  mildness 
and  lenity.     When  he  ascended  a  throne  by  a  ladder  of  murder  and 


167 

usurpation,  like  another  Augustus  Caesar,  lie  was  abhorred  by  all 
classes  of  the  people ;  but  after  he  had  attained  the  summit  of  his 
ambition,  he  divested  himself  of  the  feelings  of  the  tyrant,  and  sur- 
rendered his  heart  and  aflections  to  the  generous  virtues  of  the 
patriotic  and  paternal  king.  His  death  was,  therefore,  universally 
deplored,  as  a  national  calamity.  His  obsequies  were  celebrated 
with  unexampled  pomp  and  pageantry. 

The  popularity  of  tlie  father  was  too  high  in  the  estimation  of  the 
people,  to  encourage  any  rival  to  dispute  the  legitimacy  of  the  son's 
claim  to  the  Irish  throne,  though  it  had  been  seized  by  untitled 
usurpation.  Mouan,  the  heir  api)arent,  was  consequently  proclaim- 
ed monarch  of  Ireland,  with  the  accustomed  formalities.  But  as 
soon  as  a  deputation  of  the  national  representatives  waited  upon 
prince  Moran,  to  otfer  him  the  homage  due  to  a  sovereign,  and  felic- 
itate him  on  his  accession  to  the  throne,  they  were  amazed,  when, 
on  announcing  the  object  of  their  visit  to  this  prince,  that  he  spurned 
their  offer  of  allegiance  with  a  magnanimous  spirit  of  self-denial,  and 
nobleness  of  Iieroism,  for  which  the  history  of  Ireland  could  furnish 
no  parallel.  While  tiiey  were  mute  with  astonishment  at  this  signal 
display  of  virtue,  he  emphatically  addressed  them,  as  follows: — 
"  Gentlemen,"  said  he,  "  I  never  shall  wear  that  crown  to  which  I 
have  no  just  right,  except  what  I  miglit  assert  from  the  violence  and 
aggression  that  placed  it  on  my  father's  brow.  Do  you  conceive 
Moran  so  ignoble,  as  to  accept  the  power  which  is  based  on  such 
futile,  nay,  dishonourable  claims?  No,  gentlemen,  you  wrong  me, 
when  you  suppose  that  injustice  should  be  the  foundation  of  the 
structure  of  my  personal  aggrandizement.  If  my  own  honest  merits 
cannot  light  a  radiant  torch  of  fame  to  point  me  out  to  the  applause 
of  posterity,  let  my  deeds  rest  in  the  darkness  of  guiltless  oblivion, 
rather  than  that  inglorious  ones  should  glare  in  the  lurid  rays  shed 
from  the  sepulchral  lamps  which  dindy  burn  in  my  father's  tomb. 
That  hunian  exaltation  which  soars  on  the  pinions  of  unfounded 
pretension,  can  never  reach  the  lofty  pinnacles  of  immortality's  im- 
perishable temple."  He  then  eloquently  conjured  them  to  restore 
the  illustrious  line  of  Milesius  to  that  regal  poAver  which  they  had 
wielded  for  so  many  centuries  with  such  brilliant  glory.  The  repre- 
sentatives, equally  impressed  with  the  heroism  of  his  sacrifice,  and 
the  persuasive  power  of  his  eloquence,  ])romised  him  that  they  would 
yield  to  his  request,  and  recall  prince  Fearaidacii,  the  son  of  the 
monarch  Criomthan,  who  had  escaped  the  massacre  of  Cairbre,  to 
the  throne  of  his  ancestors.* 

*  '■  There  is  not  in  all  history,  as  I  remember,  another  instance  of  a  revolution  like 
this  :  brought  about  by  the  self-denial  and  stren2;th  of  mind  of  a  single  man,  called  to 
the  exercise  of  royal  power  through  the  wickedness  and  perfidy  of  his  own  father, 
divesting  himself  of  it,  and  disarming  a  giddy  multitude,  in  order  to  establish  the 
public  tranquillity,  and  set  the  lawful  heir  upon  the  throne." — Warner. 

We  certainly  believe  that  ancient  history  affords  no  precedent  for  such  a  noble 
and  heroic  sacrifice  as  Moran's,  if  we  except  the  solitary  instance  which  Plutarch 
adduces  in  the  life  of  the  famous  Spartan  law-giver  l^ycurgus.  The  Spartan 
prince,  though  called,  by  general  consent,  to  the  tin-one,  on  the  death  of  his 
brother  Polydectes,  was  no  sooner  apprised  that  his  sister-in-law  was  pregnant, 
than  he  abdicated  the  resral  swnjs  and  assumed  the  regency  of  the  state,  which  he 
resigned  when  his  nephew  Charilaus  arrived  at  the  age  of  maturity. — P. 

"  Moran,  at  tiiis  heatiien  period,  exhibited  a  rare  instance  of  virtuous  forbearance. 


1C8 

When  the  Milesian  prince,  in  consequence  of  this  procedure, 
returned  to  Tara,  he  paid  his  first  visit  to  Moran,  wliom  he  warmly 
assured  of  the  eternal  -gratitude  with  which  his  exalted  disinterestedness 
had  inspired  his  heart.  The  monarch,  on  the  day  of  his  coronation, 
in  the  great  hall  of  the  national  convention,  invested  Moran  with  the 
two-fold  offices  of  arch-druid,  and  chief  justice  of  the  realm  ;  high 
posts,  next  in  dignity,  power,  and  honour,  to  the  sovereignty  itself. 
At  the  recommendation  of  the  pontiff,  a  general  act  of  amnesty  and 
oblivion  was  passed,  in  order  to  exempt  the  followers  of  his  father 
from  all  personal  or  amercive  inflictions  for  past  oflences. 

The  king,  by  acting  under  the  sage  wisdom  and  equitable  justice 
of  Moran,  in  his  government,  became  truly  popular  with  his  people, 
whose  affections  he  thus  secured.  The  abilities  and  ]irudence  of  the 
minister  gave  added  lustre  to  the  administration  of  the  monarch,  on 
M'hom  the  national  voice,  with  one  accord,  bestowed  the  title  of  the 
"  Most  Just."  To  meliorate  the  condition  of  the  people,  reform 
obnoxious  laws  of  the  state,  and  give  a  spirit  and  impulse  to  national 
industry,  became  equally  the  favourite  object  of  the  king  and  his 
prime  minister.  From  such  a  beneficial  pursuit  all  the  blessings 
that  can  contribute  to  the  happiness  of  a  country,  flowed  abun- 
dantly, in  an  inexhaustible  stream.  Moran's  decisions  in  the  courts 
of  law,  were  so  remarkable  for  their  impartiality  and  fairness, 
that  it  became  proverbial  to  say  of  an  equitable  award,  "  It  is  as  just 
as  if  it  tcere  settled  hy  Moran^  His  reputation  for  candour  and  in- 
tegrity was  held  in  the  highest  reverence  by  the  people  ;  and  such 
was  the  power  of  his  virtues  over  their  superstitious  credulity,  that 
they  believed  the  torque,  or  chain  of  gold  which  he  wore,  as  the 
badge  of  his  office,  had  the  extraordinary  magic  virtue  of  contract- 
ing round  the  neck  of  a  false  witness  to  such  a  degree  of  compression 
as  would  ])roduce  suffocation;  while  on  the  neck  of  the  witness  who 
declared  the  truth,  it  would  expand  and  hang  loosely.  This  fabled 
ordeal  caused  future  justices,  as  we  are  informed,  to  decide  with 
uprightness  and  equity,  and  witnesses  to  make  averments  of  truth. 
The  traditional  memory  of  this  celebrated  chain  is  still  so  well  pre- 
served in  the  reverence  of  the  peasantry,  that  we  have  ourself  fre- 
quently heard  persons,  while  earnestly  avowing  their  innocence  of 
any  accusation,  or  solemnly  asseverating  absolute  truth,  assert, 
"  We  could  swear  by  Moran's  chain  for  it."  "  The  supposed  virtue 
of  this  collar,"  writes  O'Halloran,  "  was  a  wonderful  preservative 
from  perjury,  and  prevarication;  for  no  witness  would  venture  into 
a  court  to  support  a  bad  cause,  as  he  apprehended  the  effects  of  it 
if  placed  round  his  neck.  To  swear  by  the  collar  of  Moran,  is  still 
deemed  a  most  solemn  appeal."* 

that  proves  how  much  an  honest  and  elevated  mind  is  always  under  the  influence 
of  conscientious  and  equitable  motives." — Transactions  of  the  Dublin  Gaelic 
Society. 

*  '•■  This  collar  oflen  caused  iniquitous  judges  to  decree  impartially.  For  the 
sake  of  humanity,  we  would  have  wished  that  Moran's  chain  had  encompassed, 
durinjr  his  judicial  career,  the  late  Lord  Norbury's  neck,  and  he  would  not,  in  that 
case,  have  doomed  so  many  of  his  ill-fated  countrymen  to  the  tortures  of  a  hcinpcn 
collar." — Illiisltutions  of  Irish  History,  Dublin,  IHIi). 

"  If  this  collar  was  put  about  the  neck  of  a  wicked  judge,  who  intended  an  unjust 


169 

Dr.  O'Halloran's  conjecture  that  Fcaraidach  fought  against  the 
Romans,  in  south  Britain,  as  the  ally  of  the  celebrated  king  of  Bri- 
tain, Caractaeus,  is  not  sustained  by  that  ciiain  of  contemporaneous 
historical  evidence  whicli  should  entitle  it  to  credence. 

After  a  reign  which  had  b(ien  so  prolitic  with  beneficial  results  to 
Ireland,  the  good  and  peaceable  Fcaraidach  died  at  Tara,  in  the 
twentieth  year  of  his  regal  sway,  sincerely  lamented  by  the  whole 
nation,  A.  D.  GG. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

Tlic  reign  of  Fiachadhfion  ;  the  reign  and  deatli  of  Fiacliadh.—  The  battle  of  the 
Grampian  Hills. —  The  accession  of  FAim  to  the  throne  of  Ireland  ;  his  death  and 
the  reign  of  his  successor,  Tuathal. — Reform  in  the  Irish  Constitution. — Eochaidh, 
by  artifice,  obtains  two  si<tcr-Princcsscs  in  vMrriugc. —  The  consequences  ichich 
ensued. —  Tribute  imposed  on  Lcinster. —  Tuathal' s  exploits  in  Britain. — Kcinarhs 
on  the  Boroihmc. — Death  and  character  of  Tuathal. 

After  the  death  of  the  late  Monarch,  Fcaraidach,  the  national 
representatives,  elected  Fiachadhjion  monarch,  notwithstanding  the 
high  and  more  legitimate  claims  of  Prince  Fiachadh,  the  sou  and 
heir  of  the  good  Fcaraidach.  But  intrigue  then,  no  more  than  now, 
seldom  estimated  the  candidates  by  the  standard  of  superior  virtue. 

The  successful  Prince  was  tlie  son  of  Daire,  of  the  dynasty  of 
Heremon.  When  he  attained  the  summit  of  his  ambition,  he  indulg- 
ed to  excess  in  all  those  licentious  vices  which  tend  to  corrupt  the 
heart,  warp  the  understanding,  and  enervate  the  mental  powers  of 
Princes.  As  crafty  ministers  generally  produce  much  evil  under 
such  weak  and  etieminate  kings,  the  government  of  Fiachadhjion 
soon  became  intolerably  despotic;  and  the  people  being  no  longer  able 
to  endure  its  injustice  and  hardships,  took  up  arms,  in  order  to  sub- 
vert it.  The  flame  of  disaftection  spread  itself  in  a  full  blaze  over 
the  nation,  and  the  vowed  vengeance  which  wrongs  and  persecutions 
sealed  in  every  heart  with  the  desire  of  gratification,  contributed  an 
accumulation  of  fuel  to  the  devouring  and  raging  elements  of  revolt. 
The  united  voice  of  the  insurgents  called  upon  Prince  Fiachadh  to 
place  himself  at  their  head,  and  lead  them  to  victory  and  freedom. 
This  offer  was  promptly  accepted  by  the  ambitious  chieftain,  and 
the  insurgents  rapidly  marched  towards  Tara  under  his  command. 
The  king  collected  all  the  forces  he  could  muster  at  so  critical  and 
unexpected    an    emergency,   and    marched    to  Ratocdh*   in    Mcath, 

or  partial  sentence,  it  woukl  continue  shrinking  until  it  strangled  him,  or  till  he 
changed  his  sentence  into  a  just  one,  when  it  would  instantly  dilate,  and  set  him 
at  liberty." — Warnkk. 

*  Ratoath  is  a  small  village,  situated  in  the  bosom  of  a  beautiful  country,  at 
the  distance  of  thirteen  miles  from  Dublin.  From  the  summit  of  the  Rath,  or 
mound  of  this  place,  the  view  is  extensive  and  beautiful.  The  Protestant  Church 
is  built  on  the  ruins  of  the  fine  abbey  which  was  founded  here,  A.  D.  1013,  by  the 
McNallys.  who  were  the  lords  of  the  soil  until  the  arrival  of  the  English. 

22 


170 

where  the  invaders  were  encamped.  The  contending  belligerents 
quickly  came  to  a  decisive  battle,  in  which  the  monarch,  after  a  brave 
struggle,  was  overthrown  and  slain,  in  the  third  year  of  his  reign. 
The  conqueror,  like  all  his  predecessors,  found  no  further  obstacles 
to  oppose  his  accesioii  to  the  throne.  He  entered  Tara  in  triumph, 
where  he  was  solemnly  inaugurated  by  the  Druids,  A.  D.  09.  It 
was  at  this  period,  we  are  told  by  our  annalists,  that  Agricoia  laid  a 
great  part  of  Britain  waste  by  fire  and  sword.  The  harassed  Uritons, 
groaning  under  the  weight  of  their  chains,  earnestly  implored  the 
Irish  monarch  to  become  their  protector,  and  assist  them  with  aid 
to  shake  olT  the  Roman  yoke.  Fiachnrlh,  no  doubt,  apprehensive 
that  the  warlike  legions  of  Agricoia  might  invade  his  own  kingdom, 
quickly  granted  the  required  succours.  An  expedition,  under  the 
orders  of  his  best  general,  Cormac  Gcalta-Goath,  whom  Tacitus  dis- 
tinguishes by  the  name  of  Galgnchus,  promptly  sailed  to  Britain. 
As  soon  as  the  forces  landed,  tiie  Irish  General  promulgated  a  pro- 
clamation, in  which  he  reminded  the  Britons  of  their  Irish  origin,  and 
called  upon  them  to  join  his  standard,  viith  the  alacrity  and  spirit  of 
men  who  were  actuated  with  pure  patriotism,  and  the  ardent  desire 
of  liberty.  The  arrival  of  the  auxiliaries  revived  the  hopes  of  the 
oppressed  Britons,  and  raised  their  dejected  s])irits.  The  Romans 
having  at  this  juncture,  marclied  against  tlie  Picts,  the  Irish  General, 
at  the  head  of  the  combined  army,  soon  set  out  in  pursuit  of  them. 
Agricoia,  aware  of  the  power  of  the  army  in  his  rear,  took  up  a 
strong  position  on  the  Grampiaii  Hills,  and  there  fearlessly  and  con- 
fidently, waited  the  approach  of  his  pursuing  foe. 

Notwithstanding  the  strength  of  Agricola's  inaccessible  position, 
the  Irish  General  resolved  to  attack  him,  vainly  hoping  that  the 
valour  of  the  Irish  army  would  surmount  all  difficulties  and  disad- 
vantages. Though  the  assault  was  conducted  to  the  very  centre  of 
the  Roman  army,  with  the  most  enthusiastic  and  intrepid  bravery, 
still  Roman  experience  and  discipline  proved  too  formidable  in  such 
a  vantage  ground  for  Irish  heroism.  The  combined  army  was  cut 
to  pieces,  and  Cormac,  with  his  whole  staff,  died  nobly  on  the 
fiercely  contested  field  of  glory.  As  soon  as  the  news  of  this  disas- 
ter reached  Ireland,  it  generated  alarm  in  every  mind  ;  and  the  dread 
of  a  visit  from  the  Romans  was  the  feeling  that  predominated  in 
every  iieart.  The  monarch,  far  from  sharing  in  the  general  panic, 
bore  the  misfortune  of  his  arms  with  that  fortitude  which  is  inspired 
by  hope. 

He  proceeded  to  raise  fresh  forces,  with  which,  in  person,  he 
resolved  to  make  another  struggle  with  the  Romans. 

But  while  he  was  accelerating  his  martial  preparations,  and  organ- 
izing plans  to  retrieve  the  loss  his  arms  had  sustained,  a  conspiracy, 
set  on  foot  by  Elim,  king  of  Ulster,  constrained  him  to  abandon  his 
designs  of  foreign  warfare,  in  order  to  chastise  his  domestic  enemies. 
The  defeat  of  the  Irish  army,  in  the  Pictish  campaign,  was  wholly 
attributed  by  the  factious  insurgents  to  the  king,  which  roused  the 
ebullition  of  popular  feeling,  strongly  against  him,  so  that  Elim  in  the 
course  of  his  march  to  Tara,  saw  his  fiirces  daily  augmented  by 
bands  of  the  discontented.     The  monarch  marshalled  his  household 


171 

troops,  and  with  all  the  raw  levies  he  could  collect  in  such  an  unto- 
ward emer<ieiicy,  niarclied  forth  in  all  the  pride  of  patriotic  valour 
to  oppose  the  inalecoiiteiits.  The  liostile  powers  came  to  an  en<>a<j,e- 
nient  at  Carlanstown*  in  the  county  of  Meath,  where  the  gallant 
kin<^  was  totally  defeated,  and  deprived  of  life  and  crown,  A.  D.  86. 
Tiie  next  day  after  tliis  hattle,  Elim,  the  victor,  was  solemnly  in- 
vested with  the  royal  prerogatives,  at  the  palace  of  Tara.  Elim's 
descent  was  directly  from  Ir,  the  son  of  Milesius.  No  sooner  had 
he  heen  seated  on  the  tlirone,  than  he  caused  the  national  estates  to 
enact  a  law  for  the  hanishment  of  Tunthal,  the  infant  son  and  sole 
heir  of  the  last  monarch.  When  tiie  edict  was  puhlished,  the  Prince, 
with  his  mother  and  hrethren,  fled  to  Alhania.  After  this  expulsion, 
the  new  King  thought  he  might  play  the  despotic  tyrant  with  im- 
punity. 

The  Heremonian  nohility,  against  whom  he  cherished  the  most 
vindictive  feelings  of  jealousy  and  hatred,  were  the  marked  objects 
of  his  rancorous  resentment. 

riis  unjust  aggressions  upon  the  rights  and  liberties  of  this  royal 
sept,  the  most  powerful  in  the  kingdom,  were  the  forerunners  of  his 
own  downfall.  The  arbitrary  measures  he  every  day  resorted  to, 
served  to  fan  the  flame  of  popular  disatlection  to  his  government, 
and  a  well  organized  conspiracy,  which  had  been  long  in  process  of 
fomentation,  at  last  broke  out  in  open  and  armed  defiance  against  a 
king  who  trampled  on  the  behests  of  justice,  and,  who  regardless  of 
ail  moral  injunctions,  oppressed  his  ])eople,  according  to  the  unre- 
strained dictates  of  his  own  vicious  passions. 

As  soon  as  the  insurgents  conceived  themselves  formidable  enough 
to  take  the  iield,  they  proclaimed  the  exiled  Tuathal  monarch  of 
Ireland.  When  the  Prince,  at  the  court  of  his  grand-father,  the 
Pictish  king,  learned  of  the  manifestation  of  the  public  mind  in  his 
favour,  he  invaded  Ireland  with  a  considerable  force  of  his  Irish 
adherents,  and  Scottish  allies.  Scarcely  had  he  unfurled  his  stand- 
ard on  the  shores  of  Connaught,  ere  the  whole  population  flocked  to 
his  ranks.  At  this  juncture  an  alarming  famine  prevailed  in  Ire- 
land, which  visitation  the  cunning  Druids,  with  whom  Elim  was  no 
favorite,  speciously  attributed  to  Divine  displeasure  at  the  tyrannic 
acts  of  the  reigning  monarch. 

The  ma:ch  of  Tuathal  from  the  coast  of  Mayo  to  the  borders  of 
Meath  resembled  a  triumphal  procession. 

Elim,  not  being  then  in  a  situation  to  hazard  a  hattle,  abandoned 
his  palace  at  Tara,  and  with  all  his  forces  and  followers  retreated  to 
the  territories  of  his  brother-in-law,  the  king  of  Leinster.  Tuathal 
meeting  no  resistance,  entered  Tara,  where  the  Druids,  the  Princes 
of  his  house,  as  well  as  tlie  greater  portion  of  the  nobility,  gave  him 
an  enthusiastic  welcome.  As  soon  as  the  ceremony  of  his  corona- 
tion was  over,  he  invaded  Leinster,  for  the  avowed  purpose  of  chas- 

*  CARLANSTOws.the  scene  of  this  battle,  isa  rural  village,  34  miles  from  Dublin, 
mostly  occupied  by  industrious  farmers.  There  is  a  larjro  cattle  fair  held  here  on 
the  first  of  every  May,  which  is  numerously  att.-nded.  The  country  around  it  is 
riclily  cultivated.  The  abbey  which  was  founded  here  by  Walter  de  Lacy,  A.  D. 
1186,  is  a  heap  of  mutilated  ruins,  without  a  distinctive  feature,  save  two  mural 
fragments,  of  its  pristine  architecture. 


173 

tising  EociiAiDH,  the  king  of  that  province,  for  his  tenieiity  in 
supplying  Ehni  with  forces  and  other  means  of  warfare.  EHm,  on 
the  other  hand,  resolved  to  recover  his  lost  crown  or  perish  in  the 
attempt,  made  a  stand  at  a  place  called  Aide,  in  the  county  of 
Dublin.  The  battle  which  ensued,  as  fierce  and  blood}'  as  any  re- 
corded in  the  Irish  annals,  terminated  in  the  discomfiture  and  des- 
truction of  Elim  and  his  army.  Eochaidh,  the  king  of  Leinster,  and 
the  survivors  of  liis  army,  who  had  suftered  dreadfidiy  in  the  conflict, 
bent  their  flight  towards  Ferns.  The  victorious  monarch  after 
superintending  the  burial  of  the  dead,  proceeded  on  his  march  to 
the  capital  of  Leinster. 

Eochaidh,  in  order  to  save  Ferns  from  the  horrors  of  a  storm,  sent 
a  Laureate  Bard,  and  a  chief  Herald,  to  the  conqueror,  to  announce 
his  un([alified  submission  to  such  terms  as  he  might  think  ])roper  to 
prescribe.  Tuathal's  requisitions  of  tribute,  though  exorbitant,  as 
we  are  told,  in  the  extreme,  were  liquidated  with  all  possible 
despatch,  which  averted  the  ruin  that  impended  over  the  fate  of 
Leinster. 

With  a  rich  acquisition  of  spoils  and  trophies,  the  Irish  monarch 
returned  to  Taia,  where  he  was  received,  by  all  classes  of  the  people, 
Avith  the  most  enthusiastic  demonstration  of  popular  aftection  and 
regard. 

His  magnanimity  of  soul,  and  his  martial  bravery,  furnished  the 
Bards  with  ample  themes  at  this  epoch  for  the  display  of  poetic 
genius.  Immediately  after  his  return  he  convoked  an  assembly  of 
the  national  delegates.  He  opened  his  grand  and  memorable  con- 
vention by  an  energetic  speech  from  the  throne,  in  which  he  bewail- 
ed in  pathetic  eloquence,  the  miseries  which  had  so  long  flowed  from 
that    fruitful    source    of  a  country's    direst    misfortune — internal 

DISCORD. 

"  Gentlemen,"*  added  he,  "  let  us  entitle  ourselves  to  the  grati- 
tude of  posterity,  by  desiccating  the  fountain  whose  current  has  for 
ages  borne  on  its  malignant  eflusion  the  royal  blood  of  Milesius. 
Let  its  destructive  overflowings  be  confined  hereafter  within  the 
immoveable  and  sacred  boundaries  of  a  decretory  law,  which  I 
solemnly  invoke  you,  in  the  name  of  our  country,  I  earnestly  conjure 
you  in  the  name  of  humanity,  in  the  name  of  my  ancestral  rights, 
and  of  those  legitimate  claims,  which  the  valour  of  m\'  illustrious 
progenitors  Heremon,  and  Jtighainethe  (ireat,  won  by  their  bravery 
ior  their  descendants,  to  enact  in  your  legislative  wisdom,  and  con- 
firm by  the  solemnity  of  your  oaths;  so  that  this  ordinance  may 
crush  civil  strife  for  ever  in  Ireland.  Raise  a  barrier,  I  implore  you 
against  the  ambition  of  the  Hebeiian  and  Irian  dynasties,  and  pro- 
tect inviolable  the  throne  of  Heremon  from  the  unfounded  pretension 
of  usurpation. 

"  Behold,  Senators  !  the  Roman  legions  menacing  our  coasts,  and 
pampering  their  lofty  hopes  with  the  expectation  of  subjecting  this 
sacred  Isle,  rich  with  the  dust  of  Milesian  heroes,  to  their  tyrannic 

*  This  speccli  whicli  is  to  be  found  in  the  original  Irisli,  in  Bishop '\Molloi/'s 
genealogies  of  Irish  Kings,"  was  never  before,  we  confidently  believe,  given  in  the 
Enjrlish  language.  We  are  aware  that  our  translation  is  far  distant  frojn  the 
spirit  and  beauty  of  the  original. — Author. 


173 

yoke.  Will  you  suffer  your  wives  and  daughters  to  sliare  the  ij^nohle 
late  of  the  females  of  Britain  and  Albania:  will  you  sutler  the 
Roman  Ea<iles  to  perch  on  the  national  standard  of  Gathdus,  that 
sacred  standard  which  the  great  Hebrew  prophet,  Moses,  gave,  after 
blessing  it,  to  the  founder  of  the  Milesian  race  1  Be  but  united  in 
patriotism,  be  but  firm  in  concord,  and  the  Irish  atmosphere  shall 
never  be  poisoned  l)y  the  breath  of  the  Roman  invaders. 

"  When  we  march  forth  to  battle,  the  coming  foe,  with  souls  en- 
kindled with  the  spirit  of  patriotism,  the  despoiler's  power  will  recede 
from  our  spears,  as  the  foaming  waves  recoil  after  being  broken  and 
dissolved  on  the  shelving  rocks  of  our  shores.  Yes,  Senators,  if 
that  demon  which  has  for  centuries  been  the  curse  and  bane  of  Ire- 
land, destructive  and  intestine  dissension,  makes  no  chasms  in  our 
devotion  and  love  of  country,  the  Romans  shall  find  us  invincible, 
and  as  firm  in  the  fight  as  the  majestic  mountain,  which,  while  seated 
on  its  ocean  throne,  seems  to  look  down  with  smiling  contempt  at 
the  idle  rage  of  the  turbulent  billows  that  bursts  on  its  rocky  foot- 
stool," 

'l^his  harangue  produced  a  great  sensation  in  the  minds  of  the 
national  assembly,  and  all  tiie  members  of  which,  after  giving  ex- 
pression to  a  burst  of  enthusiastic  acclamation,  rose  with  one  simul- 
taneous accord,  and  swore  by  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars,  to  bear  true 
and  unshaken  allegiance  to  Tuathal,  and  to  his  legitimate  jiosterity. 
They  tlien  passed  a  law  excluding  the  descendants  of  Ileber,  Ir,  and 
Ith,  from  the  Irish  throne  for  ever.*  The  monarch's  heart  was 
touched  with  gratitude  by  the  devotion  of  the  Convention,  and  the 
facility  with  which  they  had  enacted  a  law,  that  he  vainly  imagined 
would  secure  the  regal  authority  to  his  most  remote  posterity.  But 
the  secjuel  of  this  chapter  will  add  another  proof  to  the  instability  of 
human  greatness,  and  an  exemplifying  instance,  that  those  princes 
who  place  their  trust  on  the  permanence  of  popular  opinion,  only 
built  the  edifice  of  hope  on  a  sinking  quagmire  of  delusion. 

By  his  address  and  eloquence  he  wound  up  the  feelings  of  the 
national  representatives  to  the  highest  key-note  of  his  wishes.  They 
legislated  on  every  measure,  according  to  his  dictation  :  the  ambi- 
tious monarch  willed,  and  the  obsequious  senate  promptly  obeyed. 

To  carry  their  com[)laisance  as  far  into  servility  as  possible,  they 
appropriated  to  the  royal  domains  of  Tara,  a  large  tract  of  country, 
now  known  by  the  names  of  the  counties  of  West  and  East  Meath, 
alienated  from  Leinster,  Connaught  and  Ulster.  By  their  decree 
this  portion  of  land  was  to  he  the  mensal  patrimony  of  the  reigning 
sovereign,  in  order  to  enable  him  to  entertain  his  guests  with  all  the 
plenty  and  pomp  of  Royal  Irish  hospitality. t     In  the  Irish  records, 

*  "  No  law  was  ever  more  solemnly  recognised  than  this,  in  favour  of  Tuathal's 
family.  It  shows  how  sensible  this  people  were,  of  the  evils  attending  an  elective 
form  of  government,  althoiigli  their  manners  and  customs  would  not  admit  of  any 
other.  It  ended  finally  in  the  ruin  of  the  nation  by  the  fiital  contests  and  hostilities 
of  the  O'Neils  and  the  O'Connors." — Dissertations  on  the  Irish  lUstorij. 

t  "  A  people  who  carried  the  idea  of  munificent  hospitality  to  tlie  most  bound- 
less generosity,  could  not  be  censured  for  furnishing  means  to  a  king  to  entertain 
his  visitants  in  a  style  commensurate  with  his  dignity." — Nicholson. 

"  V/hen  the  convention  of  Tara  passed  this  law,  they  were  only  acting  a  pat- 


174 

the  county  of  Meath  is  designated  "  Fearon  Bitird  RigJi  Erion"  or 
the  Tahie  Lands  of  the  monarch  of  Ireland.  Tuatlial  was  most 
assiduous  in  his  endeavours  to  gain  the  good  opinion  of  tlie  Druids, 
whose  rehgious  influence  over  the  puhlic  mind  possessed  a  prepon- 
derating power  of  superstition.  The  reverential  respect  wiiich  he 
paid  them  in  puhlic,  added  much  to  their  sanctimonious  consequence 
in  tlie  nation.  In  each  portion  of  liis  newly  acquired  domain,  he 
built  a  palace,  as  well  asaDruidical  temple.  The  temple  at  Flachtga, 
now  called  New  Grange,  in  the  county  of  Louth,  about  five  miles 
north  of  Drogheda,  was,  if  we  may  judge  from  appearances,  a  superb 
pile  of  architecture,  whose  ruins  still  remain  to  convince  the  incre- 
dulous of  its  ancient  grandeur.*  This  edifice  was  dedicated  to  the 
moon,  and  in  it  for  ages  the  Druids  oflered  sacrifices  on  the  eve  of 
every  first  of  November,  when  annually  all  the  Druids  of  the  nation 
attended  to  worship,  and  kindle  what  was  denominated  the  sacred 
fire,  because  every  householder  in  the  kingdom  was  compelled  by 
law  to  extinguish  every  spark  on  his  hearth,  and  under  pain  of  being 
branded  with  impiety,  to  procure  at  a  stipulated  price,  from  the 
arcli-Druids  of  Samhidn  fresh  fire  for  the  winter.  The  temple  of 
Usneach,  in  tlie  County  of  Westmeath,  was  sacred  to  the  w'orship 
of  Bel,  or  the  Sun,  where  the  religious  ceremonies  and  oblations  of 
that  deity  were  performed  with  great  pf)mp  and  solemnity,  on  every 
first  day  of  May.  On  this  great  Druidica!  festival,  two  fires  were 
kindled  in  every  district  of  the  country,  in  honotir  of  the  pagan  god. 
"  It  was,"  says  Keating,  "a  solemn  custom  at  this  time,  A.  D.  101, 
to  drive  a  number  of  cattle  of  every  kind  between   these  fires;  this 

riotic  part,  as  hospitality  was,  in  their  opinion,  one  of  the  highest  virtues  that 
could  adorn  an  Irish  king." — Vallancey. 

"  The  decree  was  made  for  tlie  separation  of  a  large  tract  of  land  from  three 
provinces,  for  the  demesne  land  of  the  crown,  in  order  to  supply  the  monarch's 
table  with  those  sumptuous  and  luxurious  viands,  which  distinguished  the  hospi- 
tality of  the  ancient  Irish." — Warner. 

"  Tuathal,  in  order  to  render  all  future  kings  of  the  island  the  better  able  to 
keep  down  the  aristocratical  spirit,  took  counties  of  considerable  extent  from  the 
other  provinces,  and  formed  a  sixth  province  known  by  the  name  of  Meath.  This 
noble  domain,  added  to  the  ordinary  revenues,  rendered  his  successors  more  inde- 
pendent and   respectable  than  the  monarchs  who  reigned  in  ancient  times." — 

O'CoNiNOR. 

*  "  It  is  a  ridiculous  assumption  in  some  English  writers,  who  to  gratify  their 
prejudice,  maintain  that  the  ancient  Irish  were  not  eminent  in  architecture  before 
the  invasion,  as  the  round  towers,  antique  cathedrals  of  Cashel,  Clonard,  Armagh, 
Ardfert,  and  many  others,  with  hundreds  of  old  abbe3's,and  innumerable  Druidical 
altars  and  caves,  to  this  day  exhibit  ruins  which  would  be  admired  among  those 
of  a  Palmyra  or  a  Babylon  for  their  striking  grandeur  of  design,  and  beauty  of 
workmanship.  The  Tunmlus  and  Druidical  cave,  near  the  town  of  Drogheda, 
which  were  built  in  the  first  century,  according  to  the  learned  Camden  and  Ray- 
mond, by  Tuathal,  monarch  of  Ireland,  must  impress  every  traveller  with  a  deep 
sense  of  the  ingenuity  of  the  royal  designer  and  ingenious  architect.  The  cave, 
which  is  elegantly  vaulted  with  polished  marble  slabs,  indented  into  each  other,  is 
eighty  feet  long,  with  a  marble  paved  floor,  and  walls  incrusted  with  the  same 
material.  There  is  a  bas-rclicf,  and  hieroglyphic  inscriptions  on  some  of  the  pan- 
nels,  on  both  sides  of  the  entrance  boldly  sculptured.  Dr.  Llhwyd,  the  celebrated 
Welsh  antiquarian,  visited  this  cave,  where,  on  causing  an  excavation  to  be  made 
in  the  floor,  he  discovered  a  gold  coin  of  the  Emperor  Valentinian." — Vide  Beau- 
ford's  ancient  Tupography  of  Ireland. 

We  have  already  described  the  cave  of  New  Grange,  in  the  course  of  this 
history. 


175 

was  conceived  to  be  an  antidote  and  a  preservation  against  the 
jmirruin,  or  any  otlier  distemper  among  live  stock,  for  the  year 
ensuing. 

"And  from  those  fires  tliat  were  made  in  honour  of  the  god  Bel, 
or  Belus,  the  day  upon  which  tlie  Christian  festival  of  St.  Philip, 
and  St.  James  is  observed,  is  called  in  Irish,  La  Badtinne,  (the  day 
of  Bel's  fire,)  which  is  still  celebrated  by  rustic  dances  and  other 
amusements,  in  difterent  parts  of  Ireland.  So  intent  was  Tnathal 
on  raising  the  morals  of  his  people  to  the  highest  pitch  of  virtuous 
refinement,  that  to  promote  connubial  alliances,  he  ottered  prizes  to 
such  young  men  as  would  select  their  wives  at  the  great  fairof  Tail- 
tean,  near  Kells,  where  he  erected  a  temple  for  the  celebration  of 
the  marriage  contract."  Here  rival  knigiits  contended  at  tilts  and 
tournaments  for  the  ladies  of  t'leir  love,  and  poets  sang,  and  rustics 
wrestled,  to  win  the  smiles  and  hearts  of  the  fair.  O'Flaherty,  in 
his  relation  of  the  Tailtean  games,  says,  "  that  the  strictest  order 
and  most  becon)ing  decency  were  observed  in  this  meeting  ;  for  the 
men  were  placed  by  themselves  ;  the  women  also  had  a  peculiar 
station,  at  a  convenient  distance,  assiijned  them,  where  the  parents 
treated  about  the  disposal  of  iheir  children,  and  as  soon  as  the  arti- 
cles were  agreed  upon,  the  young  man  presented  a  garland  of  roses 
and  May  flowers  to  the  elected  object  of  his  choice,  and  then  led 
her  to  the  Druidical  altar,  where  the  nuptial  rite  was  religiously 
solemnized  by  the  Druids."* 

Mr.  Moore,  in  relating  the  Druidical  ceremonies  at  the  temi)Ie  of 
Usneach,  writes: — "  The  sacred  hills  and  Tumuli  of  the  Irish  were 
appropriated  to  a  variety  of  purposes;  for  there  the  sacrifice  was 
offered  by  the  priest,  from  thence  the  legislator  or  Judge  promulgat- 
ed his  decrees,  and  where  the  king,  on  his  inauguration,  was  present- 
ed with  the  wand  of  power.  Of  these  consecrated  high  places,  the 
most  memorable  was  the  hill  of  Usr.each,  in  West  Meatli,  as  well 
from  the  national  convention,  of  which  it  was  the  frequent  scene,  as 
because,  upon  its  summit  the  limits  of  the  five  provinces  of  Ireland 
touched;  and,  in  like  manner,  as  the  field  of  Enna  was  called  '  the 
navel  of  Sicily,'  and  the  site  of  the  temple  of  Delphi,  '  the  navel  of 
the  earth's,'  so  the  stone  which  marked  this  common  boundary  of  the 
five  provinces  into  which  the  Island  was  then  divided,  was  termed 
the  '  navel  of  Ireland.'  Here  the  Druids  on  solemn  occasions  were 
accustomed  to  hold  their  meetings." 

This  wise,  clement,  and  truly  beneficent  Prince,  caused  all  the 
noble  institutions  of  his  famous  predecessor,  Ollamh  Fodhla^  to  be 
revived  and  renovated.  An  efficient  police  was  established,  and 
agriculture  and  commerce  received  a  stimulating  impulse  from  the 
active  solicitude  and  attention  of  the  sovereign,  that  carried  them 
to  the  most  flourishing  perfection.     Indeed,  at  this  juncture,  we  have 

*  "  Tlie  sports  of  tliis  famed  fnir.  wliich  continued  fourteen  days,  consisted  of 
chariot  racing,  feats  of  chivalry,  hurhng,  and  otlicr  manly  exercises.  Noble  amphi- 
theatres were  erected  for  the  more  easy  reviewing  the  different  exhibitions.  At 
this  fair,  marriages  and  alliances  were  formed  between  the  nobility  and  people, 
and  every  method  studied  to  promote  concord,  morality  and  amusement." — 
O'IIalloran. 


17G' 

the  authority  of  Tacitus,  for  asserting  that  Ireland  was  the  most 
commercial  nation  in  the  west  of  Europe. 

Mr.  John  D'Alton,  in  his  valuahle  Prize  essay,  on  the  ancient 
history,  religion,  learning,  arts  and  government  of  Ireland,  says: 
"  the  reign  of  Tuatlial,  commencing  A.  D.  130,  is  that  which  reflects 
most  popular  splendour  on  the  Irisii  annals,  in  the  constitution  and 
legislation  which  he  estahlished.  Then  it  was  that  the  kings  and 
nobles  began  to  devote  tliemselves  to  sciences,  hitherto  confined  to 
the  Magi  and  Philosophers,  and  to  compile  that  too  shmdered  code, 
the  Brehon  laws. 

Tnathal's  sole  desire  was  to  exalt  the  moral,  intellectual  and  war- 
like character  of  his  subjects,  and  diffuse  among  them  those  benign 
blessings  which  spring  from  a  prudent,  just  and  energetic  govern- 
ment." 

Though  the  monarch  devoted  himself  to  the  internal  interests  of 
his  kingdom,  with  unwearied  assiduity,  he  was  not  yet  negligent  of 
his  military  establishments,  for  he  kept  a  watchful  eye  on  the  move- 
ments of  the  Roman  legions  in  Britian  and  Caledonia,  and  was 
always  ready  with  a  standing  army,  to  repel  any  attack  they  might 
direct  against  his  coasts.  To  enable  his  uncle,  the  Pictish  king,  to 
resist  the  forces  of  the  emperor  Adrian,  which  were  at  this  era,  A. 
D.  118,  after  devastating  Britain,  menacing  Caledonia  with  a  preda- 
tory attack,  he  transported  a  large  army  to  the  assistance  of  the 
oppressed  Picts.  The  Irish  General,  to  whom  the  Pictish  king 
assigned  the  chief  command,  immediately  after  landing,  commenced 
oft'ensive  operations  against  the  Romans,  whom  he  defeated  in  two 
successive  battles,  and  compelled  to  retreat  in  disorder  to  New 
Castle.  The  emperor,  who  was  then  in  Wales,  dreading  that  the 
Irish  chieftain  would  push  his  conquests  into  the  very  heart  of  Bri- 
tain, and  thus  deprive  him  of  the  whole  country,  hastened  to  Carlisle, 
where  in  person,  with  his  lieutenant,  Julias  Severus,  he  inspected 
the  building  of  the  celebrated  wall  that  ran  from  that  town  to  New- 
Castle-upon-Tyne,  a  distance  of  sixty  miles.  The  allied  army  en- 
camped at  Stirling,  where  the  Geneialissim.o  waited  for  orders  from 
his  sovereign  to  penetrate  into  Britain;  but  Tuathal  and  his  council 
decided  that  this  officer  should  not  cross  the  Tweed  in  pursuit  of  the 
Romans.  Shortly  afterwards,  an  event  occurred  that  lit  up  again 
the  fires  of  civil  war  in  Ireland,  and  constrained  Tuathal  to  recall 
his  forces  from  Caledonia.  Eochaidh,  king  of  Leinster,  obtained 
the  hand  of  the  Princess  Dairinc,  the  monarch's  eldest  daughter  in 
marriage.  The  royal  bride  w^as  accompanied  to  the  palace  of  Ferns, 
by  her  youngest  sister,  Fithir,  a  princess  of  extraordinary  beauty. 
As  soon  as  the  king  of  Leinster  had  seen  his  lovely  sister-in-law, 
whom  our  historians  represent  much  more  charming  than  his  wife,  he 
conceived  a  dislike  for  his  consort,  and  a  passionate  desire  to  possess 
the  young  Fithir.  To  enjoy  her  person  became  the  sole  wish  of  his 
heart,  the  daily  dream  of  his  thoughts.  As  love  is  fruitful  in  expe- 
dients to  obtain  the  object  of  its  longing,  he  set  out  on  a  journey  to 
Tara,  shortly  after  the  return  thither  of  the  Princess,  and  in  his  first 
audience  with  the  king,  assumed  the  most  mournful  air  of  melan- 
choly sadness,  while  with  sobs  and  sighs,  and  all  the  deceptive  iudi- 


17' 


cations  of  woe,  he  declared  th.it  his  queen  had  expired  suddenly  a 
(e\v  days  before,  "an  event,"  said  lie,  "  which  will  inevitably  break 
my  heart,  unless  your  juajesty  snatches  me  from  the  precipice  of 
despair,  by  giving-  nie  the  Princess  Fithir,  to  sooth  my  sorrows,  and 
leplace  in  those  vacant  arms  the  counterpart  of  that  angelic  perfec- 
tion, of  which  relentless  death  has  robbed  them."  The  monarch, 
sympathising  in  his  assumed  affliction,  assured  him,  that  if  he  could 
gain  the  affections  of  the  Princess,  he  should  oppose  no  obstacle  to 
their  union.  Eoehaidh  being  an  adept  in  gallantry,  seductively 
wooed,  and  triumphantly  captivated  the  lady.  The  nuptials  of  the 
happy  pair  were  speedily  solemnized  and  consummated  at  Tara. 
In  a  short  time  afterwards,  Eoehaidh  and  his  beauteous  bride  set 
out  for  the  palace  of  Ferns.  When  they  arrived  there,  the  shame 
and  amazement  of  Fithir  on  finding  her  sister  alive,  may  be  conceiv- 
ed, but  cannot  he  expressed.  The  fiends  of  jealousy  frowned 
malignantly  in  Dairine's  countenance,  as  she  loaded  her  poor  inno- 
cent sister  with  the  most  opprol)rious  invectives  of  rage  and  resent- 
ment, which  operated  so  potently  on  the  tender  sensibilities  of  her 
youthfid  victim,  that  she  was  seized  with  a  fit  of  convulsions,  which 
terminated  her  existence.  Dairine,  aftected  at  the  death  of  a  sister 
whom  before  she  loved  so  dearly,  threw  herself  on  the  body,  and  in 
a  paroxysm  of  grief  plunged  a  dagger  in  her  bosom. 

The  singular  death  of  these  princesses  would  be  a  fine  theme  for 
the  tragic  muse  of  Sheil. 

As  soon  as  the  monarch  was  made  acquainted  with  the  du|)licity 
of  the  king  of  Leinster,  and  the  consequent  tragic  fate  of  his  daugh- 
ters, his  whole  feelings  were  inflamed  with  burning  indignation. 
He,  in  the  rage  of  his  wrath,  swore  before  the  altar  of  Bel,  that  his 
vengeance  should  be  terrible,  and  commensurate  to  the  atrocious 
perfidy  of  Eoehaidh  ;  and  that  he  should  not  only  punish  himself, 
but  lay  waste  his  kiugdom  with  fire  and  sword.  The  national  estates, 
and  provincial  princes  who  were  summoned  on  this  memorable 
occasion,  passed  sentence  of  reprobation  against  Eoehaidh,  and 
supplicated  the  monarch  to  deprive  him  of  his  throne.  War  was 
instantly  declared,  and  Tuathal,  with  a  mind  chafing  with  the  glow- 
ing desire  of  revenge,  led  his  army  into  Leinster,  which  in  the  course 
of  his  march,  he  devastated  with  the  most  dreadful  ravages  that  an 
infuriated  conqueror  could  employ  in  n  sanguinary  career  of  merci- 
less depredations.  Fire  and  blood,  and  smoking  habitations,  left 
legible  traces  of  his  destructive  pathway  in  Leinster. 

Eoehaidh,  with  a  few  followers,  fled  from  his  palace  in  consterna- 
tion, fi)r  he  well  knew  that  flight  alone  could  save  him  from  the 
implacable  vencreanee  of  the  chief  monarch.  From  the  place  of  his 
secret  refiige,  he  despatched  his  chief  bard  to  Tuathal,  with  full 
powers  to  make  oflers  of  the  most  abject  submission  to  such  terms 
as  he  might  think  proper  to  exact  from  himself,  and  his  now  ruined 
kingdom. 

The  bard  to  whose  subduing  elofjuence  and  accomplished  address 

Eoehaidh    implicitly    confided    his   dearest   interests,    succeeded    in 

appeasing  tlie  choler  of  Tuathal,  and   by  the  patriotic  charm  of  his 

song  in  melting  his   flinty  heart  to  compassion.     An  armistice  was 

23 


178 

reluctantly  granted  by  the  conqueror,  who  soon  after,  by  tlie  per- 
suasions of  the  poet,  assented  to  a  definitive  treaty  of  peace,  which 
permitted  the  humbled  king  of  Leinster  to  enjoy,  as  a  vassal,  his 
life  and  crown,  on  the  following  hard  and  degrading  conditions. 
He  bound  himself  and  his  heirs  by  sworn  covenant,  as  well  as  by 
the  pledge  of  hostages,  to  pay  every  alternate  year,  for  ever,  to  the 
monarch  of  Ireland,  three  thousand  fut  oxen,  three  thousand  ounces 
of  pure  silver  ;  three  thousand  silk  mantles  richly  embroidered  ; 
three  thousand  fat  hogs  ;  three  thousand  prime  wethers,  and  three 
thousand  co])per  cauldrons.* 

By  a  legislative  ordinance,  passed  in  the  national  convention,  the 
spoils  of  this  aggressive  and  wanton  tribute  were  to  be  divided  be- 
tween the  Irish  monarch,  the  king  of  Ulster,  and  the  prince  of  Orgial, 
as  the  O'Neil  and  O'Carroll,  were  the  active  allies  of  Tnathal,  in 
the  invasion  of  Leinster.  It  was  for  exacting  the  Leinster  tribute, 
in  the  beginning  of  the  eleventh  century,  from  king  Maol  3Tordha, 
that  Brian  the  Great  received  the  distinctive  appellation,  or  surname 
of  Boroihme.  When  Tuathal  returned  to  Tara,  flushed  with  the 
success  that  had  attended  his  arms  in  Leinster,  and  satiated  in  re- 
venge, he  announced  to  the  national  convention  his  determination 
of  invading  Britain,  and  of  driving  the  Romans  out  of  that  country  ; 
but  while  he  was  busily  engaged  in  preparing  the  expedition  on  an 
extensive  scale,  a  formidable  revolt  brought  about  by  Mal,  a  prince 
of  the  Irian  line,  at  once  terminated  his  projects  and  his  life,  in  the 
thirtieth  year  of  his  reign,  A.  D.  137. 

Tuathal,  as  a  warrior  and  a  statesman,  possessed  shining 
talents  ;  and  as  a  sovereign  he  displayed,  during  a  glorious  reign, 
the  noblest  virtues  which  can  adorn  the  character  of  a  monarch,  and 
raise  it  up  to  an  eminence  iu  the  affectionate  regards  of  a  nation. 
His  aggressive  and  cruel  conduct  in  Leinster,  and  his  iniquitous  and 
indiscriminate  punishment  of  a  a  whole  people  for  the  crime  of  their 
prince,  were  wicked  and  tyrannic  acts  of  flagrant  injustice,  that  have 
left  a  blotless  stain  upon  his  reputation,  which  no  historian  can  ever 
expunge. 

*  "  This  tribute,  whose  exaction  for  subsequent  ages  after  the  death  of  Tuathal, 
produced  such  disasters  and  civil  wars  in  the  country,  is  a  convincing  proof  that 
ancient  Ireland  abounded  with  wealth.  The  most  brilliant  conquest  of  Napoleon 
did  not  yield  a  more  valuable  contribution  than  the  Boroikme,  or  Leinster  Tax." 
GlcHiiings  of  Irish  History. 

"  It  was  the  source  of  much  blood  and  confusion  to  the  kingdom.  Its  amount 
is  a  demonstrative  proof  of  the  wealth  and  power  of  ancient  Ireland." — O'Hal- 

LORAN. 

"  If  there  was  any  pretence  for  punishing  the  people  of  the  province  by  this 
exorbitant  fine,  for  the  dishonour  done  to  Tuathal  by  their  prince,  there  was  not 
surely  the  least  shadow  of  justice  in  continuing  it  after  his  death  ;  and  we  shall 
see  in  the  sequel  that  the  payment  of  it,  though  submitted  to  for  several  ages,  was 
the  frequent  occasion  of  many  contests,  which  proved  fatal  to  the  nobility  and 
gentry  on  both  sides,  until  it  was  abolished." — Warner. 

"Although  the  establishment  made  by  Tuatlial,  tlirows  great  lustre  on  this 
period  of  our  history,  yet  the  imposition  of  the  Boroihmean  tribute  on  the  province 
of  Leinster,  for  the  personal  crimes  of  tlie  Prince,  was  an  act  of  flagitious  tyranny." 
O'Connor. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

Reign  and  death  of  Mai. —  The  accession  of  Fcidhliinidh — the  events  of  his  reign. — 
He  encicts  a  law  of  retaliation. — Death  of  Feidhlimidh. — Cathoir  More  is  elected 
Monarch. — Con  of  the  hundred  battles  revolts. — Battle  if  Ratkhenny  in  Meutit ,  and 
defeat  and  death  erf  Feidhlimidh. — His  singuUir  will, —  Con  I.  ascends  the  throne. — 
Send^  an  army  to  invade  Leinster. 

The  Druids,  ever  ready  to  succumb  to  power,  quickly  impressed 
the  seal  of  religion  on  the  usurpation  of  Mai,  by  crowning  him  with 
all  the  pompous  solemnities  of  their  imposing  ritual,  on  the  ptone  of 
destiny.  The  national  estates,  quite  regardless  of  the  solemn  oath 
which  they  had  lately  taken,  in  presence  of  Tuathal,  to  exclude 
every  candidate  from  tlie  Irish  throne,  who  was  not  of  the  royal  blood 
of  Ileremon,  promptly  recognised  by  all  legislative  formalities,  the 
new  sovereign. 

Mai,  in  order  to  acquire  popularity,  adopted  every  measure  that 
he  conceived  might  have  a  tendency  to  secure  the  permanence  of 
his  power.  The  two  first  years  of  his  reign  were  speciously  conse- 
crated to  the  happiness  of  the  kingdom  ;  but  the  third  year  developed 
the  native  cruelty  and  despotism  of  the  arbitrary  tyrant. 

The  adherents  of  the  late  monarch  were  every  wiiere  oppressed, 
and  acts  of  the  most  aggressive  enormity  invaded  the  constitutional 
rights  of  the  Irish  people.  He  banished  the  wife  and  childien  of 
Tuathal  to  England,  where  they  found  a  hospitable  asylum  at  the 
court  oi  Sgailc  Balbh,  who  was  then  king  of  Britain,  and  father-in- 
law  of  the  late  monarch.  The  Irish  Prince,  young  Feidhlimidh,  by 
a  display  of  valour  and  capacity,  in  a  campaign  against  the  Romans, 
rose  to  a  high  command  in  his  uncle's  army.  Mai,  daily  dreading 
an  insurrection,  refused  to  assist  the  IJritons  with  troops,  a  fact  which 
accounts  for  the  great  scope  of  British  and  Pictish  territories,  which 
the  Emperor  Antonius,  at  this  period,  A.  D.  139,  subjected  to  his 
dominion.  It  was  this  celebrated  Emperor,  snrnamed  the  pious, 
that  raised  the  rampart  which  extends  from  the  Frith  of  the  Clyde 
to  that  of  Forth.  The  martial  fame  of  Feidhlimidh  buoyed  up  the 
hopes  of  the  Hereraonians  in  Ireland,  while  it  oppressed  the  heart  of 
Mai  with  alarm.  The  despotism  of  the  king  transgressed  those 
limits,  within  which  justice  and  moderation  would  confine  regal 
power.  His  excessses  reached  that  point  of  atrocity  where  resistance 
is  forced  to  repel  intolerable  aggression.  The  goaded  people  flew 
to  arms,  proclaimed  Feidhlimidh  monarch,  and  denounced  Mai  as  a 
ruthless  tyrant.  As  soon  as  the  Prince  heard  of  the  revolt,  he  has- 
tened to  his  native  land,  and  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  his  devot- 
ed adherents.  The  elevation  of  his  standard  was  the  signal  of  a 
general  insurrection  ;  so  that  before  the  Prince  reached  the  borders 
of  Meath,  he  saw  his  army  swelled  to  a  magnitude  that  insured  suc- 
cess. Mai  sallied  forth  from  Tara,  with  all  the  forces  he  could  levy, 
in  order  to  make  a  gallant  struggle  for  his  life  and  crown. 

The  hostile  armies  came  to  an  engagement  in  the  neighbourhood 
oi  N avail,  in  the  county  of  Meath,  A.  D.  141,  which,  after  a  sanguin- 
ary struggle,  that  displayed  prodigies  of  bravery  on  both  sides,  ter- 


180 

minated  the  reign  and  life  of  Mai,  in  the  fourth  year  of  his  regal 
government.  The  conqueror  then  made  his  triumphal  entry  into 
Tara,  where  he  was  crowned  monarch  of  Ireland.  lie  snnnnoned 
the  national  representatives,  to  whom  he  submitted  a  new  code  of 
laws,  which  in  conjunction  with  the  most  learned  of  the  Biehons,  he 
had  designed  for  the  govermnent  of  his  kingdom.  In  liis  speech 
from  the  throne,  he  informed  the  senate,  that  the  formation  of  a 
system  of  jurisprudence,  Avhose  great  essence  should  be  equitable 
justice,  had  long  occupied  his  mind. 

He  then,  in  a  luminous  harangue,  detailed  his  digest,  which  embrac- 
ed some  of  the  best  ordinances  of  Ollamli  Furlhla, ^3 u^^hiune  More, 
Connor,  Moran,  and  Tnathal,  with  the  following  amendments  to 
their  laws,  which  he  conceived  would  perfect  a  model  of  legislation. 
The  first  statute  declared  that  retaliation  was  the  very  behest  of 
justice,  and  that  the  man  who  deprived  another  of  life,  should  be 
seized  and  given  up  to  the  friends  of  the  deceased,  in  order  that  they 
might  inflict  the  punishment  of  death  upon  him. 

Every  bodily  injury,  such  as  wounding,  maiming,  or  disfiguring, 
was  according  to  the  strict  and  rigid  decision  of  inexorable  retribu- 
tion, inflicted  in  an  equal  degree  on  the  first  perpetrator.  It  was  a 
retaliatory  law  that  extorted  an  "  eye  for  an  eye,"  a  limb  for  a  limb, 
and  a  "  tooth  for  a  tooth."*  Those  who  despoiled  their  neighbours 
of  their  goods  and  cattle,  were  obliged  to  make  ample  restitution. 

In  tliis  case  the  law  provided,  that  in  case  the  aggressors  could 
not  compensate  the  injured  parties,  that  the  former  should  be  visited 
with  a  punishment  commensurate  to  the  extent  of  the  crime.  "  This 
most  salutary  law,"  says  Dr.  O'Halloran,  "had  all  the  good  effects 
that  v.'ere  expected  from  it,  and  eased  the  subjects  from  great 
oppressions.  Before  its  enactment,  the  most  atrocious  of  crimes,  a 
very  few  excepted,  were  punished  here,  as  in  every  other  part  of 
Europe,  by  eric,  or  fine  only." 

This  eric,  now  abolished  by  this  legislative  sage,  which  means 
in  the  Irish,  compensation,  was  assessed  by  a  judge,  who  regulated 
its  amount  proportionate  to  the  quality  of  the  assassinated  person, 
for  the  benefit  of  whose  relatives  it  was  levied  from  the  goods  or 
lands  of  the  offender.     But  if  the  property  of  the  delinquents  could 

*  "  By  the  tenor  of  this  law,  the  people  of  Ireland  were  brought  to  more  human- 
ity, honesiy,  and  good  manners  of  every  kind,  than  they  ever  were  before;  and 
the  monarch  enjoyed  the  fruits  of  his  just  and  useful  administration,  during  nine 
years  cf  his  reign,  till  a  natural  death  removed  him  out  of  tlie  world.  A  much 
greater  authority  than  that  of  any  human  legislator  hath  given  a  sanction  to  the 
law  established  by  this  monarch  ;  and  it  seems  astonishing  tliat  it  should  be  dis- 
continued in  any  Christian  countr}'.  It  is  notonl)'  tlie  most  equitable  lav»^  in  itself, 
I  presume  to  say,  that  can  be  conceived,  against  wilful  injury,  but  in  its  conse- 
quence bids  fiiirer  than  any  other  to  promote  public  order  and  integrity.  In  Eng- 
land, we  presume  too  much  on  our  power  of  making  laws,  and  too  far  infringe  on 
the  command  of  God,  by  taking  away  the  lives  of  men,  in  the  manner  we  do,  for 
theft  and  robbery ;  and  this  is  not  only  a  pernicious  error,  '  extreme  justice  is  an 
extreme  injury,'  but  a  national  abomination.  A  robber,  indeed,  in  this  country, 
sees  with  his  eyes  open,  and  knows  the  penalty  wliich  lie  is  going  to  incur;  but 
the  wilfulness  of  the  crime  is  no  sort  of  excuse  for  making  the  punisliment  far 
exceed  the  heinousncss  of  the  transgression";  and  who  will  deny  that  a  little  Ihefl 
or  robbery,  perhaps  of  the  value  of  two  or  three  sJiillings  only,  is  not  punished  in- 
finitely beyond  a  just  proportion,  when  it  is  punished  with  death." — Warner. 


181 

not  be  found,  the  officers  of  justice  had  power  to  distrain  the  pos- 
sessions of  their  kindred,  in  order  to  make  up  the  stipulated  sum  for 
tiie  satisi'actit)n  of  the  ag^jrieved  party.*  The  eric,  or  ])unitive 
aaierceineiit  was  one  of  the  legish^tive  ordinances  of  eastern  nations, 
for  in  the  Book  of  Joh,  a  reference  is  made  to  it,  where  it  is  said, 
"  skin  for  skin  ;  yea,  all  that  a  man  hath,  will  he  give  for  his  life." 
All  the  legislative  provisions  in  the  famous  code  of  Feidhlimidh 
received  the  seal  of  senatorial  approbation.  This  Prince,  who 
possessed  all  those  ennobling  virtues,  that  shine  in  the  three-fold 
character  of  the  statesman,  philosopher  and  king,  is  distinguished  in 
our  ann;ds  by  the  appellation  of  "  Kcaraidh-GUgc,''''  or  the  law-giver. 
His  reign,  of  nine  years,  was  one  ccmtinued  scene  of  justice,  clemen- 
cy, and  hai)piiiess.  The  blessings  of  peace  were  enjoyed  by  the 
nation,  without  the  turmoil  and  misery  of  foreign  or  domestic  war. 
The  virtues  of  the  king  were  examples  for  the  imitations  of  the  peo- 
ple, so  that  morals  and  intelligence  rose  to  a  high  pitch  of  excellence 
under  his  salutary  administration.  Feidhlimidh,  after  governing 
Ireland  for  a  period  of  nine  years  of  unexampled  tranquillity,  and 
gaining  the  atiections  of  a  whole  people,  died  quietly  at  the  palace 
of  Tara,  a  fate  for  which  but  iew  of  his  j)redecessors  had  been  des- 
tined. His  funeral  honours  were  celebrated  with  extraordinary 
pomp,  and  his  remains  interred  in  the  royal  mausoleum  of  Cruachan, 
in  the  county  of  Roscommon. 

Mr.  Moore,  in  his  observations  on  the  legislative  enactments  of 
this  monarch,  writes,  "  Whatever,  in  other  respects  may  have  been 
the  civilization  of  the  Irish  before  the  reign  of  King  Feidlim,  (A.  D. 
1G4)  their  notions  of  criminal  jurisprudence  were  as  yet  but  rude  and 
barbarous;  since  we  learn  that  the  old  law  of  1G4,  retaliation  was 
then  for  the  first  time  exchanged  for  the  more  lenient  as  well  as  less 
demoralizing  mode  of  punishment  by  a  mulct  or  eric.  Some  writers, 
it  is  true,  have  asserted  that  the  very  reverse,  of  what  has  been  just 
stated,  was  the  fact,  and  that  Feidlim,  finding  the  law  of  compensa- 
tion already  estabhshed,  introduced  the  Lex  T'alionis  in  its  stead. 
But  this  assuredly  would  have  been  to  retrograde  rather  than  to. 
advance  in  civilization  ;  one  of  the  first  steps  towards  civility,  in  the 
infancy  of  all  nations,  having  been  the  substitution,  in  criminal  justice, 
of  fines  proportionate  to  the  ofiences,t  for  the  savage  law  of  retalia- 
tion, and  the  right  of  private  revenge.     Should  even  this   improved 

*  "  There  was  no  remedy  against  these  assassinations,  but  by  a  mulctative  eric. 
It  was  a  reparation  better  tiian  none,  nnd  generally  levied  on  the  offender's  kind- 
dred,  to  make  satisfaction  to  the  clan  for  the  loss  of  their  Tigern,  or  the  Tigern's 
vassal." 

t  "  Both  by  Spenser,  and  Sir  John  Davis,  this  custom  of  compounding  the  crime 
of  homicide  b}'  fine  is  spoken  of  as  peculiar  to  tiie  Irish,  and  the  latter  writer  even 
grounds  upon  it  a  most  heavy  charge  against  that  people,  either  forgetting  that  this 
mode  of  composition  for  manslaughter  formed  a  part  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  code,  or 
else  wilfully  suppressing  that  fact  for  the  purpose  of  aggravating  his  list  of  charges 
against  the  Brehon  law.  As  there  will  occur  other  opportunities  for  considering 
this  question,  I  shall  here  only  remark  that  however  it  may  have  been  customary 
among  the  ancient  Pagan  Irish  to  punish  homicide  by  a  mulct,  or  eric,  alone,  there 
are  proofs  that,  in  later  times,  and  before  the  coming  of  the  English,  not  only  was 
wilful  murder,  but  also  the  crimes  of  rape  and  robbery,  made  legally  punishable  by 
death." — O'Reilly  on  the  Ilrelwn  laws,  Vol.  I.  Section  8. 


182 

stafre  of  jurisprudence,  under  wliich  murders  of  tlie  darkest  kind 
might  be  coinpouudcd  for,  appear  sufficiently  barbarous,  but  it  should 
be  recollected  that  neither  the  Greeks  at  the  time  of  the  Trojan  war, 
nor  the  Englisli  under  their  great  ruler,  Alfred,  had  yet  advanced  a 
step  farther." 

The  tiational  estates  had,  at  last,  after  a  long  cessation,  an  oppor- 
tunity of  exercising  their  elective  privileges  in  choosing  a  new  mon- 
arch froi".  the  Heremonian  stock.  The  object  of  tiieir  election  was 
Caihoir  Mure,  the  grandson  of  the  celebrated  liero  Gaoltha,  or  the 
Galgaciis  of  Tacitus,  who  as  commander  of  the  Irish  militia,  fought 
so  valiantly  against  Julius  Agricola,  in  Britain. 

This  Prince,  wlio  was  lineally  descended  from  king  Heremon, 
was  a  man  of  genius,  courage,  and  magnanimity  of  soul.  In  the  first 
year  of  his  reign,  he  suppressed  two  insurrections  set  on  foot  by  the 
Heberians.  But  he  only  smothered  for  a  time  the  flames  of  revolt, 
without  extinguishing  them.  A  Prince  of  his  own  family,  fomented 
a  rebellion,  that  eventually  put  a  period  to  his  existence,  in  the  third 
year  of  his  reign.  The  instigator  of  this  insurrection  was  the  famous 
Con,  who  afterwards  made  such  a  shining  figure  in  our  bistory,  as 
"the  hero  of  the  hundred  battles."  He  fought  as  a  soldier  of  fortune 
in  Gaul  and  Britain,  so  that  to  tlie  skill  of  the  general,  he  added  the 
chivalry  of  tiie  champion.  He  was  prepossessing  in  personal 
appearance,  and  elegant  in  manners,  so  that  t!)e  gifts  of  nature  and 
the  graces  of  education,  united  in  embellishing  his  body  and  mind. 
By  those  fascinating  attractions  he  never  failed  to  win  supporters 
for  his  cause.  He  carried  on  his  plans  with  such  singular  secrecy 
and  celerity,  that  Cathoir  was  not  aware  of  their  existence,  until  Con 
was  ready  to  perfect  them  in  the  field,  with  a  numerous  army  of 
natives  and  mercenaries.  The  monarch,  while  dreaming  of  safety, 
was  awoke  to  the  real  danger  of  his  situation,  by  the  explosion  which 
opened,  as  it  were,  a  volcanic  gulf  under  his  very  throne.  Cathoir 
was  too  brave  to  be  intimidated,  for  he  had  a  soul  to  which  fear 
was  a  stranger,  and  he  hastened  towards  his  enemy's  lines  with  that 
confidence  and  courage,  which  ever  sustained  the  intrepidity  of  the 
hero.  Both  armies  met  at  Rathkcmii/,*  (called  then  Moigh  acha)  in 
Meath.  On  the  night  preceding  the  battle  that  was  to  decide  life  and 
empire,  Cathoir  awoke  from  a  dream,  in  which  the  disastrous  results 
of  the  following  day  were  presented  to  his  mind.  He  summoned  his 
secretary,  and  all  his  principal  officers,  among  whom  were  his  ten  sons, 
to  his  chamber,  and  communicated  to  them  the  fore-warnings  of  his 
vision.  "  To-morrow's  sun,"  said  he,  "  shall  beam  on  my  dead  body, 
but  I  shall  die  like  my  gallant  ancestors  resisting  the  foe,  while  I 
have  strength  to  stand  at  the  head  of  my  brave  army,  in  whose 
ranks  there  is  not  a  single  coward."  After  conversing  cheerfully 
for  some  time,  he  desired  all  to  leave  him,  except  his  secretary, 
whom  he  detained  to  engross  his  will.  The  bec^uests  of  this  testa- 
ment, as  given  by  O' Flaherty,  from  the  authentic  records  in  the  Hook 

"  Rathkenny  is  a  small  vicarage  in  the  County  of  Meath,  and  Barony  of 
Navan.  The  Protestant  church  is  a  large  structure  ;  but  from  the  paucity  of 
Protestants,  it  is  suffered  to  fall  into  decay.     1835. 


183 

of  Lecan,  prove  that  Catlioir  More,  or  the  Great,  must  have  been 
then  the  wealthiest  monarcli  in  Euroi)e. 

"  I,  Cathoir,  monarch  of  all  Ireland,  do  hereby  publish  my  will, 
to  which,  in  testimony  of  its  genuineness,  I  subscribe  my  name, 
and  artix  my  royal  signet :  Be  it  known  then  to  all  Brehons,  judges 
and  chieftains  of  this  our  kingdom,  that  after  our  death,  we  order 
that  our  proj)erty,  possessions,  efl'ects,  and  goods,  shall  be  distributed 
in  the  following  manner:  We  bequeath  to  our  beloved  son,  Rosa 
Failgc*  the  kingdom  of  Ijeinster,  and  as  a  further  token  of  our 
aftection,  we  give  with  it  ten  golden  shields,  ten  swords,  with  golden 
hilts,  ten  golden  cups  ;  and  our  sincere  wishes  that  he  may  preserve 
the  glory  of  our  name,  and  be  the  father  of  a  numerous  and  warlike 
posterity  to  govern  Tara.  To  our  second  son,  Dairc  Jh/rach,  we 
leave  the  territory  of  Titatli  I^aighcan,  (the  jiresent  county  of  Dublin, 
and  part  of  Wickiow)  over  which,  we  hope,  he  and  his  posterity  will 
reign  to  the  end  of  time  ;  w  ith  this  we  also  bequeath  him  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  spears,  of  the  finest  fabric  and  richest  embellishment, 
fifty  shields  of  curious  workmanship,  and  solden  ornaments  ;  fifty 
of  the  brightest  and  richest  swords  that  can  be  found  in  the  armory, 
fifty  rings  of  the  purest  gold  ;  one  hundred  and  fifty  embroidered 
mantles,  and  seven  military  standards,  whose  stafts  are  pure  silver. 
To  my  third  son,  Breasal,  [  leave  seven  large  and  well  equi[)ped 
ships,  fifty  shields,  five  swords  with  gold  baskets  and  green  blades, 
and  five  war  chariots  with  horses  and  silver-mounted  harness.  With 
these,  we  likewise  desire,  he  may  have  the  lands  on  the  banks 
of  the  river  Amergin,  and  let  him  he  informed,  that  it  has  been  our 
wish  that  he  will  keep  the  Belgic  inhabitants  under  proper  restraint, 
as  they  are  disposed  to  be  refractory.  To  our  fourth  son,  Cdnch,  and 
our  fifth  son,  Feargus-Luascan,  we  leave  possessions  that  are  sufficient 
to  sustain  their  princely  dignity.  As  our  sixth  son  never  betrayed 
a  martial  spirit,  or  a  poetic  genius,  properly  would  be  thrown  away 
if  given  to  him  ;  we  therefore  only  bequeath  him  a  backgammon 
table,  for  the  instruments  of  gaming  are  the  arms  that  are  suitable 
for  a  man  whose  spirit  falls  so  low  in  ambition.  Our  seventh  son, 
Aongus,  is  to  be  fully  endowed  by  his  brothers.  To  Eochaidh  Tim- 
hin,  our  eighth  son,  we  shall  leave  nothing  but  our  blessing,  for  he 
is   a  weak  man,  who  was    so  silly  as  to  give   away  a  tract  of  land, 

*  "  Rof:a  Failgc,  or  the  licro  of  tlie  Rings,  is  tlie  great  progenitor  of  the  O'Con- 
nors of  Fill ij,  or  OfFaly,  a  district  of  country  now  comprehending  the  King's  and 
Queen's  counties,  and  the  greater  parts  of  Kildare." — Chronicles  of  Erin. 

"  Roger  and  Arthur  O'Connor,  with  their  children,  are  the  only  leffitimate 
descendants  of  this  sept  of  the  O'Connors  now  living." — Outlines  of  Irish  History. 
Dublin,  1829. 

"  The  O'Connors  Faly  were  in  all  ages  a  very  martial  and  renowned  family,  as 
all  our  annals  testify,  (both  before  and  after  the  invasion  of  Henry  II.)  until  they 
were  crushed  under  the  superiority  of  relentless  power  in  the  reign  of  Philip  and 
Mary.  John  O'Connor,  Esq.  of  Mount  Pleasant,  (the  father  of  Messrs.  Roger  and 
Arthur  O'Connor)  enjoys,  at  this  day,  a  part  of  his  ancestor's  estate." — Disserta- 
tions on  die  History  of  Ireland. 

"  The  hereditary  princes  of  Leinster  successively  retained  the  ancient  title  of 
Failge,  in  proof  of  their  descent  and  royal  extraction  from  Rosa,  whom  they  justly 
claim  as  the  greatest  ancestor  of  the  family.  From  Rosa  Failge,  arc  descended 
the  noble  families  of  the  O'Dempsys,  O'Dun's,  O'Tools,  O'Byrnes,  O'Dunluing, 
(Dorolings)  O'Duffye,  and  Mac  Cormicks." — Keating. 


184 

claimed  as  a  promise  which  he  made  in  his  sleep.  Let  our  ninth 
son,  Criomthan,  liave  fifty  brass  balls,  with  brass  maces  to  play  with; 
ten  backgammon  tables,  of  curious  workmanship,  and  two  chess 
boards.  To  our  tenth  son,  Fijacha-Baicfadh,  we  leave  the  territory 
o{  Inhhcr  Slainge,  (Wexford)  as  an  affectionate  token  of  our  appro- 
bation of  his  manly  spirit  and  fearless  coura<;^e.*  As  we  admire 
our  nephew  Tuathal  for  his  exalted  qualities,  we  bequeath  him  ten 
chariots,  with  war  horses  richly  furnished,  five  pair  of  backsfammon 
tal)les,  five  chess  boards  with  golden  men,  thirty  shields  embossed 
with  gold,  and  fifty  swords  of  the  most  elegant  fabric  and  polish. 
To  3Ioffh  Chorb,  our  chief  general,  we  leave  one  hundred  black  and 
white  cows,  with  their  calves,  coupled  two  and  two,  connected  with 
brass  yokes  ;  one  hundred  shields,  one  hundred  steel  javelins  colour- 
ed red,  one  hundred  burnished  battle  axes,  fifty  yellow  mantles  of 
the  finest  silk,  one  hundred  war  steeds,  one  hundred  gold  clasps,  one 
hundred  silver  goblets,  one  hundred  large  vats  of  yew,  fifty  brazen 
trumpets,  fifty  chariots  and  horses,  and  fifty  brass  chaldrons,  with 
the  privilege  of  being  a  privy  counsellor  to  the  king  of  Leinster. 
And  finally,  we  leave  to  our  kinsman,  the  Prince  of  Leix,  one  luin- 
dred  cows,  one  hundred  shields,  one  hundred  swords,  one  hundred 
spears,  and  seven  ensigns  emblazoned  with  "the  roval  arras  of 
Ireland."! 

At  an  early  hour  on  the  following  morning,  Cathoir  was  in  the 
field,  animating  and  disposing  his  army,  for  the  decisive  conflict. 
The  first  attack  was  made  by  the  royal  household  troops,  under 
the  immediate  orders  of  the  monarch,  by  a  furious  and  impetuous 
charge,  on  Con's  centre,  which  he  withstood  with  heroic  valour, 
and  even  compelled  them  to  give  ground.  Both  armies,  as  if  by 
mutual  consent,  paused  for  a  moment,  and  then  rushed  on  each 
other  with  renewed  impetuosity  and  rage. 

The  conflict  became  desperate  ;  it  was  the  fierce  combat  of  Prince 
against  Prince,  and  of  soldier  against  soldier.  At  length,  however, 
after  the  protracted  struggle  of  six  hours,  the  gallant  Cathoir  fell  on 
the  crimson  field,  and  victory  rested  its  bloody  pinion*  on  the  ban- 
ners of  Con.  This  Prince  came  to  the  throne  not  only  recommended 
by  victory,  but  by  the  i)opularity  of  his  father,  Feidhlimidh,  whose 
memory  the  Irish  nation  revered.  He  was  crowned  at  Tara,  by  the 
Druids,  A.  D.  153.  His  reign,  which  developed  the  most  eminent 
events,  forms  a  peculiar  epoch  of  glory  in  Irish  history. 

Con  Ceaclcathadh,  or  of  the  hundred  battles,  who  was  the  grand- 
son of  the  great  Tuathal,  possessed  capabilities  for  the  field,  and  the 
cabinet,  in  each  of  which  spheres,  during  a  turbulent  reign  of  twenty 
years,  he  displayed  talents  of  a  superior  order.  No  sooner  had  he 
been  seated  on  the  throne,  than  he  issued  orders   to  the  tributary 

*  "  From  Fijacha-Baiccadh  (or  the  lame  j)rince)  sprung  the  great  families  of 
Mac  Murroch,  Kavanagh,  O'Toole,  Murphy,  and  Kcnsellagh,  who  were  in  succes- 
sion, kings  of  Leinster." — Moli.ov. 

t  "  It  was  on  account  of  his  immense  riches  that  this  prince  is  called  Cathoir 
More,  or  the  Great;  for  we  do  not  find  that  eitlicr  as  a  warrior  or  a  statesman  he 
evinced  those  rare  abilities,  which  would  entitle?  him  to  the  surname  of  the  Great. 

"  It  is,  however,  to  be  questioned,  if  any  other  monarch  in  Europe,  was  ever 
possessed  of  a  more  valuable  personal  estate  tlian  this  Irish  king." — Wakner. 


185 

kings  and  princes  of  the  kingdom,  to  supply  Ids  army  witli  their 
stipulated  quota  oTtroops,  and  subsidies  of  money.  Willi  this  com- 
bined army,  the  monarch  mechtated  the  subjugation  of  Leinster, 
over  which,  before  he  possessed  it  by  conquest,  he  appointed  his 
late  tutor,  Criomtlian,  viceroy. 

As  soon  as  the  people  ^)t'  Leinster  were  apprised  of  the  approach 
of  an  invading  army,  they  despatched  messengers  to  their  hereditary 
general,  Cumhal,  tlie  son  of  Frcnmor,  a:id  descendant  of  the  monarch 
Naacllin,  urging  him  to  hasten  to  their  assistance,  and  to  the  protec- 
tion of  his  relatives,  the  oppressed  children  of  Cathoir  More.  The 
gallant  Cumhal,  who  was  at  this  era,  A.  D.  154,  in  Britain,  with  his 
Clana  Baoi^gnc,  or  Leinster  knights,  fighting  against  the  Romans, 
immediately  on  the  arrival  of  ihe  messengers  at  his  camp,  set  off  for 
Ireland. 

When  Cumhal  reached  the  head-quarters  of  the  army  of  Leinster, 
at  Naas,  in  the  county  of  Kildare,  he  published  a  manifesto,  in  which 
he  denounced  tiie  monarch  as  an  ambitious  prince,  who  sought  his 
own  aggrandizement,  on  the  ruin  of  the  persecuted  children  of  his 
predecessor,  Cathoir  More.  The  Governor,  and  troops  of  Con,  were 
speedily  drove  out  of  Leinster,  by  Cundial,  at  the  head  of  the  com- 
bined forces  of  that  province,  as  well  as  the  auxiliary  troops  which 
Eogan,*  king  of  Munster,  sent  into  the  field  to  check  the  ambitious 
projects  of  Con. 

When  Con  learned  that  his  viceroy  and  army  were  expelled  from 
Leinster,  he  despatched  heralds  to  Naas,  requiring  the  immediate 
attendance  of  Eogan  and  Cumhal,  with  their  vassals  at  Tara.  But 
instead  of  evincing  any  indication  of  submission,  they  replied  to  the 
heralds  by  bidding  defiance  to  the  requisition  of  the  monarch,  which 
provoked  his  indignation.  A  declaration  of  war  against  Leinster 
and-Munster,  was  the  immediate  result.  Eogan  and  Cumhal  made 
great  preparations  to  carry  on  the  contest,  and  as  soon  as  they  mus- 
tered all  the  fi)rces  they  could  collect,  tlicy  commenced  their  march 
towards  Tara,  avowing  their  determination  of  dethroning  Con,  and 
placing  the  crown  on  the  head  of  the  heir  of  Cathoir  IMore.  The 
entire  popidation  almost  appeared  in  arms  on  either  side,  and  the 
approaching  hostilities  threatened  to  be  fierce  and  terrible  in  the 
extreme.  Both  armies,  eager  for  the  fight,  marched  to  the  King's 
county,  where,  as  if  by  mutual  agreement,  they  selected  the  plains 
of  Lena,  as  the  scene  of  one  of  the  most  destructive  and  desperately 
contested  conflicts  that  was  ever  fought  in  Ireland. 

"  The  jrenerals  on  each  side,"  says  Dr.  O'Halloran,  "  remark  the 
dispositions  of  the  enemy's  troops;  and  each  chief  is  allotted  his 
ground,  and  the  troops  he  is  to  attack.  W^e  are  surprised  with  what 
minuteness  this  is  detailed;  but  particularly  in  the  battle  of  Lena, 
where  every  commander  is  assigned  his  particidar  service  :  a  proof 
that  in  ancient  times  neither  generalship,  nor  military  abilities  were 
neglected."  At  the  battle  of  Lena,  courage  and  chivalry  shone  in 
their  brightest  lustre. 

*  "  This  prince,  it  must  be  observed,  was  known  by  four  different  names:  he 
was  called  Eogan  Fidhfheathach,  Eogan  More,  Eogan  Faithliock ;  and  Modha 
J\'uagat." — Keating. 

24 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

Battle  of  Lena.— Victory  of  Con.—Eogan,  king  of  Munster ,  flies  to  Spain,  marrieg 
a  Spujush  princess,  invades  Ireland,  and  defeats  ^iovgus,  king  of  South  Munster. 
— Death  of  .iongus  in  battle. — Eogan  defeats  Con  in  three  battles. — Division  of 
Ireland  between^ the  rivals. — A  new  tear. — Death  of  Eogan. — Invasion  of  Ulster, 
and  death  of  Con. 

As  soon  as  the  Lark  was  roused  by  the  radiance  of  the  morning 
sun,  both  armies  were  under  arms  and  ready  to  commence  the  work 
of  havoc  and  death. 

Tlie  troops  of  Con,  commanded  by  the  Connaught  champion, 
Gaul  Mac  Morni,  heroically  began  the  attack  with  their  accustomed 
impetuosity.  They  bore  down  all  before  them,  until  Cumhai,  with 
the  Leinster  knights,  hastened  to  the  centre  of  destruction,  and 
formed,  as  it  were,  a  wall  of  brass  to  stop  the  progress  of  Gaul. 
The  two  chieftains,  Cumhai  and  Gaul,  engaged  each  other  sword  in 
hand,  while  the  knights  of  Connaught  and  Leinster  emulated  their 
valour,  and  joined  in  a  most  terrible  combat.  The  fight  continued 
for  a  long  time  with  unabated  courage  and  unflinching  valour,  when 
at  last  Cumhai  fell  under  the  sword  of  Gaul.  His  death  spread 
panic  and  dismay  among  the  Leinster  troops,  who,  thinking  all  lost, 
began  to  fly  away  in  the  utmost  disorder.  It  was  in  vain  for  Eogan, 
the  king  of  Munster,  to  think  of  rallying  them,  for  consternation 
deprived  them  at  once  of  gallantry  and  discipline.  The  defeat  they 
suffered  was  complete  and  decisive.  Con  pursued  the  fugitives  to 
the  borders  of  the  county  of  Cork.  Eogan,  to  evade  the  vengeance 
of  his  implacable  enemy.  Con,  fled  to  Spain,  leaving  his  territories 
in  the  hands  of  the  conquerer.  Eogan  was  received  at  the  court  of 
Spain  with  the  greatest  friendship  and  hospitality.  During  his  exile 
there  he  succeeded  in  gaining  the  aftections  of  the  Spanish  princess, 
Beara,  whom  he  married.  This  alliance  inspired  himself,  as  well 
as  his  adherents  in  Ireland,  with  the  hope  of  recovering  his  throne. 
After  a  short  exile  in  Spain,  he  persuaded  his  father-in-law  to  fit  out 
an  expedition  for  him  for  the  invasion  of  Ireland.  He  arrived  at 
Waterford,  after  a  short  voyage,  where  a  numerous  body  of  friends 
and  followers  were  in  readiness  to  give  him  welcome  and  second  his 
measures,  and  promote  his  designs,  among  whom,  there  was  a  Druid 
of  the  most  exalted  quality.  No  sooner  had  he  concentrated  his 
forces,  than  he  marched  towards  Cashel,  with  the  intention  of  aveng- 
ing the  aggressions  which  Aongus,  king  of  South  Munster,  com- 
mitted on  his  territories. 

He  attacked  the  South  Munster  army,  under  Aongus,  in  their 
entrenched  camp  at  Feathard,  in  the  county  of  Tipperary,  and  after 
an  obstinate  engagement,  gained  a  complete  victory  over  them.  He 
drove  Aongus  before  him,  in  the  utmost  confusion,  to  the  county  of 
Wicklow,  where  another  battle  took  place,  in  which  the  South 
Munster  army  were  totally  routed,  and  their  chief  general,  Lugha, 
killed.  Aongus  seeing  his  utter  inability  to  oppose  the  triumpliant 
progress  of  Eogan,  fled  to  Tara  to  supplicate  the  aid  of  the  supreme 
monarch. 


187 

Con,  dreading  the  bravery,  genius,  and  ambition  of  Eogan,  listened 
with  comphiisaiice  to  Aongus's  solicitations,  and  speedily  raised  for 
him  an  army  of  fifteen  thousand  men.  With  this  reinforcement, 
and  the  remnant  of  liis  oun  shattered  troops,  Aongus  returned  to 
Mu  lister. 

As  soon  as  Eogan  learned  that  his  enemy  had  augmented  his 
army  to  such  a  formidable  force,  he  retreated  to  Ibh  Lcothan,  in  the 
county  of  Cork,  where  he  resolved  to  make  a  stand,  and  give  battle 
to  his  pursuers.  In  this  strong  position  Aongus  attacked  him  ;  but 
the  consequence  was  the  signal  defeat  of  the  allied  army,  and  the 
deatii  of  Aongus,  and  his  principal  officers.  This  victory  not  only 
strengthened  the  power  and  popularity  of  Eogan,  but  elevated  his 
ambition  to  the  determination  of  possessing  the  monarchy  of  Ireland. 
Eogan  was  certainly  a  prince  of  genius  and  valour,  but  Con  was 
fully  his  equal  in  these  attributes;  so  that  the  former  knew,  that  in 
his  way  to  the  crown  he  had  to  contend  against  difficulties  of  the 
most  fearful  character. 

Before  he  commenced  the  desperate  game  on  which  life  and 
empire  were  depending,  he  sent  his  ambassadors,  Druids,  to  all  his 
allies,  to  sound  their  dispositions,  and  to  ascertain  whether  they 
would  join  him  in  a  war  against  the  supreme  monarch. 

The  cunning  Druids,  by  the  aid  of  superstition  and  artifice,  were 
eminently  successful  in  their  embassies.  The  kings  of  Ulster  and 
Leinster  quickly  despatched  their  disposable  troops  to  the  head 
quarters  of  Eogan.  This  accession,  when  combined  with  his  own 
forces,  swelled  up  his  army  to  fifty-two  thousand  men.  At  the  head 
of  this  formidable  army,  Eogan  marched  to  Bray,  in  the  county  of 
Wicklow,  where  he  was  met  by  Con.  A  battle  was  the  immediate 
result  of  the  approximate  encampment  of  both  armies.  In  this,  as 
well  as  in  three  successive  engagements,  Con  was  defeated,  and 
compelled  to  fly  in  disorder  before  his  pursuers  to  Cruachan,  in  the 
county  of  Roscommon.  On  arriving  here,  he  was  joined  by  Gaul 
Mac  Morni,  and  the  knights  of  Connaught.  The  victor  in  his  pur- 
suit, slopped  one  night  at  the  palace  of  Tara,  and  then  continued 
his  march  until  he  approached  within  a  few  miles  of  Con's  camp. 
Selecting  a  favourable  position  he  fi)rmed  his  encampment,  and  then, 
by  the  advice  of  a  council  of  war,  sent  heralds  to  Con,  demanding 
the  surrender  of  the  Irish  crown.  This  demand  fired  the  monarch 
with  indignation,  but  by  the  advice  of  his  privy  council,  he  sup- 
pressed his  resentment  in  the  presence  of  the  heralds,  and  signified 
to  them  his  willingness  to  open  negotiations  with  Eogan.  As  a  first 
step  towards  peace,  an  armistice  was  soon  concluded  between  the 
belligerents.  After  much  altercation  and  dispute  between  the 
plenipotentiaries  of  both  princes,  a  definitive  treaty  of  peace  was 
finally  ratified. 

By  the  stipulations  of  this  famous  treaty,  Eogan  was  to  possess 
and  reign  over  the  southern  portion  of  Ireland,  which  was  to  be 
called  ^'Lcath  Mmrho,''  or  Eogan's  share.  The  other  portion  of  the 
kingdom,  comprehending  the  country  from  "Wicklow  to  Galway, 
fell  to  the  share  of  Con,  and  was  denominated  "  Lnath  Con,""  or 
Con's  half.     The  boundaries  of  this  renowned  division,  were  marked 


188 

by  deep  Irenclies  wliich  were  cut,  and  by  the  erection  of  redoubts 
that  were  raised  at  several  points.  It  was  imperious  necessity 
alone  that  compelled  Cnn  to  sij^n  a  treaty  which  he  considered  igno- 
minious and  humiliating  in  the  extreme,  so  that  he  was  determined 
to  violate  its  conditions  as  soon  as  he  might  find  himt^elf  able  to  do 
so  with  impunity.  A  few  months  only  elapsed  after  the  ratification 
of  peace,  when  he  sent  ambassadors  to  Leinster,  to  enforce  the 
payment  of  the  Doruihmc  tribute,  which  bis  grandfather,  Tuathal, 
imposed  on  the  people  of  Leinster.  The  requisition  of  the  ambas- 
sadors v/as  treated  with  contempt  by  the  Leinsterians,  which  so 
exasperated  Con,  that  he  sent  an  army  to  enable  his  tax  gatherers 
to  exact  the  tribute.  The  people  of  Leinster,  indignant  at  this  ag- 
gr-essive  act,  rose  in  arms,  attacked  the  forces  of  the  monarch  at 
Maistean,  where,  after  a  sanguinary  battle,  they  gained  a  decisive 
victory  over  them.  Tiie  Leinsterians  flushed  with  victory,  followed 
up  their  success  to  the  very  palace  of  Tara,  from  which.  Con,  with 
his  whole  court,  was  obliged  to  take  flight  to  Connauglit. 

The  conquerors  took  possession  of  the  palace,  where  they  seized 
upon  all  the  treasures  of  the  monarch.  Con,  mortally  afflicted,  and 
chagrined  at  this  disaster,  employed  himself  fir  two  years  in  recruit- 
ing his  army,  in  order  to  make  a  desperate  effort  for  the  recovery  of 
his  palace  from  the  enemy.  The  Leinsterians,  on  the  other  side, 
were  not  idle;  they  were  augmenting  their  forces  and  securing  their 
positions  by  fortifications.  At  this  era,  A.  D.  18],  an  event  occurred 
that  still  farther  increased  the  power  and  stimulated  the  pretensions 
of  the  people  of  Leinster.  Eogan,  in  the  course  of  a  royal  tour, 
visited  Dublin,  which  was  then  called  "■  Atha  Cliath-Dublilinc,'''' ox 
the  passage  over  the  ford  of  the  black  pool.*  On  making  a  survey 
of  the  city,  he  discovered  that  there  were  far  more  trading  vessels  on 
the  North,  than  on  the  South  side  of  the  Liffey,  which  displeased 
him  very  much,  as  by  the  terms  of  the  treaty  with  Con,  the  duties 
and  customs  arising  from  all  vessels  anchoring  in  the  south  of  the 
river,  were  to  appertain  to  him,  while  those  in  the  north  belonged  to 
Con.  Consequently,  by  the  distribution  of  the  shipping  then, 
Eogan's  revenue  was  not  near  equal  to  that  of  the  monarch. 

*  During  Eogan's  sojourn  in  Dublin,  at  this  time,  liis  dauglitfr  Dublana  was 
drowned,  whilst  bathing  in  the  LifFey,  fiom  which  circumstance,  the  place  was 
called  Dublana,  in  commemoration  of  the  fatal  catastrojjhe  of  the  Princess. 

"  Prior  to  Eogan's  visit,  cur  annalists  make  mention  of  Dublin,  under  the  name 
of  Jlschliled,  Lean  Cliat/i,  from  Lean,  which  signifies  a  liarbour,  and  C'liath.  whicli 
is  the  Irish  appellation  for  hurdle,  or  wicker  work.  The  ancient  Irish  made  hur- 
dles, which  they  placed  in  rivers  and  bays  for  catchino'  fish.  Many  of  these  were 
thrown  across  the  ford  of  the  LifFey,  hence  the  city  of  Dublin  was  called  Bully  at/i 
C'liath,  or  the  town  of  the  ford  of"  hurdles.  The  river  Liffey  bore  anciently  the 
name  of  .iuin  Louiffa,  or  the  swift-rolling-water." — Ancient  Topography  of  Dublin. 

"The  town  of  hurdles,  on  its  Duhh-Yme.  or  black  ford,  with  its  liuts  of  twigs,  and 
humble  and  unsparing  architecture,  attracted  the  special  protection  of  Heaven,  at 
a  very  early  period  of  its  existence  ;  "  for,  says  Jocelyn.  in  his  life  of  the  patron 
and  chief  of  all  Irish  saints.  "  St.  Patrick,  departing  from  the  borders  of  Meath, 
and  directing  his  steps  towards  Leinster.  passed  the  river  Finglas,  came  to  a  cer- 
tain hill,  almost  a  mile  distant  from  Ath  C'liath,  '  the  place  of  the  ford,'  now  called 
Dublin,  and  casting  his  eyes  about  the  place  and  the  land  circumjacent,  he  broke 
forth  into  this  prophecy  : — This  small  village  (Dublin)  shall  hereafter  become  an 
eminent  city  : — it  shall  increase  in  riches,  and  in  dignity,  until  at  length  it  shall  be 
lifted  up  into  the  throne  of  the  kingdom." — Old  Dublin,  by  Lady  Morgan. 


1S9 

Against  this  breach  of  treaty,  Eogan  transmitted  a  manifesto  to 
Taia,  claiming  instant  reparation  from  Con. 

"  Tliis  reliUion  of  the  trade  of  Did)Hn,"  says  Dr.  O'Halloran,  "will 
be  less  doubted,  when  we  recollect  the  evidence  of  Tacitus,  about  a 
century  earlier;  and  to  these  we  shall  add,  that  in  the  days  of  St. 
Patrick  we  find  it  celebrated,  for  its  extent  and  magnijircnce,  the 
number  and  riches  of  its  inhabitants,  ike  grandeur  of  its  edifices,  and 
the  greatness  of  its  commcrce.^^ 

The  extravagant  requisitions  made  by  the  ambassadors  of  Eogan, 
at  the  court  of  Tara,  irritated  the  monarch,  and  produced  in  his 
mind  a  conviction  that  Eogan  evidently  aspired  to  the  monarchy  of 
Ireland.  A  fresh  war,  therefore,  became  inevitable.  When  the 
ambassadors  of  Eogan  r^iturned  and  announced  tlie  unsuccessful 
termination  of  their  mission,  the  ambitious  king,  caused  war  to  be 
declared  against  Con.  The  hostile  sovereigns  made  the  most  for- 
midable preparations  for  a  struggle,  on  the  result  of  which,  the  fate 
of  Ireland  was  suspended.  Eogan  put  his  troops  in  motion,  and 
they  had  already  advanced  near  the  scene  of  the  late  battle  of  Lena, 
in  the  King's  county,  when  the  outposts  of  Con's  army  gave  them 
assurance  that  their  enemy  was  at  hand.  Con  reviewed  his  troops 
on  that  plain  where  such  glory  had,  a  {ew  years  before,  crowned  his 
arms.  Here  he  harangued  his  army,  reminded  them  of  their  bravery 
in  the  first  battle  of  Lena,  and  inspired  them  with  the  liope  of 
gaining  by  their  valour  in  the  approaching  contest  a  new  triumph, 
which  should  immortalize  their  courage  and  gallantry.  In  a  council 
of  war  beld  by  Con,  the  evening  prior  to  the  battle,  he  informed  his 
principal  officers,  that  he  intended  to  surprise  Eogan,  whose  native 
and  Spanish  forces  were  superior  in  numerical  strength  to  his  own, 
at  midnight.  To  this  plan  all  the  chiefs  readily  assented,  except 
the  chivalric  Gaul,  the  second  in  command,  under  the  monarch, 
who,  rising  up  at  the  council  board,  said — "Sire,  on  the  day  that 
my  first  arms  were  put  into  my  hands,  I  solemnly  vowed,  at  the  altar 
of  Bel,  and  in  the  presence  of  his  Druidical  ministers,  never  to  at- 
tack an  enemy  at  night  by  surprise,  or  under  any  kind  of  disadvan- 
tage whatever.  I  trust  that  the  vows  I  have  thus  pledged  shall  never 
be  broken.  To  this  day  I  have  religiously  adhered,  as  an  Irish 
knight  ouffht,  to  this  promise;  nor  shall  I  now,  Sire,  break  it;  for 
my  honour  is  dearer  to  me  than  my  hfe."  This  romantic  devotion 
to  the  laws  of  cliivalry,  the  monarch  praised  for  its  magnanimity, 
although  he  thought  that  a  general  intrusted  with  the  command  of  a 
whole  army  might  be  warranted  by  prudence  to  disobey  its  injunc- 
tions, on  certain  occasions.  Con,  however,  finding  that  Gaul  could 
not  be  prevailed  upon,  to  assist  in  his  project,  resolved  to  assault 
the  enemy's  camp,  without  him  or  his  knights,  at  midnight.  He  did 
so.  Notwithstanding  that  the  Munster  troops  were  attacked  by 
surprise,  in  the  middle  of  the  night,  they  yet  fought  with  a  valour 
and  a  courage  that  made  Con  repent  of  his  rashness;  the  morning 
light  presented  to  him,  his  army  in  a  broken  and  shattered  state,  and 
were  it  not  that  Gaul  came  to  his  assistance,  when  it  was  clear  day, 
Con  and  his  troops  would  have  been  annihilated.  Eogan,  in  repel- 
ling the  assault,  cut  all  before  him,  he  moved  like  the  living  demon 
of  fire,  if  such  there  be,  through  the  hostile  ranks,  but  at  length  the 


190 

mighty  Gaul  stood  before  him,  sword  in  hand.  "  Now,  said  he," 
Eojjan,  "  we  meet  in  a  fair  fieUl,  let  our  swords  decide  which  of  us 
is  the  bavesr."  They  fouj^ht  desperately  for  an  hour,  when  it  was 
the  late  of  the  gallant  Eoijan  to  fall  mortally  wounded.  The  con- 
tending armies  sus|)ended  their  hostilities  during  this  heroic  combat, 
between  the  renowned  champions.  The  body  guards  of  Eogan, 
raised  up  his  corpse,  pierced  with  innumerable  wounds,  on  their 
shields,  to  the  view  of  both  armies.  As  soon  as  Gaul  wiped  away 
the  tears  which  he  shed  for  the  death  of  his  brave  adversary,  he  ex- 
claimed— "lay  down  the  body  of  the  heroic  king  of  Minister,  for  he 
died  as  the  noble  and  the  valiant  jjrince  should  die  !  Future  Bards 
will  tune  a  thousand  harps  in  the  celebration  of  his  glory."  The 
fall  of  Eogan  dismayed  and  disheartened  the  Munster  forces  so  that 
Con  gained  a  signal  victory. 

Con's  enemies  were  so  appalled  by  his  late  success  that  they  fled 
to  hiding  places  in  different  parts  of  the  country.  At  the  death  of 
Eogan,  his  eldest  son,  Olioil,  was  too  young  to  be  raised  to  the  throne 
of  Munster  ;  consequently,  Mac  Niad,  who  so  powerfully  co-operated 
with  Eogan,  in  recovering  his  kingdom,  was  ajipointed  regent  during 
the  minority  of  the  young  prince.  As  soon  as  the  regent  was  in- 
vested with  plenary  powers,  the  people  of  Munster  with  a  united 
voice  called  upon  him  to  lead  them  once  more  against  Con,  whom 
they  denounced  as  a  tyrant.  Con,  who  was  as  wise  as  he  was  gal- 
lant, resolved  to  avert,  if  possible,  another  war,  for  which  he  was 
not  prepared.  He  therefore  sent  ambassadors  to  the  regent  of  Mun- 
ster to  congratulate  him  on  his  accession  to  his  new  ofhce  and  dig- 
nity, and  to  express  the  wishes  of  the  monarch  that  peace  and  amity 
should  subsist  between  the  courts  of  Tara  and  Munster. 

The  ambassadors,  in  order  to  win  over  Mac  Niad  to  their  propo- 
sitions, had  secret  instructions  to  offer  him  the  monarch's  youngest 
daughter,  the  beauteous  Sadliblia,  in  marriage.  The  ambassadors 
effected  their  purpose,  and  their  negociations  closed  by  a  definitive 
treaty  of  peace,  whose  terms  were  highly  advantageous  to  Munster. 

As  soon  as  it  was  ratified,  Mac  Niad  repaired  to  Tara,  where  his 
and  the  princess's  nuptials  were  solemnized  with  great  pomp  and 
magnificence. 

The  ambitious  Con,  who  had  long  looked  with  a  jealous  and 
envious  eye  on  Ulster,  whose  king  was  ever  foremost  among  liis 
enemies,  resolved  now,  when  he  had  nothing  to  dread  from  Munster, 
to  invade  that  country,  and  make  its  peojde  feel  the  inflictions  of  his 
vengeance. 

He  accordingly  raised  a  great  array,  and  marched  towards  that 
country.  When  the  Ultonians  heard  of  his  approach,  they  flew  to 
arms,  and  advanced  to  meet  him.  Con  never  encountered  men  that 
opposed  such  a  fierce  resistance  to  his  invasion  as  the  Ultonians. 
They  vanquished  him  in  several  battles,  and  ultimately  totally  de- 
feated his  whole  army,  and  slew  himself  at  an  engagement  near 
Dungannon,*  in  the  county  of  Tyrone.     There  is,  we  must  observe, 

*  Of  Dungannon,  a  pretty  and  prosperous  town,  in  the  County  of  Tyrone, 
situated  about  eleven  Irish  miles  North  of  Armagh,  and  72  N.  W.  from  Dublin, 
we  will  give  a  description  when  we  bring  this  history  down  to  the  fifth  nge  of  the 
christian  era. 


191 

a  material  discrepancy  in  the  accounts  of  our  annalists  of  the  death 
of  Con.  The  book  called  the  '■'■Annals  of  the  four  Masters'''  says  he 
was  slain  at  the  battle  of  Tuath  Ainihrios,  in  the  county  of  Tyrone, 
while  Keating  and  O'Flaherty  assert  "that  he  was  assassinated  in 
his  bed  at  Tara."  "But  this  last  death,"  says  O'llalioran,  "  is  so 
inconsistent  with  the  spirit  of  heroism,  of  those  days,  that  I  cannot 
by  anv  means  give  it  credence."  His  reign  of  thirty  years,  distract- 
ed Ireland  with  all  the  miseries  of  war  and  oppression.  Con  had  a 
mixture  of  vices  and  virtues  in  his  composition  ;  and  perhaps  that 
the  latter  would  have  shone  with  a  brilliancy,  in  which  the  former 
would  have  been  lost,  if  ambition  did  not  "congeal  the  genial  cur- 
rent of  his  soul."  His  whole  life  was  engrossed  in  the  cares  of  war, 
so  that  he  had  no  opportunity  of  conferring  the  benefits  of  peace  on 
the  nation. 

Few  of  our  princes  excelled  him  in  intrepidity  and  the  greatness 
of  true  heroism.  Con,  of  the  hundred  battles,  has  been  the  popular 
and  inspiring  theme  on  which  Irish  poetry  and  eloquence  have 
lavished  all  their  genius.  His  very  name  had  a  talismanic  effect, 
which  existed  in  the  potency  of  its  charm,  until  the  days  of  Queen 
Elizabeth,  in  inspiring  the  valour  and  patriotism  of  the  Irish. 

"Remember,"  said  the  gallant  Phehin  O'Neil,  to  his  soldiers,  as 
he  led  them  ajjainst  his  English  foes,  "that  the  spirit  of  Con  of  the 
hundred  battles,  is  watching  our  conduct  to-day.  His  blood  is  in 
our  veins,  let  us  show  the  world  that  his  courage  is,  also,  in  our 
hearts  !" 


CHAPTER   XXVI. 


Conalrc,  the  son  of  Mogha-Lamha ,  is  elected  monarch  by  the  national  estates. — His 
three  sons  are  exalted  to  principalities. —  OlioU,  king  of  Munstcr,  demands  the 
Leinster  tribute. — Eccnts  of  Conaircs  reign,  and  his  death. — "Irt,  the  so?i  of  Con 
of  the  hundred  battles,  elected  monarch. — His  death  at  the  battle  of  Muicrunihe. — 
Scotland  colonized  by  -prince  Carbrc  Riada. 

On  the  death  of  the  monarch  Con,  as  related  in  the  last  chapter, 
the  national  representatives  assembled  at  Tara  to  elect  a  successor 
to  the  throne.  After  the  usual  contest,  Conaire,  the  son  of  Mogha- 
Lamlia,  the  lineal  descendant  of  Conaire  the  Great,  of  the  Degaids 
of  Munster,  and  royal  dynasty  of  Heremon,  was  declared  monarch 
of  Ireland  by  a  majority  of  suffrages.  On  the  day  of  his  coronation 
he  espoused  Seraid,  the  second  daughter  of  Con,  a  great  and  advan- 
tageous alliance  that  secured  many  friends  to  his  party.  The  first 
years  of  his  reign  were  devoted  to  the  internal  improvement  of  the 
kingdom,  and  to  the  reformation  of  the  laws,  as  well  as  to  other 
necessary  regulations  in  the  state.     At  this  epoch,  A.  D,  192,  like 


19i 

several  of  their  generatorial  ancestors,  the  Britons  solicited  the  aid 
of  the  Irish  monarch  against  the  Emperor  Severus,  wliose  legions 
were  overrunning  their  country.  Conairc,  who  was  ainbitif)us  and 
passionately  emulous  of  military  glory,  resolved  to  raise  an  adequate 
force,  and  march  against  the  Romans  in  person.  The  most  active 
preparations  were  set  on  foot,  every  provincial  prince  was  called 
upon  for  his  .quota  of  troops  for  the  expedition  to  Britain. 

Prior  to  tiie  king's  departure,  however,  he  summoned  the  national 
convention,  for  the  purpose  of  suggesting  to  them  his  plan  of  pro- 
viding for  the  succession  of  his  own  family,  and  the  exckision  of  the 
Heherians  from  the  throne.  He  had  now  three  sons  almost  grown 
np  to  manhood, — youths  of  genius  and  courage,  to  each  of  whom  he 
assigned  principalities ;  the  first,  called  Cm-bi-e  il/wse,  was  invested 
with  the  sovereignty  of  Muskerry,  in  the  county  fif  Cork  ; — the 
second,  whose  name  was  Corhre  Baisean,  was  appointed  over  the 
territory  of  Corca  Bhascin,  in  the  county  of  Clare,  and  the  third, 
Carbrc  Riada,  had,  for  his  dominion,  all  the  lands  lying  around 
liOch-Lene,  in  the  county  of  Kerry.  About  this  period,  Tiohradh, 
king  of  Ulster,  died.  As  soon  as  the  monarch  heard  of  the  event, 
he  resorted  to  every  species  of  intrigue  to  raise  a  branch  of  his  own 
family  to  tlie  vacant  throne.  His  policy  and  address  accomplished 
his  plan  ;  for  Fiaiach,  a  Heremonian  prince,  was  called  to  the  throne 
of  Ulster.  Conaire  having  now  nothing  to  dread  from  internal  re- 
volt, as  the  kings  of  Mnnster  and  Ulster  were  his  relatives,  and 
devoted  vassals,  gave  orders  to  his  troops  to  march  to  the  point  of 
embarkation  for  Britain.  But  in  his  progress  to  the  coast  he  was 
basely  assassinated  by  Neindiidh,  a  pricce  of  his  own  blood,  who 
was  led  to  the  commission  of  the  atrocious  deed  by  a  criminal  pas- 
sion which  he  had  for  many  years  cherished  for  Seraid,  the  Queen. 
At  this  juncture,  Olioll,  son  of  the  great  Eogan,  was  crowned  king 
of  Munster,  and  to  him  the  three  sons  of  Conaire  a[)plied  for  assist- 
ance to  punish  the  murderer  of  their  father. 

The  regicide  became  an  object  of  the  vengeance  of  national  in- 
dignation. The  three  sons  of  Conaire,  as  well  as  Olioll,  who  had 
been  just  called  to  the  throne  of  jMunster,  on  the  death  of  the 
Regent,  Mac  Niad,  pursued  Neimhidh  into  Leinster,  where,  at  the 
battle  of  Cinnrfcbha,  his  forces  were  destroyed,  and  himself  slain, 
A.  D.  192.  At  this  engagement,  Mae  Con,  the  son  of  Mac  Niad,  by 
the  daughter  of  Con  of  the  hundred  battles,  fought  against  the  Car- 
bres,  and  Olioll,  who  had  lately  married  his  mother.  The  national 
estates  were  again  convened  to  elect  a  new  monarch  in  the  room  of 
Conaire.  The  sons  of  the  late  monarch,  as  well  as  Olioll,  king  of 
Munster,  and  Fiatach,  king  of  Ulster,  unanimously  agreed  to  favour 
the  pretensions  of  Art,  the  son  of  Con,  to  the  supreme  sovereignty. 
By  a  private  treaty  of  compact  between  these  allied  sovereigns,  it 
was  covenanted  that  the  youngest  son  of  Conaire,  called  Carbre 
Riada,  should  reign  in  Albania,  (Scotland)  and  also  receive  a  cession 
of  territory  in  Ulster,  through  which  he  might  receive  supplies  of 
men  and  arms  to  maintain  his  power  in  that  country.  The  portion 
of  Ulster,  thus  ceded,  comprehending  the  county  of  Antrim,  and 
part  of  Down,  is  called  to   this  day,   "  Dal  Riada,"  or  the  route  of 


193 

Prince  Riada.*  As  soon  as  this  treaty  was  ratified,  Olioll  published 
a  decree  declaring"  his  step-son,  Lnghdheach,  or  Mac  Con,  a  rebel 
and  a  traitor,  and  commanding  him,  on  pain  of  death,  to  abandon 
the  territory  of  IMunster.  Meanwhile,  Art  was  elected  monarch  of 
Ireland.  Mac  Con,  who  was  his  nephew,  fled  to  Tara,  to  s^eek  pro- 
tection from  the  monarch  ;  but  his  reception  by  Art,  who  was  under 
many  deep  obligations  of  gratitude  to  his  brother-in-law,  Olioll,  was 
cool  and  mortifying. 

Provoked  at  tiiis  treatment,  received  at  tlie  hand^  of  his  uncle, 
INIac  Con,  and  Lugha-Leagha,  the  rebel  brother  of  Olioll,  fled  to 
Scotland,  in  the  hopes  of  finding  an  asylum  at  the  court  of  Carbrc 
Riada.  But  no  sooner  did  they  reach  the  Albanian  shore,  than  they 
received  orders  to  quit  the  country  without  delay.  They  tlicn  di- 
rected their  steps  to  South  Britain,  where  they  met  with  better  success. 
The  king  of  Wales,  pitying  their  deplorable  distress,  resolved  not 
only  to  atford  them  a  i)lace  of  refuge,  but  to  supply  them  with  forces 
to  invade  Ireland.  JMac  Con,  assured  of  the  friendship  of  the  Welsh 
king,  passed  over  to  Gaul,  where  he  had  patrimonial  possessions. 
Here,  by  his  address  and  specious  representations,  he  succeeded  in 
raising  a  considerable  force,  with  which  he  returned  to  Wales.  On 
his  arrival,  he  saw  around  his  standard,  an  army  whose  number  and 
disposition  filled  him  with  the  most  sanguine  hope  of  achieving  the 
conquest  of  Ireland.  The  Welsh  king,  to  evince  how  hearty  he  was 
in  the  cause,  sent  his  son,  Beine  Breat,  with  Mac  Con,  to  Ireland. 

This  expedition  landed  in  the  port  of  Galway,  where  Mac  Con 
entrenched  his  army.  Here  a  council  of  war  was  held,  at  which,  it 
was  resolved  to  send  ambassadors  to  Art  to  insist  on  the  cession  of 
Leath-Mogha,  or  the  southern  half  of  Ireland.  The  personages 
sent  on  this  embassy  were  Lugha-Leagha,  the  brother  of  Olioll,  and 
his  preceptor,  Nuadh,  the  Druid.  Their  instructions  were,  that  if 
the  monarch  refused  to  conform  to  their  demands,  to  declare  war 
immediately  against  him.  When  they  arrived  at  Tara,  they  made 
known  to  Art  the  purpose  of  their  mission.  The  monarch,  enraged 
at  the  audacity  of  their  requisitions,  boldly  told  them,  "that  he 
would  never  consent  to  their  proposals;  that  he  was  unworthy  a 
crown  who  declined  fighting  for  it, — that  it  was  through  rivers  of 
blood  his  father  waded  to  the  sovereignty  ; — and  that  he  would  meet 
Mac  Con,  with  his  foreign  mercenaries,  in  the  field  of  war,  where 
the  sword  would  be  the  arbitrator  of  their  disputes." 

When  the  ambassadors  heard  this  declaration,  they  requested  of 
the  monarch  to  name  the  time  and  place  of  battle.  Art  said,  that 
as  Mac  Con  had  stolen  into  his  kingdom,  at  the  head  of  foreigners, 
without  giving  him  the  slightest  notice,  he,  therefore,  considered 
that  he   should  be   allowed   a  year   for   organizing  his  army,  and 

*  Though  since  the  days  of  Heremon,  Albania,  or  Scotland,  was  partially  sub- 
ject to  Ireland,  still  it  was  Carbre  Riada,  who  first  became  a  kind  of  an  indepen- 
dent monarch  in  the  country. — Chronicle  of  Eri. 

"  The  country  became  a  complete  Irish  colony,  and  Carbre  Riada,  a  very  enter- 
prising Prince  of  the  Deaghadh  of  Munster,  and  son  of  Conary  II.  the  monarch  of 
Ireland.  This  establishment  of  Scots  (Irish)  in  North  Britain,  took  the  name  of 
Dal-Riada  from  prince  Eochaidh  Riada  (the  great  progenitor  of  the  Mac-Keoghs) 
the  founder  of  it." — Disser.  on  Irish  History. 

25 


194 

making  the  necessary  preparations  for  a  conflict  that  should  decide 
the  fate  of  Ireland.  But  to  the  required  prolongation  of  the  time  of 
battle,  the  ambassadors  resolutely  refused  assent.  They  alleged 
thnt  the  forces  of  Mac  Con  were  only  enlisted  for  a  certain  period, 
and  that  its  expiration  was  nearly  at  hand ;  consequently,  the  battle 
must  take  place  immediately.  Art,  finding  that  he  could  not  procure 
a  delay,  agreed  to  try  his  power  with  Mac  Con,  on  the  plains  of 
Bluigh  Cniinihe,*  in  the  space  of  fourteen  days.  With  this  answer 
the  ambassadors  returned  to  the  camp  of  Mac  Con.  Art,  in  order 
to  profit  as  much  as  possible  by  the  short  period  that  intervened  the 
approaching  battle,  despatched  envoys  to  the  provincial  kings,  to 
solicit  their  contingents  of  troops.  The  king  of  JMunster  sent  a  large 
force,  commanded  by  his  nineteen  sons,  to  the  army  of  the  monarch. 
The  king  of  Connaught,  with  the  Clana-Morni,  likewise  joined  him. 
To  multiply  his  hosts  still  farther,  Art  proceeded  himself  to  Killecn, 
in  Leinster,f  the  seat  of  the  famous  Fion  Mac  Cumhal,  (the  Fingal 
of  Macpherson)  to  solicit  his  aid,  and  that  of  his  brave  Irish  militia, 
in  the  coming  contlict.  Fion,  aware  of  the  approach  of  the  monarch, 
and  the  purpose  of  his  visit,  retired  in  the  night,  with  the  Leinster 
knights,  from  his  residence.  When  Art  reached  Fion's  palace,  he 
asked  his  chief  judge  (Reachtaire)  where  the  chief  was  ?  The  judge 
told  the  king,  in  reply,  that  the  champion  had  entered  into  a  stipu- 
lation not  to  combat  against  Mac- Con. 

This  answer  irritated  and  disappointed  Art,  as  he  had  reason  to 
calculate  on  the  gratitude  of  the  general,  and  expect  the  most  signal 
services  from  his  valour,  and  the  courage  of  his  army.  After  pro- 
nouncing a  bitter  imprecation  on  Fion,  and  reprobating  his  ingrati- 
tude, the  monarch  loudly  exclaimed — "His  military  fame  is  dis- 
graced by  this  base  desertion  from  me,  who  was  his  best  friend, — 
who  was  ever  ready  to  comply  with  all  his  requests.  I  allowed  his 
militia,  cattle,  clothes,  and  the  privilege  of  quartering  on  my  people, 
from  November  to  May.  To  the  hero  himself,  I  gave  money  ; — and 
at  the  last  assembly  at  Tailfean,  I  presented  to  him  fifty  broad 
shining  swords,  fifty  golden  shields,  and  fifty  polished  spears.  But 
I  shall  be  revenged."  He  then  returned  to  Tara,  brooding  resent- 
ment in  his  mind  against  Fion.  He  speedily  marshalled  his  forces, 
with  which  he  marched  to  the  field  appointed  for  the  battle. 

Mac  Dairy's  description  of  the  battle  of  Muigh  Cndmhe,  in  one  of 

*  We  cannot  learn  from  either  Keating,  0'Flaherty,0'Halloran,  or  McDerraott, 
in  what  part  of  Ireland  .V!//4'-/i.  Cndmhe  is  situated.  We  think,  however,  it  must 
be  either  in  the  county  of  Roscommon,  or  Leitrim. — P. 

t  This  place,  which  is  now,  as  it  has  been,  the  residence  of  the  Earl  of  Fingall's 
noble  family,  since  the  reign  of  Richard  I.  was  the  real  Sclma  of  the  heroic  father 
of  our  Ossiaii.  Fingal  commanded  the  knights  of  Leinster,  and  the  best  proof  of 
his  valour  and  power  is  the  condescension  of  the  monarch  of  Ireland,  in  paying- 
him  a  visit  for  the  purpose  narrated  in  the  text.  Let  it  be  remembered,  that  Mac- 
pherson, in  order  to  give  an  air  of  trutli  to  the  fictions  of  his  own  visionary  brain,, 
makes  Fion  Mac  Cumhal,  a  cotcmporary  of  Cuchullin,  although  that  liero  died 
nearly  three  centuries  before  the  era  of  which  we  are  writing.  But  as  we  are  now 
approaching  the  age  of  Ossian,  we  shall,  when  we  bring  our  history  down  to  it, 
devote  an  entire  chapter  to  the  biography  of  our  ancient  Bard,  and  to  the  refuta- 
tion of  Macpherson's  pretensions  to  the  son  of  Fion  Mac  Cumhal. — P. 

"  This  is  the  hero  so  much  celebrated  in  the  poems  of  Macplierson,  corruptly 
tailed  Fingall,  and  falsely  said  there  to  be  a  Caledonian  chief." — Warner. 


195 

liis  epic  poems,  displays  great  powers  of  genius.  He  says  of  Art — 
"  Yonder  lie  sweeps  over  the  plain,  like  the  thunderbolt  that  tumbles 
down  the  rocks  into  the  foaming  main.  How  majestic  is  the  step 
of  the  kingly  hero, — how  worthy  of  his  great  sire,  the  hero  of  the 
hundred  battles!  Look  how  the  brightness  of  his  sword  contends 
with  the  sun-beam  in  refulgence — how  the  gleaming  of  his  spear 
illuminates  the  sides  of  the  mountain  ! 

This  hero  of  Tara  is  like  the  irresistible  wave  in  bis  enmity; — he 
is  as  quick  as  lightning  in  defence,  terrible  in  battle;  the  support  of 
mighty  armies — the  hand  of  liberality, — the  all-protecting,  and  the 
performer  of  most  mighty  deeds. 

Contending  armies  behold  with  dismay  and  admiration  bis  war- 
rior-like anger ;  drcadfiil-to  their  ears  is  his  powerful  voice,  as  be 
calls  his  valiant  soldiers  to  the  jioint  where  danger  and  death  stalk 
through  the  conflict.  His  foes  shrink  before  bim  as  tise  ripe  harvest 
bends  before  t!ie  storm,  they  fall  to  rise  no  more." 

Olioll  is  also  represented  performing  the  most  gigantic  feats  of 
heroism  in  this  memorable  engagement,  which  was  fought,  A.  D. 
222.  Perhaps  among  all  the  battles  which  we  have  narrated,  in  the 
course  of  this  history,  that  we  may  estimate  this  the  most  san- 
guinary and  destructive  that  had  been  fought  since  the  reign  of 
Heremon. 

The  rank  and  number  of  the  slain  demonstrate  how  desperately 
and  vindictively  it  was  contested.  Art,  the  monarch,  after  perform- 
ing the  most  glorious  exploits,  at  length  fell  by  the  hand  of  Lugha- 
Leagha.  Eogan,  the  crown  prince  of  Munster,  and  six  of  his  legiti- 
mate brothers,  with  the  king  of  Connaught  and  two  of  his  sons,  were 
among  the  slain,  so  that  Mac  Con  purchased  the  victory  dearly.* 
"  History,"  says  O'Halloran,  "  scarcely  furnishes  a  more  unnatural 
war  than  the  one  between  Art  and  bis  nephew,  Mac  Con.  The 
latter  dethroning  his  uncle,  and  fighting  against  his  step-Auher, 
Olioll,  as  well  as  his  brothers.  Lugha  quitting  the  party  of  his 
brother,  Olioll,  to  fight  for  his  nephew  ;  and  to  add  to  the  disgrace 
of  these  times,  the  brothers  of  Con  killing  their  two  nephews." 

While  these  lamentable  events  were  passing  in  Ireland,  Carbre 
Riada,t  was  employed  in  strengthening  his  pov; er  in  Caledonia,  and 
in  combating  with  the  Roman  legions. 

*  "  Seven  of  the  nine  legitimate  sons  of  Olioll,  were  unfortunately  killed  in  the 
battle  of  Muchruimo,  as  the  kins;  of  Munster  has  confirmed  in  a  poem  composed 
by  himself—'  The  tender  father^for  liis  sons  laments  ;— Seven  princes,  the  only 
hopes  of  my  old  age,  fell  in  one  day: — Eogan,  Dumberchon,  Modehorb,  Lug- 
haidh,  Eochaidh,  and  Diothorda.'  " — Keating. 

t  "  By  force  or  friendship,  the  Irish  prince  procured  settlements  for  himself  and 
his  followers  in  Scotland.  Fromtliis  leader,  wiiose  name  wa.s  Riada,  the  posterity 
of  these  settlers  are  to  this  day  called  Dal  Rcudimh,  or  the  Irish  occupiers  of  the 
■part." — Bede. 

"  It  is  true,  that  before  this  time,  the  Albanian  Picts  were,  for  centuries,  tributary 
to  the  crown  of  Ireland,  yet  it  remained  for  Carbre  to  form  the  first  regular  settle- 
ment in  Scotland." — Mac  Gcoghcgan's  Hist,  d'liiandc. 

"  Tills  Prince  reduced  all  Scotland  under  his  Aoxmnion."— Ushers  Primord. 

'=  How  can  the  Caledonians,  in  tiie  face  of  the  authorities  of  Bede  and  Fordun, 
have  the  egregious  folly  to  deny  their  Irish  oT\g\n.'—0'Kenncdi/s  Chronology.— 
Edinburgh,  1778. 


19G 

The  disaster  of  the  battle  of  Muigh  Cruimhe,  and  the  death  of  his 
seven  beloved  sons,  rendered  Olioll,  king  of  INIunster,  inconsolable. 
The  agony  of  his  atftiction  became  too  acute  to  be  borne  with  forti- 
tude or  resignation.  He  mourned  his  eldest  son,  Eogan,  with  con- 
stant tears,  and  piteous  wailings.  The  w eight  of  his  wo,  and  the 
pain  of  his  affliction  soon  depressed  his  spirits  and  destroyed  his 
health.  Finding  his  infirmities  and  sorrows  rapidly  bearing  him 
into  the  whirlpool  of  death,  he  made  his  will,  by  which  he  bequeath- 
ed to  his  son,  Cormac-Cas,  or  the  beloved,  the  crown  of  Munster 
during  his  life,  as  well  as  his  sword,  shield,  spear,  and  suit  of  ar- 
mour. "These,"  said  he,  "I  leave  him  as  a  token  of  my  aftection, 
and  a  proof  of  the  estimate  I  set  on  his  courage  and  bravery." 
This  will  stipulated,  that  after  the  death  of  Cormac,  the  crown 
should  devolve  on  Eogan,  the  infant  son  of  the  crown  prince, 
Eogan-Olioll,  who  fell  in  the  late  battle.  It  further  ordained  that 
the  sovereignty  should  for  ever  continue  in  alternate  succession  be- 
tween the  issue  of  Cormac  and  his  nephew  Eogan  Fiachadh.  After 
he  had  signed  this  testament,  he  called  his  son  and  grand-son  to  his 
bed-side,  when  he  bestowed  upon  them  his  benediction,  and  then 
conjured  them,  in  the  most  earnest  manner,  to  observe  religiously, 
the  commands  of  his  will,  which  he  told  them,  would  make  them  tlie 
delight  of  their  friends,  and  the  terror  of  their  enemies.  Soon  after 
delivering  tliis  injunction,  he  breathed  his  last. 

From  Cormac  Cas  and  Eogan  Fiachadh  were  descended  some  of 
the  noblest  families  that  shine  in  the  Irish  annals, — names  that  fling 
a  radiance  of  exalted  virtue  and  martial  renown  on  the  page  which 
they  adorn. 

The  posterity  of  Olioll-Olum,*  transmitted  through  these  two 
princes,  was  designated  by  the  Irish  historian,  the  clan  Eoganachts, 
and  clan  Cassians.  From  Eogan  are  descended  the  following 
Septs  : — The  Mac  Carthies,t  O'Connells,  Callaghans,  O'Sullivans, 
O'Reefs,  O'Donohoes,  O'Mahonies,  O'Donovans,  Mac  AulifFe,  O'- 
Shee,  O'Line,  Mac  Gilcuddy,  O'Garas,  &c.  &.c. 

The  posterity  of  Cormac  Cas,  are  : — The  O'Briens,  Mac  Namaras, 

*  "  The  reason  he  got  the  epithet  of  Olum  is  this ; — being  of  a  very  amorous 
disposition,  he  once  attempted  violence  on  a  young  lady,  named  Aitline  ;  but  she, 
enraged  at  his  insolence,  in  her  struggles,  bit  off  a  piece  of  his  ear." — O'- 
Hai.i.oran. 

t  The  Mac  Carthies,  called  by  way  of  eminent  distinction,  Mac  Carthy  More, 
or  the  Great,  were,  for  many  ages,  kings  of  Desmond,  a  principality  comprehend- 
ing the  counties  of  Cork  and  Kerry.  The  English  followers  of  king  John  de- 
prived them  of  a  large  portion  of  their  patrimonial  possessions.  A  branch  of  this 
illustrious  family  were  created  by  Ricliard  I.  Earl  of  Clancarthy,a  title  which  they 
held  until  the  reign  of  William  III.,  when,  like  many  other  noble  Irish  families, 
they  became  the  victims  of  confiscation  and  forfeiture.  The  Trench  family  pos- 
sesses now  this  peerage. —  P. 

"  Of  the  race  of  Eogan  More,  the  Mac  Carthies  were  the  first,  and  the  greatest, 
the  oldest  Milesian  family  in  Ireland,  and  one  of  the  most  celebrated.  Out  of  the 
wrecks  of  time  and  fortune,  Donogh,  the  late  Earl  of  Clancarthy,  had  reserved  in 
his  family  an  estate  of  ten  or  twelve  thousand  pounds  a  year;  a  fair  possession  of 
more  than  two  thousand  years  standing;  the  oldest,  perhaps,  in  the  world;  but 
forfeited  for  his  loyalty  and  devotion  to  the  Stuart  family." — O'Connor. 

"  Patrick  Mac  Carthy,  Earl  of  Clancarthy,  sat  in  king  James's  parliament,  in 
1689,  for  which  he  was  attainted." — Taaffe, 


197 

Mac  Malions,  Kennedies,  Mac  Clanchies,  IMac  Coclilins,  O'Hiftcr- 
nans,  O'Carrolls,  Princes  of  Ely  and  Louth  ;  O'Riardans,  O'Flana- 
jrans,  O'Haras,  O'Fogeitys,  O'Maias,  O'Machair,  O'Caseys,  O'- 
Flynns,  «fcc.  ifcc. 

"  By  the  terms  of  this  will,"  observes  O'Halloran,  "when  the 
crown  of  Leath-Mogha  came  to  the  issue  of  Eogan,  the  othef  family 
were  kings  of  North  Munster  only;  and  when  these  last  succeeded, 
the  other  family  were  kings  only  of  South  Munster,  Leath-Mogha, 
including  the  command  of  the  entire  province." 


CHAPTER   XXVII. 


Tlic  accession  of  Mac  Con  to  the  throne  of  Ireland,  and  of  Cormnc-Cas  to  that  of 
Munster. —  The  exploits  of  Cor  mac  in  Britain  and  Ireland. — Death  of  Cormac- 
Cas. — Corniac  Mac  .irt  foments  an  insurrection  against  Mac  Con. — Its  conse- 
quences.— Mac  Con  assassinated. — .Accession  of  Feargus  to  the  Irish  throne. — His 
death. —  Cormac  ascends  the  throne. 

The  late  decisive  victory  opened  the  way  for  Mac  Con  to  the 
Irish  throne,  of  which  he  took  possession  without  further  molesta- 
tion. At  his  inauguration  he  assumed  the  name  of  Lughaidii  III. 
Our  annals  say  but  little  of  his  exploits  after  his  accession,  or  of  the 
events  that  occurred  in  the  course  of  his  reign.  Dr.  O'Halloran 
mentions,  indeed,  that  it  is  recorded  in  the  book  of  the  Lecan,  of  his 
having  effected  extensive  conquests  in  Britain  and  Gaul.  This 
monarch  was  descended  from  Ith,  the  nephew  of  Milesius,  and  first 
cousin  to  Heber  and  Heremon,  the  first  Milesian  kings  of  the  island. 
It  is  extremely  probable  that  he  possessed  some  territory  in  Scot- 
land, as  some  of  the  noblest  families  there,  such  as  the  Campbells, 
Allans,  and  others  equally  ancient,  derive  their  origin  from  this  Mac 
Con,  who  was  the  third  Irish  sovereign  of  the  dynasty  of  Ith.  The 
O'Driscols,  O'Learys,  O'Rellys,  O'Bernes,  O'Breogans,  and  Mac 
Flanchys,  very  old  and  respectable  Irish  Septs,  claim  the  honour  of 
being  the  posterity  of  Lughaidh. 

In  virtue  of  his  father's  will,  Cormac  succeeded  to  the  throne  of 
Munster,  where  he  soon  displayed  the  capacity  of  the  legislative 
king,  and  the  consummate  ability  of  the  skilful  general.  His  soldiers 
were  tlie  best  disci})lined  and  armed  body  of  men  in  Ireland,  over 
whom  he  appointed  his  son-in-law,*  the  famous  Fingal,  commander 

*  Dr.  O'Halloran,  through  error,  stated  in  his  history,  that  Cormac  married 
"  Samhair,  daughter  to  the  celebrated  general  Fion,  the  son  of  Cumhal."  Mr  O'- 
Halloran's  assertion  cannot  be  sustained  by  any  authority  against  the  united  testi- 
mony of  O'Flaherty,  Keating,  McDermott  and  Warner,  and  though  last,  not 
least,  the  Transactions  of  the  Gaelic  Societi/  of  Dublin,  vvliere  one  of  the  learned 
writers  says,  in  speaking  of  Fion  Mac  Cumhal,  '•  he  was  the  son  of  Cumhal,"  and 
styled  by  us,  his  countrymen — "  Finn,  the  renowned  general  in  cliief  of  the  Irish 
Militia.  His  mother,  Murin,  daughter  of  Thady,  the  son  of  JVuadh,  known  by 
the  name  of  the  White  Monarch  of  Ireland.  He  was  son-in-law  of  king  Cormac, 
the  son  of  Olioll  More,  and  grand-son  of  Con  of  the  hundred  battles.     His  two 


19S 

in  chief.  Tlie  king"  reposed  the  jireatest  confidence  in  the  wisdom, 
prudence,  and  niihtary  talent  of  Fiiii^^al,  so  tliat  he  was  the  mon- 
arch's associate  in  council,  in  studies,  and  marslial  achievements. 
The  galhint  son  of  Cvmdial  was  not  more  valiant  tlian  he  was  ac- 
comphshed,  as  his  mind  was  richly  endowed  with  every  liberal  art, 
and  science  jjrevailing  in  the  age  in  which  he  lived.  By  the  daugh- 
ter of  Cormac  he  had  two  sons,  the  famous  Ossian,  and  Fergus,  who 
have  acquired  such  immortal  renown  by  their  feats  of  arms,  and 
their  exercise  of  poetic  genius.  There  are  but  few  of  our  princes 
more  celebrated  than  king  Cormac  Cas,  for  his  daring  courage, 
extensive  literary  attainments,  political  sagacity,  and  sage  jurispru- 
dence. His  intrepid  chivaliy  was  always  conspicuous  in  the  throng 
of  the  battle.  As  a  poet,  notwithstanding  his  passion  for  arms,  he 
ranked  high,  so  much  so,  that  he  obtained  the  estimation  of  a 
prophet.*  He  was  the  first  prince  of  Munster  that  established  an 
annual  payment  on  every  first  day  of  November,  of  his  royal 
revenue. 

The  army  and  general  of  Cormac  had  the  tendency  of  keeping  the 
other  Irish  princes  in  awe  and  fear,  and  his  power  gave  often,  it 
must  be  allowed,  insolence  to  his  ambition,  which  was  extravagant. 
By  threats,  he  compelled  the  people  of  Leinster  to  [)ay  him  tribute, 
and  the  inhabitants  of  Conuaught,  after  trying  the  issue  of  two  bat- 
tles, in  which  they  were  defeated  by  Fion,  had  to  submit  to  Cormac, 
and  pour  into  his  coffers  the  impost  which  he  had  demanded.  The 
monarch,  Mac  Con,  beheld  these  proceedings  with  much  secret  an- 
ger and  jealousy  ;  but  he  was  not  at  all  in  a  situation  to  wage  a  war 
with  his  step-brother. 

Not  content  with  domestic  conquests,  Cormac  invaded  Wales,  in 
order  to  gratify  the  vengeance  which  he  had  long  cherished  against 
the  government  and  people  of  that  country,  for  the  assistance 
which  they  had  afforded  Mac  Con,  when  he  was  banished  thence, 
by  his  father,  Olioll.  After  ravaging  the  country,  and  enriching 
himself  with  spoils  and  contributions,  he  returned  to  his  palace  at 
Cashel.  Here  he  was  not  long  suffered  to  enjoy  repose  :  for  a 
branch  of  the  Damnonii  revolted  in  South  Munster,  against  whom 
he  took  the  field,  and  quickly  succeeded  in  reducing  them  to  sub- 
jection ;  just  as  their  allies,  the  Ultonians,  and  the  Fionna  Erion, 
commanded  by  the  king  of  Ulster,  were  at  hand  to  afford  them  suc- 
cour. Against  these,  Cormac  marched,  and  in  their  retreat,  which 
they  commenced  as  soon  as  they  heard  of  the  victory  over  the  Dam- 
nonii, brought  them  to  an   engagement  in  Meath,  where  the  heroic 

sons,  Oisin  (the  Ossian  of  Mac  Pherson)  and  Fergus,  by  the  Irish  princess,  were 
renow^ncd  in  arts  and  arms.  Fergus  Find/icoU,  or  fair  Hps,  figuratively  meaning  of 
subhme  diction,  has  been  emphatically  styled  "the  philosophic  poet  of  pointed 
expression." 

"  That  great  body  of  heroes,  the  Irisli  Militia,  was  commanded  by  Fijin,  the 
gallant  son  of  Cumhal,  who  was  married  to  the  daughter  of  king  Cormac  Cas." — 
Warner. 

*  "  This  great  monarch  was  transcendantly  pre-eminent  above  all  others,  in  the 
third  century,  for  his  profound  knowledge  in  the  antiquity  and  jurisprudence  of  his 
country  ; — the  schools  he  endowed,  the  books  he  composed,  the  laws  he  establish- 
ed, bear  unquestionable  testimony  of  his  munificence,  wisdom,  and  learning." — 
McElligott. 


199 

monarcli  slew  the  king  of  Ulster  with  his  own  hand  ;  hut  in  the 
desperate  struggle,  he  was  mortally  wounded  himself,  and  he  fell  on 
the  hody  of  his  hrave  antagonist.  Thus  was  ended  the  glorious  reign 
of  Cormac  Cas,  as  galhmt  and  magnanimous  a  prince  as  ever 
adorned  the  throne  of  31unster.  "The  issue  of  Cormac  Cas,  by  his 
Queen,  a  Danish  Princess,"  says  Dr.  OTIalloran,  "  were  Moghcorb, 
Aoif,  and  Eadhoin." 

King  Cormac  was  a  munificent  patron  of  the  artists  and  poets  of 
his  country,  as  the  Psalter  of  Cashel  asserts,  tliat  he  often  bestowed, 
in  one  day,  three  hundred  ounces  of  silver  to  the  Bards  and  literati 
at  his  court. 

At  this  time,  A.  D.  234,  Cormac,  the  son  of  Art,  the  monarch  of 
Ireland,  who  was  killed  by  ISiac  Con,  at  the  battle  of  3Iiiigh  Cniimhc, 
became  very  popular  with  the  Irish  nation,  in  consequence  of  his 
various  accomphshments,  and  the  valour  that  distinguished  his  mar- 
tial exploits  in  the  wars  of  his  cousin  Cormac  Cas.  Prepossessing 
in  appearance,  elegant  in  manners,  and  enlightened  by  a  finished 
education,  the  Irish  people  unanimously  wished  to  see  him  elevated 
to  the  throne  of  Heremon,  which  was  now  filled  by  a  usurper  of 
the  line  of  Ith.  Thus  fostered  and  encouraged  by  national  partiality, 
he  resolved  to  make  a  gallant  struggle  to  wrest  the  crown  from  the 
brows  of  Mac  Cun,  as  well  as  to  avenge  the  death  of  his  father. 
Supported  by  strong  parties  in  Connaught  and  Munster,  he  publicly 
avowed  his  intention  of  dethroning  the  reigning  king. 

His  eloquence  and  insinuating  manners  seduced  many  of  the 
former  adherents  of  Mac  Con  to  his  cause.  AVith  a  splendid  retinue 
of  knights,  Druids  and  warriors,  he  payed  a  visit  of  congratulation 
to  his  cousin,  FiacJia  3IuillcotIicm,  who  had  just  succeeded,  in 
conformity  to  the  will  of  his  grand-father,  Olioll,  to  the  throne  of 
Munster,  on  the  death  of  his  uncle,  Cormac  Cas.  Both  these  princes 
became  attached  to  each  other  by  a  stronger  tie  than  even  that  of  rela- 
tionship;— the  sympathy  which  springs  from  a  community  of  feeling 
and  interest,  and  a  cherished  desire  of  being  revenged  on  a  common 
enemy;  for  both  their  fathers.  Art  and  Eogan,  were  killed,  when 
fighting  side  by  side,  at  the  battle  of  Muigh  Cruimhe,  against  Mac  Con, 
From  Cashel,  Cormac  repaired  to  the  court  of  Emania  to  solicit  his 
relation,  king  Fergus,  and  the  knights  of  the  red  branch,  to  enlist 
under  his  standard  ; — and  after  partly  gaining  his  object  in  Ulster, 
he  then  journeyed  to  Connaught,  where  the  brave  Clana-Morni 
pledged  themselves  to  support  his  pretensions.  When  the  note  of 
this  mighty  |)reparation  reached  the  monarch's  ears,  it  struck 
apprehension  into  his  very  heart;  for  the  black  storm  he  saw 
gathering  round  him  portended  direful  destruction  to  himself  and  his 
race.  Rousing  from  the  indolence  in  which  he  had  for  some  years 
loitered,  he  proceeded  to  establish  such  measures  as  might  contravene 
and  frustrate  the  threatened  attack  of  his  competitor.  Torecruit  his 
army,  naturally  became  the  first  object  of  his  solicitude.  He  sum- 
moned the  provincial  kingsto  his  standard  ;  and  for  the  purpose  of  in- 
ducing his  relatives  in  Munster  to  espouse  his  cause,  he  made  a  journey 
into  that  province.  But  the  king,  Fiacha,  burning  with  vengeance 
against  Mac  Con,  for  the   death  of  his  father,  not  only  refused  him 


200 

the  rites  of  hospitality,  hut  commanded  him  on  pain  of  seizure,  to 
depart  from  his  territories  in  twenty-four  hours.  Thus  mortified 
and  insulted,  he  had  to  retrace  his  steps  hack  to  Tara,  hut  while  on 
liis  journey  he  was  treacherously  slain  hy  Comain  JEigis,  in  the 
county  of  Meath,  in  the  thirtieth  year  of  his  reiijn.*  There  is  little 
doubt  hut  the  assassin  was  urged  and  instigated  to  the  commission 
of  the  atrocious  deed  hy  prince  Cormac. 

Though  IMac  Con  gained  the  throne  by  the  sword,  yet  his  reign 
was  disgraced  by  no  tyrannic  act.  Our  historians  say  that  he  was 
a  liberal  friend  to  poets  and  artists,  and  that  at  the  period  of  his 
murder,  he  was  engaged  in  rewarding  his  Bards  and  antiquaries 
with  presents  of  gold  and  silver. t  Cormac,  on  hearing  of  the  death 
of  Con,  was  certain  of  being  elected  monarch  of  Ireland  by  the 
national  estates,  and  in  this  hope  he  proceeded  to  Ulster,  where,  to 
increase  his  popularity,  he  invited  all  the  princes  and  nobility  of  the 
province  to  a  sumptuous  entertainment.  In  the  midst  of  the  revels 
of  this  banquet,  when  wine  subdued  the  mental  and  physical 
energies  of  Cormac,  Fergus,  king  of  Ulster,  who  secretly  aspired  to 
the  Irish  crown,  set  the  long  flowing  hair  of  his  rival  on  fire,  which 
was  instantly  consumed,  and  thus  deprived  him  of  being  a  candidate, 
as  he  expected  for  the  monarchy  ;  for  our  ancient  princes  valued 
themselves  on  the  length  and  luxuriance  of  tiieir  hair,  which  was 
deemed  so  indispensable  an  ornament,  that  no  prince  could  aspire 
to  sovereignty  who  was  divested  of  it.|  Tiius  insulted  and  disgraced, 
Cormac  was  rendered  incapable  of  presenting  himself  at  Tara  as  a 
candidate  ;  so  that  Fergus  succeeded  in  gaining  the  suft'rages  of  the 
electors,  by  which  he  ascended  the  summit  of  his  ambition — the 
Irish  throne.  Fergus  was  the  grandson  of  Ogaman,  a  prince  of  the 
house  of  Heremon,  whom,  it  will  be  recollected,  Conaire  II.  raised 
to  the  regal  authority  in  Ulster. 

Cormac  retired  to  some  solitude,  as  he  could  not  consistent  with 
dignity,  appear  in  public  with  a  bald  head,  until  his  hair  grew  to  its 
natural  length,  when  he  went  among  his  friends  and  proclaimed  the 
wrongs  and  insults  he  sufl^'ered  at  the  hands  of  Fergus.  Fiacha, 
king  of  Munster,  Tiege,  prince  of  Ely,  Lugha-Leagha,  his  grand- 
uncle,   declared   that  they  would  aid   him  in   carrying  on  a  war  of 

*  "  The  place  of  his  death,  near  to  the  river  Boyne,  is  known  to  this  day  by  the 
name  of  "  Goit  an  oir,"  or  the  golden  field;  which  title  is  received,  because 
Mac  Con,  when  he  was  slain,  was  distributing  his  liberality,  and  rewarding  the 
merit  of  poets  and  artists  with  large  sums  of  money." — Keating. 

t  "  Mr.  OTlahcrty  allows  to  ftlac  Con  but  a  reign  of  three  years  ;  but  in  this, 
as  well  as  in  many  other  instances  of  chronology,  he  opposes  the  voice  of  truth  and 
antiquity  :  for  nothing  is  more  certain,  that  both  his  successor  Cormac,  as  well  as 
his  contemporary  Fiaclia,  king  of  Munster,  were  not  born  for  some  days  after  the 
battle  of  Muicruimhe-. — so  that  this  circulation  Cormac  must  have  been  called  to 
the  throne  at  four  years  old  ;  and  that  in  a  country  where  no  one  was  capable  of 
filling  any  public  office  imtil  after  twenty-five  years  of  age." — O'Halloran. 

:j:  "  Not  only  every  prince,  but  even  every  knight  of  Ireland,  was  obliged  to 
be  perfect  in  all  his  limbs,  so  that  his  very  person  might  command  respect. 
Fine  hair  graced  all  these  perfections,  and  set  them  off  with  dignity  and  comli- 
ness." — McDermott. 

"  To  cut  off  the  hair  of  an  adversary,  was  a  mark  of  the  highest  contempt ;  nor 
dare  he  appear  abroad  with  such  a  degrading  mark  of  infamy  as  a  bald  head." — 
O'Flaherty. 


201 

vengeance  against  the  monarch.  A  mighty  army  is  speedily  raised, 
and  Cormac,  in  the  short  space  of  thirty  days,  saw  liis  banners 
waving  over  the  heads  of  fifty  tliousand  men,  commanded  by  thirty 
princes,  and  fifty  great  captains.  With  this  grand  and  powerful 
army,  he  carries  terror  and  devastation  to  the  phiins  of  Criona 
where  he  was  stof)ped  by  Fergus,  to  try  the  fortune  of  a  battle. 

This  battle,  so  fierce  and  terrible,  was  fought,  A.  D.  254.  The 
hostile  legions  encountered  each  other  with  the  most  inveterate 
rancour  and  tury.  Luglia-Lcagha  clove  down  all  that  opposed  him; 
his  arm  was  like  the  red  thunder-bolt  cleaving  through  the  summer 
forest,  as  it  paved  its  way  through  hostile  ranks.  Both  armies  stood, 
for  a  time  motionless,  in  astonishment,  beholding  his  invincible 
bravery  as  he  rushed  through  steel-bristled  soldiers  to  seek  distin- 
guished enemies  worthy  of  his  sword.  Folt-Eahhnir,  one  of  the 
l)rotliers  of  Fergus,  was  the  first  prince  that  essayed  to  stop  his 
death-spreading  course  ;  but  the  spear  of  Lugha  speedily  drank  his 
heart's  l)lood.  His  brother  C/iaisfhiaclach,  or  of  the  crooked  teeth, 
seeing  his  beloved  Eabhair  fall,  rushed  on  the  enraged  hero  to 
avenge  Folt,  but  he  found  his  fate  on  the  point  of  his  spear.  He 
now,  like  a  hungry  lion,  trampling  on  crawling  reptiles,  bore  down 
all  that  endeavored  to  arrest  his  overwhelming  career,  in  pursuit  of 
the  king,  whom  he  attacked  in  the  midst  of  his  guards,  slew  him, 
and  then  cut  off  his  head,  which  he  brought  to  Cormac,  with  those 
of  Fergus's  two  brothers,  as  trophies  of  his  victory.  The  royal 
army  seeing  the  monarch  and  all  their  chiefs  slain,  began  to  give 
ground  ;  but  in  their  retreat  they  were  encouraged  by  the  Ultonians 
to  rally  and  to  continue  the  desperate  cotiflict,  nntil  Ticge,  or  Thady, 
with  a  fresh  body  of  troops,  fell  on  the  gallant  Ultonians,  and  thus 
decided  a  glorious  victory  for  Cormac.  Mostly  all  the  officers  of 
rank  in  Cormac's  army  were  severely  wounded.  Tiege  was  pierced 
by  a  spear  in  three  parts  of  his  body,  from  which  there  issued  so 
profuse  a  quantity  of  blood,  as  reduced  him  to  such  feebleness,  that 
his  attendants  were  obliged  to  carry  him  to  Tara,  in  a  litter.  Here 
the  hero  languished  in  great  torment,  until  his  friend  Lugha,  brought 
to  him  from  Munster  a  celebrated  surgeon,  called  Finighin,  who 
extracted  from  the  wounds  a  peace  of  a  spear,  and  the  barbed  point 
of  an  arrow,  which  operation  cpiickly  alleviated  Tiege's  agony,  and 
divested  him  of  all  pain.  Dr.  Keating  tells  an  incredible  story  of 
the  cause  of  the  virulence  of  Thady's  wounds,  which  we  merely 
transcribe  for  its  absurdity  and  improbability.  "  As  the  valiant 
Thady  was  lying  convenient  to  the  field  of  battle,  grievously  wounded, 
Cormac  came  to  the  place,  and  perceiving  Thady  in  that  n^.iserable 
condition,  by  the  pain  of  his  wounds,  called  to  a  surgeon  who  was 
in  his  company,  and  with  the  most  barbarous  design,  commanded 
him,  under  the  pretence  of  dressing  one  of  the  wounds,  to  convey 
an  ear  of  barley  into  it  ;  into  the  second  wound  he  ordered  him  to 
inclose  a  small  black  worm  ;  and  in  the  third,  he  was  to  conceal  the 
point  of  a  rusty  spear  ;  and  then  he  was  to  take  care,  in  the  admin- 
istering of  his  medicines,  that  the  wounds  should  seemingly  be  cured  ; 
but  they  were  not  to  be  searched  to  the  bottom,  in  order  to  give  him 
the  more  pain,  and  by  degrees  to  aiFeet  his  life."  It  were  impossible, 
26 


202 

for  a  moment,  to  suppose,  that  a  gallant  and  generous  prince,  as 
Cormac  certainly  was,  could  have  acted  tlie  part  of  such  a  monster 
of  cruelty,  perfidy,  and  ingratitude,  towards  the  hrave  man,  who 
contributed  so  eirectually  in  vanquishing  his  enemies,  and  thus 
opening  for  him  a  road  to  supreme  power.  Uut  as  the  horrid  tale 
is  neither  found  in  O'Flaherty,  Molloy,  nor  the  Psalter  of  Cashel, 
we  may  regard  it  as  one  of  those  ridiculous  fictions  with  which 
Keating's  history  is  fraught,  until  it  overflows  with  legendary 
nonsense,  that  every  acute  and  discriminating  Irishman  must  repro- 
bate for  folly  and  absurdity.  Keating  was  certainly  very  learned, 
but  he  was  too  extensive  a  dealer  in  chimeras,  and  was  unfortunately, 
for  his  credit  as  a  historian,  ever  ready  to  retail  out  the  traditionary 
stories  of  superstitious  old  chroniclers  with  whom  Ireland,  in  his 
day,  abounded. 

Corraac's  coronation  at  Tara,  after  his  great  victory,  was  distin- 
guished by  an  unusual  degree  of  pomp,  magnificence,  and  pageantry, 
in  order  to  give  an  imposing  eclat  to  the  solemnity.  More  than  one 
hundred  Druids  assisted,  we  are  told,  in  the  splendid  and  aflecting 
ceremonial  of  his  inauguration,  on  the  stone  of  destiny.  This 
memorable  cv-ent  occurred,  according  to  our  most  creditable 
annalists,  A.  D.  255. 

The  greatness  and  glory  which  Cormac  was  destined  to  attain  as 
a  monarch  and  a  conqueror,  were,  we  are  told,  predicted  by  the 
Druids  at  his  birth ; — and  even  before  he  was  born,  the  night 
preceding  the  sanguinary  battle  of  Muigh  Cruimhe,  his  mother,  the 
Queen  of  Art,  awoke  aftrighted  from  a  fearful  dream  which  she  had. 
The  king,  perceiving  her  perturbation,  solicited  her  to  detail  to  him 
the  particulars  of  her  vision,  as  his  knowledge  of  Druidical  divination 
would  enable  him  to  unfold  the  mystic  secrets  that  lay  enveloped  in 
the  tangled  web  of  futurity.  She,  in  conformity  to  his  request,  gave 
him  the  following  relation  of  it,  which  we  give  in  the  words  of  the 
Translator  of  O'Flaherty  : — 

"  Methought,  said  she,  that  my  head  was  taken  ofl^",  and  from  my 
neck  sprung  up  a  large  tree,  whose  extended  branches  covered  the 
whole  kingdom.  This  tree  was  destroyed  by  a  swelling  sea  ;  but 
from  its  roots  arose  another,  larger  and  more  flourishing  than  the 
former,  which  was  withered,  in  full  bloom,  by  the  blasts  of  a  westerly 
wind."  Art,  who  was  well  skilled  in  the  prescient  mysteries  of  the 
Druids,  explained  his  wife's  dream  in  this  interpretation.  "  This 
dream,"  my  love,  said  he,  "  bodes  ill  to  me,  but  it  presages  glory 
for  our  posterity  ;  Your  head  being  cut  ofl";  denotes  my  death  in 
the  battle  to-morrow ;  for  the  head  of  every  woman  is  her  husband. 
The  tree  that  arose  from  your  neck,  imports  that  you  will  bear  a 
son  for  me,  after  my  death,  who  will  arise  at  great  power  and  dignity, 
and  rule  as  supreme  monarch  of  Ireland :  this  tree  being  carried 
away  by  the  sea,  signifies  the  loss  of  his  life  through  the  means  of 
that  element.  The  second  tree,  proceeding  from  the  roots  of  the 
former,  and  still  more  flourishing,  foretels  a  successor  to  him,  who 
will  arrive  at  still  greater  power ;  but  the  tree  being  destroyed  by  a 
westerly  wind,  declares  he  will  fall  by  the  hands  of  the  Fianna 
Eirion,   or  the  Irish  militia.     But  they  themselves  shall  be   also 


203 

destroyed  in  that  battle,  never  after  to  arise  to  annoy  the  royal  race 
of  Heremon." 

It  is  a  historical  fact,  sustained  by  the  concurrent  testimony  of  all 
our  annalists,  that  king  Arthur's  prediction,  given  in  the  elucidation 
of  his  Queen's  dream,  was  virtually  verified  by  the  actual  occurrence 
of  the  prognosticated  events. 

Art.  the  next  morning  after  his  wife's  dream,  was  killed  in  the 
battle,  by  Lugha-Leagha.  His  son,  Cormac,  who,  after  wading 
through  oceans  of  ditficulties  and  blood,  mounted  the  throne,  and 
became  a  powerful  nionarcl),  at  length  lost  his  life,  as  O'Halloran 
tells  us,  "  by  the  bone  of  a  salmon  crossing  the  oesophagus,  whilst  at 
dinner."  His  gallant  son  Carbre,  as  will  be  seen  in  a  future  chapter 
of  this  history,  reached  great  glory  and  grandeur  as  monarch  of 
Ireland  ;  but  in  fulfdment  of  his  grand-father's  prophecy,  he  was 
killed  at  the  battle  of  Gahlira,  fought,  A.  D.  280,  after  annihilating 
the  Fianna  Eirio/i,  or  Irish  militia. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 


Tlic  reign  of  Cormac — tlic  grandeur  of  his  court,  and  the  excellence  of  his  institutions. 
He  punislics  the  ravishcis  of  the  I'cstals  of  the  Moon — and  causes  the  palace  of 
Tara  to  be  enlarged  and  beautified. — Reduces  Lcinstcr  and  imposes  an  annnal 
tribute  on  that  province. — Jlppoints  Fion  Mac  Cvmhal  generalissimo  of  the  Irish 
army  in  Albany. — Fion's  character  of  the  Irish  ladies. — Cormac  demands  tribute 
from  Munstcr. 

Cormac  having,  as  already  related,  gained  the  summit  of  regal 
power,  formed  the  noble  and  patriotic  resolution  of  exerting  his 
talents  and  authority  for  the  welfare  of  his  people.  He,  animated 
with  this  spirit,  reformed  the  laws,  so  as  to  make  thera  accord  with 
the  wishes  of  the  nation,  and  introduced  other  changes  in  the  state, 
of  a  highly  beneficial  character.*     The  history  of  the  country  from 

*  "  Pie  applied  himself  with  great  assiduity  to  revise  the  ancient  laws  of  the 
kingdom  ;  that  he  might  abolish  those  which  were  inconvenicut  or  absurd,  retain 
those  which  were  useful,  and  establish  others  which  were  accommodalcd  to  the 
temper  and  genius  of  the  people  he  was  to  govern.  This  is  a  lesson  to  princes  and 
states  of  modern  times,  which,  as  they  are  more  enlightened,  it  is  shameful  that 
they  are  yet  to  learn  : — and  it  shows  either  want  of  spirit,  want  of  attention,  or 
want  of  genius  in  tlie  prince  and  people,  to  be  governed  by  laws  and  customs, 
introduced  so  many  hundred  years  ago,  that  they  are  become  useless,  inconvenient, 
and  the  meaning  of  them  being  not  understood,  ridiculous.  The  Irish  monarch 
had  too  much  wisdom  and  resolution  to  permit  laws  and  customs  to  have  authority, 
merely  because  they  had  been  such :  unless  they  were  still  of  use,  and  ndaptcd  to 
the  manners  of  the  age  he  lived  in.  Therefore,  like  a  true  friend  to  his  country, 
he  meditated  and  effected  such  alterations  in  its  laws  and  customs,  as  the  nature  < 
of  the  constitution,  and  the  circumstances  of  the  times  required.  The  ordinances, 
which  he  established  for  the  public  good,  which  are  yet  to  be  seen  in  the  old  Irish 
records,  and  which  show  his  great  skill  in  the  laAvs  and  antiquities;  of  his  country, 
were  never  abolished  whilst  the  Irish  regal  government  had  existence." — VV.\rnkr. 

"  This  royal  civilian,  reduced  tlie  laws  into  axioms,  which,  like  those  of  old 
Royneys,  obtained  the  title  of  Breatha-A'imhe,  or  celestial  judgments.  These  were 
deemed  to  have  been  compo.sed  with  so  mucli  equity  and  wisdom,  as  to  merit  the 
approbation  of  heaven ;  and  to  be   consequently   unaltenLle      Tn   the  times  of 


204 

the  reign  of  his  illustrious  predecessor,  Ollamh  Fodhia,  was  by  his 
orders  submitted  to  the  supervisorship  of  the  whole  body  of  the  Irish 
Literati.  He  summoned  all  the  Druids  of  his  kingdom  to  Tara,  in 
order  that  they  should,  in  full  convocation,  make  an  in<iuiry  into  the 
state  of  rehgion,  and  estabhsli  such  ordinances  as  might  be  conducive 
to  the  promotion  of  national  virtue  and  morality. 

"Hence  in  old  writings,"  says  O'Halloran,  "  AVe  find  him 
proclaimed,  Budhrlgh,  budhphaidli,  biidh  cccan  acauirnh-fine,''  which 
in  English  is  : — -He  was  the  good  king,  the  pious  divine,  and  the 
learned  philosopher,  as  well  as  the  noble  chief  of  the  brave  military 
bands  of  Ireland.  After  having  made  the  reformation  in  church  and 
state,  which  he  thought  the  interests  of  the  country  required,  he 
employed  architects  and  artists  of  eminent  skill  to  enlarge  and 
embellish  the  palace  of  Tara.  AVhile  these  improvements  were 
going  on,  he  resided  at  Mlodh-Cu'arta,  in  West  Meath,  where  the 
court  and  national  assembly  were  removed.  "  This  country  palace," 
says  Keating,  "  though  far  inferior  to  the  royal  palace  of  Tara,  was 
300  cubits  in  length,  and  50  in  breadth,  and  thirty  in  height ;  a 
marble  dome  or  lantern,  sprung  from  the  centre  of  the  edifice,  wliich 
enlightened  the  state  chamber.  There  uere  besides  the  apartments 
of  the  king,  queen,  princes,  and  nobility  of  the  kingdom,  1.50  bed 
chami)ers  for  the  accommodation  of  strangers."  Tlie  magnificence 
and  hospitality  of  king  Cormac,  surpassed  in  splendor  and  profiision 
those  of  any  other  Irish  monarch  famed  in  our  annals.  His  court 
exhibited  pomp  and  plenty,  under  their  most  imposing  aspects. 
Exclusive  of  his  own  family,  and  the  families  and  retinues  of  the 
prcjvincial  princes,  there  were  more  than  fifteen  hundred  other 
persons  feasted  at  his  tables  daily.  At  state  dinners,  the  king  was 
attended  by  one  hundred  and  fifty  knights  of  noble  blood,  and  his 
household  guard,  were  never  less  in  number  than  eleven  hundred 
soldiers.  All  the  utensils  and  vessels  used  at  the  royal  table  were, 
we  are  told,  of  pure  gold.  No  Irish  prince  ever  lived  in  such  a  style 
of  superb  grandeur  as  Cormac,  which  rendered  his  name  and 
hospitality  so  famous,  and    so   lauded   throughout   Europe.*     The 

Christianity,  likewise  several  eminent  civilians  compiled  into  one  body,  the  celes- 
tial jndgmentg  of  the  ancients,  and  added  some  of  their  own.  Dublhach 
O'Lujrhair,  in  the  time  of  St.  Patrick,  Shenahan,  the  three  brothers,  Faranan, 
BcElhgal  and  Maelfnile,  distins^uished  civilian.s  of  the  eifrhth  centurj',  and  several 
others.  Uaald  Mac  Ferbis,  the  most  learned  antiquarian  of  latter  times,  was 
possessed  of  a  considerable  number  of  the  Brcatka-JVimhe.  He  alone  could 
explain  them ;  as  he  alone,  without  patronage  or  assistance,  entered  into  the 
depths  of  this  part  of  our  ancient  literature,  so  extremely  obscure  to  us  of  the 
present  age.  When  we  mention  Mac  Ferbis,  we  are  equally  grieved  and  ashamed  ; 
his  great  but  neglected  talents,  ignominious  to  his  ungrateful  countrymen ;  his 
end  tragical;  his  loss  irreparable  !  This  great  man,  who  was  assassinated  by  one 
of  King  Williatn's  troopers,  while  he  was  dying  of  hunger  behind  a  hedge,  wrote 
a  commentary  on  Fia  Mac  CuvihaVs  version  of  celestial  judgments." — Disser.  on 
the  History  of  Ireland. 

*  There  never  had  been  a  monarch  on  the  throne  of  Ireland  who  was  attended 
by  such  a  numerous  retinue;  tiie  great  guard,  consisting  of  the  flower  of  the 
Irish  army,  always  on  duty  in  the  palace,  and  the  other  ensigns  and  distinctions 
of  royalty  which  he  had  about  him,  which  were  equal  to  the  dignity  of  the  great- 
est princes  at  that  time,  made  the  court  of  this  monarch  the  theme  of  universal 
fame.  What  added  something  to  its  lustre  was  his  numerous  issue  ;  three  sons  of 
great  renown  in  arms,  and  ten  daughters  of  distinguished  beauty  and  rare  acconi- 
plishments." — Wak.nkr. 


205 

poets  extolled  liis  generosity  and  munificence  to  the  highest  pitch  of 
liyperbolical  adulation  ;  hut  Poets  then,  as  well  as  now,  were  alMays 
ready  to  pay  extravaijant  praise  for  racy  wine  and  rare  viands. 

Ill  addition  to  his  other  ordinances,  he  caused  the  national  conven- 
tion to  enact  a  law,  wiiich  would  render  it  imperative  on  every  future 
monarch  of  Ireland  to  retain  in  his  court,  a  nobleman  of  Miiesiau 
blood  as  a  companion,  witli  whom  he  could  converse  freely  and 
confidentially; — a  learned  and  pious  druid  to  administer  to  the 
spiritual  wants  of  his  conscience; — a  chief  judjre  to  direct  him  in 
his  judicial  decisions  ; — a  skilful  physician  to  take  cliarj^e  of  his 
healtli ; — a  poet  to  sing  his  exploits  ; — a  musician  to  dissipate  his 
melancholy  by  the  charm  of  melody  ; — an  antiquarian  to  explain 
historical  mysteries,  and  read  old  inscriptions;  and  three  faithful 
treasurers  to  collect  his  royal  revenue.  It  is  a  historical  fact,  that 
all  his  successors,  down  to  the  dissolution  of  our  regal  government, 
in  the  twelfth  century,  appointed  officers  to  fill  the  stations  which 
we  have  enumerated.  Under  his  iiiunificent  auspices,  the  university 
of  Tara  was  extended,  and  several  new  professors  added  to  the 
number  prescribed  by  the  laws  of  Ollamli  Fodhla. 

During  the  civil  war  waged  between  Cormac  and  Fergus,  for  the 
possessioi.i  of  the  Irish  throne,  Duiduing,  the  prince  royal  of  Leinster, 
and  some  of  his  companions,  while  inflamed  with  wine,  killed  the 
guards  that  protected  the  Cluain  Feart,  or  the  retreat  of  the  vestals 
of  the  moon,  after  which  they  forced  their  way  into  the  sanctuary, 
violated  the  virgins,  and  then,  with  relentless  cruelty,  put  them  to  the 
sword. 

When  Cormac  ascended  the  throne,  he  caused  an  act  of  outlawry 
to  be  passed  against  the  prince  of  Leinster,  and  his  followers,  for 
their  horrible  and  barbarous  deed.  Dunluing,  to  evade  the  vengeance 
of  justice,  fled  to  Albania,  where  he  stayed  but  a  few  years,  when 
exile  became  so  intolerable,  that  he  resolved  to  revisit  his  native 
land,  at  any  hazard. 

The  unfortunate  prince,  however,  on  his  way  to  the  palace  of 
Ferns,  was  arrested,  with  twelve  of  his  companions,  at  Armagh,  and 
sent  in  chains  to  Tara,  where  the  Brehons  pronounced  sentence  of 
death  against  them.  They  were  executed  immediately  after  their 
trial.*  The  king  not  considering  even  death  a  sufficient  expiation 
for  the  enormity  of  the  crime,  compelled  the  king  of  Leinster  to 
send  annually,  during  his  life,  as  an  eric,  thirty  white  cows,  with 
calves  of  the  same  colour,  as  well  as  brazen  collars  and  silver  bells, 
for  their  necks.  Cormac  having  now  established  tranquillity,  and  a 
wholesome  and  equitable  system  of  legislation  in  the  country,  felt 
himself  at  liberty  to  indulge  his  thirst  for  military  lenown  in  a 
foreign  country.  At  this  juncture,  A.  D.  258,  the  Dalriadian  colony 
in  Scotland,  as  tributaries  of  the  Irish  crown,  implored  aid  from 
Cormac  against  the  Roman  legions,  who  then,  by  order  of  the 
emperor  Valerian,  made  predatory  incursions  into  their  territories, 
and    oppressed    them    most    grievously.     Fingnl   (as    Macpherson 

*  "  The  punishment  of  death  was  inflicted  on  criminals  by  the  sword,  by  the 
arrow,  or  by  drowning.  Hanging,  the  most  ignominious  of  all  deaths,  waa 
unknown  in  Ireland  until  after  the  English  invasion." — Hutchinson. 


20G 

poetically  styled  liiin)  had  been  in  Calcdonin  with  liis  militia,  since 
the  accession  of  Corniac,  with  w  hoin  he  was  on  bad  terms,  but  his 
force  was  so  wasted  by  war  and  hardship,  that  he  could  no  longer 
oppose  the  progress  of  the  Romans.  Though  Cormac  owed  a  grudge 
to  Fion  for  deserting  his  father  Art,  in  the  hour  of  exigence,  and  for 
being  the  friend  and  ally  of  Mac  Con,  still  he  wished, to  conciliate 
the  lavor  and  friendship  of  the  bravest,  and  most  skilful  general  of 
the  age  ;  and  for  this*  jjurpose  he  honored  him  with  the  command  of 
the  troops  which  he  sent  to  Scotland.  When  Fion  received  this 
reinforcement,  he  attacked  the  Romans  in  their  entrenched  camp, 
and  compelled  them  to  retreat  into  Britain,  after  having  sustained 
immense   losses  in  their  flight.*     It  was   during   this  campaign,  so 

*  Mr.  Laing,  Pinkerton,  Sir  Walter  Scott,  the  Edinburgh  Reviewers,  and  the 
liberal  and  talented  Sir  James  Macintosh,  having  given  up  their  national  claim 
and  unfounded  pretension  to  the  honor  of  giving  birth  to  Fion  Mac  Cumhal  (Mr. 
Macpherson's  Utopian  *•  King  of  Selma,")  or  to  his  son  Ossin,  the  immortal  Irish 
Bard,  renders  it  unnecessary  for  us  to  say  much  to  prove  a  fact,  on  which  the 
voice  of  Europe  and  America,  has  stamped  the  seal  of  Truth.  It  is,  however,  due 
from  us  to  the  memory  of  the  late  learned  Charlp:s  O'Connor,  of  Ballenagar,  to 
give  some  extracts  from  his  conclusive  arguments  in  refutation  of  Macpherson's 
allegations  respecting  the  pretended  poems  of  Ossian.  Though  Mr.  O'Connor 
was  not  an  elotjuent  writer,  yet  as  a  learned  historian  and  a  powerful  logician,  his 
pen,  like  the  spear  of  Carhre  H'uida, \>xos\.r^ic<i  all  his  Caledonian  antagonists. — P. 

Alluding  to  the  Poems  of  Mr.  Macpherson,  Mr.  O'Connor  observes. — "  He  has 
lately  published  several  poems,  particularly  those  under  the  titles  of  Fingal  and 
Temora,  as  translations  from  Ossian,  whom  he  represents  as  a  son  of  Fingal,  who 
reigned  in  North  Britain  towards  the  close  of  the  third  century  ;  a  monarch  by 
the  way,  unknown  hitherto  in  all  the  records  of  Ireland  and  Scotland.  As  those 
Poems,  however,  retain  the  names  of  some  men  and  places  celebrated  in  the  ancient 
history  of  Ireland,  it  is  evident,  that  the  translator  points  out  to  us  Oisin,  the  son 
of  Fion  Mac  Cumhal,  the  renowed  commander  of  the  Irish  militia,  who  led  the 
forces  of  king  Cormac  O'Con  against  the  Romans. 

To  these  poems,  Mr.  Macpherson  has  prefixed  dissertations,  filled  with  false 
ctynaologies,  which  show  his  ignorance  in  the  Gaelic  or  Scolic,  and  with  negative 
arguments,  drawn  chiefly  from  Innes,  a  priest  of  the  Scottish  College  in  Paris. 
In  one  and  the  other,  he  endeavors  to  discredit  all  the  wi'itings  of  our  earlier  Bards, 
to  make  room  for  his  Ossian,  whom  he  represents  as  an  illiterate  Poet  of  an 
illiterate  age,  and  whose  Poems  escaped  the  search  of  the  best  critics  of  Scotland 
and  Ireland  for  1400  years,  till  the  modern  Columbanus  made  the  discovery,  and 
restored  the  true  text  of  what  was  not,  through  a  whole  millenium,  committed  to 
writing. 

Mr.  Macpherson,  like  other  travellers  into  unknown  regions,  not  only  indulges 
himself  in  the  marvellous,  but  is  audacious  enough  to  think  that  he  could  impose 
on  a  learned  age,  what  could  not  be  tolerated  in  that  of  the  greatest  monastic 
credulity.  He  has  discovered  another  monarchy  of  Scots  in  the  highlands;  such 
as  neither  Fordan,  Innes,  Buchanan,  nor  any  other  writer  of  North  Britain,  who 
ever  published  a  page  on  Scottish  affairs,  could  get  the  smallest  glimpse  of.  Had 
the  author  of  Fingal  and  Temora  been  an  ancient,  he  would  not  omit  celebrating  the 
most  noted  names  in  Ireland,  from  the  first  to  the  fourth  century,  in  which  it  is 
supposed  P'ingal  died.  He  would  not  confound  the  times  of  Cuchullin  with  those 
of  Fion  Mac  Cumhal ;  nor  erect  a  castle  in  Ta)-a,  many  ages  before  the  natives 
built  any.  Emania,  Crnachan  and  Alinhuin,  are  not  once  mentioned  in  these 
poems;  though  the  two  first  were  the  seats  of  the  kings  of  Ulster  and  Connaught, 
and  the  last,  Fion's  own  scat  in  Leinster.  As  a  Poet,  it  must  be  confessed,  that  he 
merits  our  highest  praises  ;  as  an  historical  guide,  he  is  the  blindest  that  any  age 
ever  produced.  His  chronological  errors  can  be  excelled  only  by  such  as  arc 
geographical ;  Tcamore,  near  Dublin,  in  Meatli,  and  the  seat  of  the  Irish  monarchs, 
until  the  sixth  century,  he  places  in  the  province  of  Ulster.  But  Mr.  Mac])her- 
son's  historical,  chronological,  and  genealogical,  and  topographical  errors,  have 


207 

jrlorioijs  to  the  Irish  arms,  that  Fiiigal  discovered  that  liis  son, 
OssiAN,  who  signalized  his  valor  in  several  hard  fought  fields,  in 
Caledonia,  was  attached  to  an  Albanian  princess,  whom  he  wished 
to  marry;  but  Fion  opposed  liis  objection  to  a  matrimonial  alliance 
with  a  foreigner.  Baron  Harold,  in  liis  elegant  translation  of 
our  Irish  Bard,  gives  us  the  following  English  version  of  Fingal's 
remonstrance  with  his  son.  "  IMy  son  of  the  noble  line  of  Ileremo- 
nian  heroes, — thou  gallant  descendant  of  Erin's  kings — the  down  of 
youth  grows  on  thy  cheek — martial  renown  is  loud  in  thy  praise — 
Romans  fear  thee,  their  eagles  were  dazzled  by  tlie  lightning  of  thy 
spear — they  flew  before  thee,  like  timid  birds  before  the  hawks  of 
Leinster.  Is  it  in  the  morning  of  thy  fame,  bright  with  the  sun- 
beams of  martial  glory,  that  thou  wouldst  ally  thyself  with  the 
daughter  of  the  Pict,  and  thus  sully  the  royal  purity  of  Milesian 
blood  ?  Thy  country  is  proud  of  thy  exploits,  and  the  royal  virgins 
of  Erin  sigh  for  thy  love,  while  Cormac's  Bards  sing  of  tlie  deeds  of 
thy  bravery  in  the  strife  of  the  mighty.  O  !  then,  Ossian,  of  dulcet 
harmony,  hsten  to  tlie  voice  of  thy  father.  Albanian  maids  are  fair, 
but  fairer  and  lovelier  are  the  chaste  daughters  of  tiiine  own  wave- 
washed  Isle  of  wood-crested  hills.  Go  to  thy  happy  Isle, — to 
Branno's  grass-covered  field.  Ever-Alien,  the  most  brilliant  gem  in 
the  diadem  of  female  loveliness,  the  trembling  dove  of  innocence, 
and  the  daughter  of  my  friend,  deserves  thy  attachment.  The  pure 
blood  of  Milesius  glows  in  her  guileless  heart,  and  flows  in  her  blue 
veins.  Majestic  beauty  flows  around  her  as  a  robe  of  light,  and 
modesty,  as  a  precious  veil  heightens  her  youthful  charms.  She  is 
as  lovely  as  the  mountain  flower  when  the  ruddy  beams  of  the  rising 
sun  gleam  on  its  dew-gemmed  side.  Go,  take  thy  arms,  embark  in 
yonder  dark-bosomed  ship,  which  will  soon  bear  you  over  ocean's 
foam,  to  green  Branno's  streamy  vales,  wh.ere  you  will  win  a  pure 
virgin  heart,  that  never  yet  heaved  with  a  sigh  of  love.  For  thee 
the  vernal  rose  of  passion  will  first  eftuse  its  sweetness  through  her 
sighs,  and  blush  in  all  its  beauty  on  her  cheeks." 

The  revenues  of  Cormac,  though  immense,  were  still  inadecpiate 
to  meet  the  great  expenditure  which  his  munificent  state  and  sump- 
tuous hospitality  required. 

To  supply  his  exhausted  exchequer,  he  was  ready  to  resort  to  any 
expedient,  no  matter  how  unjust,  which  his  financial  ministers  might 
suggest.  After  thinking  some  time  on  the  "ways  and  means"  best 
calculated  to  extricate  the  king  out  of  his  pecuniary  ditficulties,  they 
resolved  to  intimate  to  the  monarch  to  demand  a  large  arrear  of 
tribute  from  Munster,  which  they  persuaded  him  had  been  long  due. 

A  pretext  is  enough  for  an  ambitious  conqueror  to  make  war  on 
his  neighbors.  Cormac,  through  his  ambassadors,  now  imperiously 
re(|uired  the  people  of  Munster  to  be  prompt  in  the  payment  of  a 
tribute  to  which  he  asserted,  that  the  compact  entered  into  by  Here- 
been  already  sufficiently  exposed  to  need  further  comment.  His  system  has  liillcn 
to  the  ground,  in  spite  of  the  defence  of  Blair  and  Sir  George  Mackenzie.  Indeed, 
the  Ossian  Ic  forger}''  is  a  womb  teeming  with  inconsistencies  and  alisurdities, 
which,  like  the  children  of  sin,  in  the  Paradise  Lust,  prey  upon  the  bowels  of  their 
common  mother." 


208 

mon  and  Hcber,  justly  entitled  him.  The  IMnmonians  boldly  refused 
to  comply  with  this  requisition,  and  told  Corinac's  ambassadors  tiiat 
subsequent  treaties  of  peace,  particniarly  those  between  Con  and 
Eogan-lNIore  and  Con,  and  ]Mac  Neidh,  had  completely  abrogated 
and  invalidated  the  grounds  on  which  he  rested  his  pretensions  to 
the  tribute.  This  prompt  and  peremptory  negative  to  his  reijuisition, 
kindled  the  monarch's  resentment  ;  and  while  yet  smarting  under 
the  influence  of  his  indignation,  another  event  opportunely  occurred, 
that  still  further  augmented  the  fuel  of  his  fury,  and,  in  the  o])inion 
of  the  world,  furnished  him  with  new  grounds  of  justification  for  his 
firm  resolve  of  chastising  the  inhabitants  of  JMunster.  An  officer  of 
high  rank  happened,  at  this  juncture,  to  fall  under  the  king's 
displeasure,  for  some  delinquency  which  our  ancient  annalists  have 
omitted  to  mention.  This  fallen  personage  had  powerful  friends 
and  relatives  of  high  consideration,  who  interested  themselves 
zetdously  in  his  behalf,  and  tried  every  effort  of  intercession  to  have 
him  restored  in  the  monarch's  favor  and  confidence. 

Amongst  the  number  who  thus  endeavored  to  reinstate  the 
obnoxious  officer,  in  his  former  post,  the  most  firm  and  influential 
intercessor  was  Aongus,  the  king's  grand  uncle. 

This  prince,  who  was  brother  of  Con  of  the  hundred  battles, 
succeeded  in  obtaining  an  unqualified  pardon  for  his  friend.  But  as 
the  aged  prince  and  his  proitgec,  on  their  return  from  the  audience 
chamber,  were  rejoicing  at  their  success,  the  latter  was  treacherously 
assailed  by  Cealagli,  the  monarch's  son,  and  deprived  of  his  eyes. 
This  outrage,  which  was  the  eftect  of  malice  and  jealousy,  provoked 
the  rage  of  Aongus,  who,  in  the  vehemence  of  his  passion,  pursued 
the  young  prince  into  the  audience  chamber,  and  killed  him  at  the 
foot  of  his  father's  throne.  The  king  shocked  and  horrified,  hastily 
descended  from  his  throne  to  arrest  the  slayer  of  his  son  ;  hut  tlie 
offender,  flinging  his  spear  at  him,  made  such  a  precipitate  retreat, 
that  he  gained  the  outside  of  the  court  portal,  before  the  wounded 
monarch  could  give  an  intimation  to  the  guards  of  what  had 
happened. 

Aongus,  well  aware  of  the  vengeance  with  which  the  king  would 
visit  him,  for  the  death  of  a  beloved  son,  and  the  attempt  on  his  own 
life,  ra])idly  fled  with  his  family  to  the  court  of  Cashel,  where  Fiacha, 
king  of  INIunster,  received  them  with  every  show  of  kindness  and 
hospitality.  The  cordiality  and  friendship  of  this  reception  to  the 
now  jiroclaimed  rebel,  were  the  signals  for  hostilities.  Aongus, 
who  stood  high  in  the  king  of  Munster's  estimation,  was  assigned 
the  county  of  Waterford,  then  called  the  Dcasics,  as  his  territory. 
The  O'Phealans,  once  a  powerful  sept,  called  the  princes  of  the 
Deasies,  were  the  proprietors  of  the  county  of  Waterfiird,  until  the 
invasion  of  Henry  II  when  the  Le  Poers,  or  Powers,  by  force  of 
arms,  despoiled  them  of  their  inheritance.  The  whole  nation 
sympathized  with  the  monarch  on  the  death  of  his  son,  and  vowed 
vengeance  against  the  man  who  slew  him,  and  wounded  the  sacred 
person  of  the  king.  A  war  of  extermination  was  instantly  proclaimed 
against  the  king  of  Munster  and  his  people,  for  sheltering  the  rebel 
Aongus.     CorraaCj  burning  with  indignation,  hastened  with  a  large 


209 

army  into  Munster,  for  tJic  purpose  of  satiating  his  revenge  in  the 
waste  anniliilation  of  tiiat  country.  The  people  of  Munster  quickly 
a(loj)te(J  measures  to  ojipose  tlie  })rogress  of  the  furious  invader. 

They  encamped  on  a  high  eminence,  where  they  had  resolved  to 
cither  conquer  or  die.  Cormac,  led  on  hy  resentment,  and  the 
desire  of  revenge,  made  an  impetuous  charge  on  his  antagonists  in 
this  formidahle  position,  in  which  he  was  repulsed,  after  sustaining 
a  serious  loss.  The  royal  army  were  pursued  hy  the  victorious 
Mamonians,  who  grievously  harassed  them  in  their  retreat  to 
Kilkenny. 

Cormac  having  received  considerable  reinforcements  here,  he 
began  again  to  act  on  the  ofiensive.  This  argumentation  of  the 
royal  troops  induced  the  JMunster  army  to  fall  back  on  Limerick, 
whither  they  were  speedily  followed  by  the  monarch.  Here,  we  are 
told,  the  contending  forces  sutTered  great  hardships  and  privations 
by  the  scarcity  of  fresh  water,  as  the  Shannon  was  then  (piite  muddy 
and  stagnant,  and  all  the  springs  in  the  country  were  dried  up. 

Some  of  our  historians  were  silly  enough  to  attribute  this  draught 
to  the  magic  spells  and  incantations  of  Cormac's  Druids,  which 
they  had  produced,  in  order  to  ruin  the  IMuuster  forces; — but  the 
Necromancers  of  king  Fiacha,  equally  potent  in  enchantments, 
counteracted  the  magic  design,  by  extending  its  evils  through  the 
royal  camp.  Cormac,  however,  at  length,  by  skilful  manoeuvres, 
forced  the  army  of  Munster  to  an  engagement,  in  which  they  resisted 
his  attacks  with  such  bravery  and  gallantry,  that  he  was  obliged  to 
abandon  the  field  of  battle  during  the  night,  and  leave  it  in  the 
possession  of  his  valiant  enemies, 

On  the  following  morning  the  victorious  king  of  Munster  followed 
up  his  success  with  such  vigor  and  celerity,  that  he  succeeded  in 
hemming  in  Cormac  in  a  defde,  in  the  county  of  Tipperary,  where 
he  constrained  him  to  submit  to  humiliating  terms  of  capitulation, 
by  which  he  agreed  to  relinquish  all  sovereign  pretension  to  Munster, 
and  to  pay  into  the  cofters  of  king  Fiacha  as  much  money  as  would 
compensate  the  people  of  Munster  for  the  damages  and  losses 
occasioned  by  the  invasion. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 


Cormac  invades  Connaught — causes  his  minion,  Conla,  to  assassinate  Fiacha,  king 
of  Munster. —  The  monarch  banishes  the  Druids  from  Tara,  and  projcsscs  himself 
a  Christian. — His  death  and  character. 

It  was  absolute  necessity  that  constrained  the  monarch  to  submit 
to  terms  so  humiliating  as  those  which  the  victorious  Fiacha  imposed 
upon  him,  on  tliis  occasion;  so  that  at  the  very  moment  of  singing 
his  name  and  atVixing  his  signet  to  this  celebrated  treaty,  he  had 
determined  to  break  through  its  stipulations  as  soon  as  circumstances 
27 


210 

should  afford  him  an  opportunity  of  doing  so.  Inveterate  resentment 
and  the  desire  of  sacrificing  his  former  benefactor,  the  gallant  king 
of  Munster,  to  his  vengeance,  now  absorbed,  in  his  mind,  every 
sense  of  justice  and  generosity,  and  congealed  every  nobler  feeling 
of  sympathy  and  honor  in  his  heart. 

Enslaved  by  the  direful  influence  of  these  exasperating  passions, 
and  chagrined  and  mortified  by  the  remembrance  of  his  antagonist's 
triumph,  his  whole  thoughts  wej'e  occupied  in  planning  his  destruction. 
One  day,  while  the  monarch  was  thus  musing  on  the  means  of 
accomplishing  his  deadly  design  of  revenge,  Conla,  the  son  of  Tiege, 
the  celebrated  General,  a  great  court  favorite,  came  into  the  royal 
apartment,  for  the  purpose  of  informing  Cormac,  that  his  whole 
frame  had  been  suddenly  inflamed  by  a  leperous  distemper,  and  of 
imploring  his  majesty,  who  was  eminently  skilled,  like  all  the  Irish 
Druids,  in  the  healing  art,  to  prescribe  some  cure  for  the  disease 
which  so  painfully  afflicted  him.  The  royal  soothsayer,  after 
examining  the  slate  of  Conla's  body,  informed  him,  with  affected 
sorrow,  that  his  malady  would  remain  irremediable  unless  the  fistu- 
lous eruptions  of  his  dody  were  bathed  in  the  blood  of  a  king  ;  a 
cure  which  he  might  despair  of  obtaining.  It  is  supposed,  by  our 
annalists,  that  Cormac,  after  giving  tliis  opinion  to  his  patient, 
instigated  him  to  assassinate  Fiacha,  whose  blood  would  afford  the 
sanative  balsam,  that  could  alone  assuage  and  eradicate  a  painful 
and  malignant  distemper.*  In  a  short  time  subsequent  to  this 
conference,  Conla  repaired  to  the  court  of  Cashel,  where  king  Fiacha 
received  him  in  the  most  hospitable  and  polite  manner.  One  day, 
as  the  king  and  Conla  were  walking  with  a  small  retenue  of  nobles, 
on  the  flowery  banks  of  the  pellucid  river  Suire,  his  majesty  signified 
his  intention  of  bathing.  No  sooner  liad  the  devoted  Fiacha  plunged 
into  the  glassy  stream,  than  the  treacherous  Conla  launched  his 
spear  at  him,  w  hich  transfixed  his  body.  The  regicide  was  instantly 
seized  by  the  attendants  ;  but  the  dying  prince,  too  noble  for  revenge, 
commanded  that  his  life  should  be  spared. 

We  have  no  further  account  of  this  assassin  of  the  brave  Fiacha 
in  our  aiinals.  It  is  probable,  however,  that  he  was  killed  by  some 
avenging  hand  in  Cashel. 

The  eldest  son  of  the  murdered  king  of  Munster,  Oilioll  O'Flan 
More,  was  called  to  the  throne  of  his  ancestors.  This  Prince  having 
no  children,  abdicated  the  crown  in  favor  of  his  brother,  Oilioll  Flan 
Beag,  in  the  tenth  year  of  his  reign.  From  this  king  are  descended 
the  O'Duns,  O'Locheins,  O'Comains,  O'Dermods,  O'Meathus,  and 
O'Nuallans. 

Cormac's  exchequer  becoming  exhausted  by  keeping  on  foot  large 
armies,  both  in  Scotland  and  Ireland,  lie  was  in  consequence  driven 
once  more  to  the  alternative  of  demanding  a  new  tribute  from  Lein- 

*  In  relation  to  this  incredible  story,  Dr.  O'Halloran  makes  the  following 
comment  in  his  history.  "  The  tale  is  told  as  tlie  mere  effect  of  Druidism  ;  but 
Cormac  who  had  sense  enough  to  see  into  the  imposture  of  druidical  worship,  and, 
if  not  a  Theist,  certamly  died  a  Christian,  I  do  suppose  had  also  cunning  enough 
to  make  it  subservient  to  his  own  designs.  This  apology  I  thought  necessary,  as 
I  have  no  authority  for  explaining  this  story  in  the  manner  I  do,  and  so  much  to 
the  dishonor  of  the  Irish  monarch." 


211 

ster  ;  but  the  prince  and  people  tlicre  pertinaciously  refused  the 
required  sum.  The  monarch  then  sent  an  army  to  enforce  the 
payment  of  the  tribute.  As  soon  as  the  people  of  Leinster  liad  notice 
of  the  approach  of  the  invaders,  they  flocked  to  the  standard  of  tiieir 
general,  the  famous  Laighseach,  a  descendant  of  the  renowned 
Connal  Rearnagh,  and  marching  to  Athy,  in  the  county  of  Kildare,* 
fiercely  attacked  the  foe  and  put  them  to  the  rout  and  disorder.  The 
valor  and  genius  displayed  by  Laighseach,  in  the  campaign,  gained 
for  him  the  favor  of  the  king  of  Leinster,  and  the  warm  admiration 
of  the  people.  Ho  was  dignified  with  honors  and  enriched  with 
rewards. 

The  monarch  bestowed  on  him  the  tract  of  country  then  called 
Leix,  now  the  Qucen'.s  county,  and  invested  him  with  the  office  of 
hereditary  treasurer  of  Leinster,  which  post  was  held  successively 
by  the  members  of  his  family,  until  the  invasion  of  Henry  H.  The 
O'Moorc,  the  princes  of  Leix,  were  the  hereditary  chieftains  of  this 
illustrious  sept,  so  distinguished  in  our  annals  for  their  martial  glory 
and  tlieir  romantic  chivalry.  Mr.  O'jMoore,  of  Ballina,  in  the  county 
of  Kildare,  is  the  worthy  and  legitimate  descendant  of  the  great 
Toparchs  of  Leix'.  The  Flanagans,  Echlins,  O'Keenans,  and 
O'Ruadins,  are  collateral  branches  of  this  time-honored  family. 

Cormac,  finding  that  he  could  not  succeed  in  extorting  contribu- 
tions from  Leinster,  turned  his  arms  against  Connaught,  with  whose 

*  Athy,  in  the  county  of  Kildare,  an  ancient  and  respectable  post  and  market 
town,  stands  on  the  beautiful  banks  of  the  river  Barrow,  at  the  distance  of  42 
English  miles  S.  W.  from  Dublin.  It  is  governed  by  a  sovereign,  two  bailiffs,  and 
a  recorder,  and  in  population  and  wealth  is  next  to  Naas,  the  capital  of  t!ie  country. 
Before  the  union,  this  borough  sent  two  members  to  the  Irish  parliament.  Tiie 
place  which  is  now  occupied  by  the  town  was  an  ancient  ford,  leading  from  the 
principality  of  Leix,  in  the  Queen's  County,  to  that  of  Caelan,  in  the  county  of 
Kildare.  It  derived  its  ancient  name,  Mli  Trodain,  or  the  stream  of  battle,  from 
the  rout  and  discomfiture  of  Cormac's  army,  as  narrated  in  the  text,  by  the  forces 
of  Leinster,  under  tlie  heroic  Laighseach.  The  town  owes  its  original  foundation 
to  the  erection  of  two  abbeys,  on  each  side  of  the  river,  A.  D.  1210.  The  monas- 
tery on  the  west  side  of  the  river,  which  is  now  crumbling  to  ruin,  was  founded  by 
Richard  St.  Michael,  Lord  of  Rheban,  for  crouched  friars  ;  that  on  the  east  side 
was  founded  by  the  families  of  the  Boisels  and  Hogans  for  Dominicans.  This 
romantic  and  elegant  town,  of  which  we  shall  give  a  comprehensive  account  in 
our  topography  of  Kildare,  was  the  scene  of  memorable  occurrences.  In  13J5, 
Prince  Robert  Bruce,  defeated  tlie  Englisli  army  under  Sir  William  Prendergast, 
near  Athy.  Sir  William,  and  Haymond  La  Grace,  fell  in  the  engagement,  and 
they,  as  well  as  Sir  Fergus  Anderson,  and  Sir  Walter  Murray,  two  of  Bruce's 
officers,  were  interred  in  the  Dominican  abbey.  The  castle  of  Athy,  which  is  still 
in  good  preservation,  was  built  to  secure  tlie  pale,  by  Gerald,  the  eighth  Earl  of 
Kiidaro,  A.  D.  KMO. 

The  brave  Owen  Roe  O'Neil,  and  Patrick  O'Rielly,  the  chieftain  of  Cavan, 
captured  Athy  from  the  parliamentary  army  under  Hewson  and  Reynolds,  in 
1G4S. 

The  Duke  of  Leinster  is  the  patron  of  the  borough,  and  the  proprietor  of  the 
soil ;  his  ancestor,  Lord  Offaly,  became  possessed  of  Athy,  Rheban,  and  Wootistock, 
in  consequence  of  marrying  Dorothea,  the  only  daughter  of  Anthony  O'Moore, 
Prince  of  Leix,  in  1421.  Woodstock  Castle,  now  as  noble  and  affecting  a  pile  of 
feudal  architectural  ruins  as  any  in  Ireland,  was  orignally  built  by  the  Earl  of 
Pembroke.  This  castle  was  repaired  and  enlarged  in  1575  by  the  Earl  of  Kildare, 
and  two  of  its  towers  arc  now  used  as  prisons.  Here  are  chimney  pieces  of 
Kilkenny  marble  that  present  fine  specimens  of  sculpture,  of  which  wo  shall  give 
(  full  description  in  the  topography  of  the  county  of  Kildare. — jP. 


212 

king,  on  some  pretence,  he  had  quarrelled.  After  fighting  several 
battles  with  the  Connacians,  he  eventually  reduced  them  to  subjection, 
and  deposed  their  sovereign,  and  raised  his  own  step-brother,  Lugna, 
to  the  throne.  When  Corniac  had  amassed  all  the  money  and  spoils 
of  Connaught,  he  evacuated  the  desolated  country,  and  returned  to 
Tara.  But  scarce  had  the  monarch  been  seated  in  his  palace,  than 
he  received  intelligence  of  an  insurrection  in  Connaught,  whicdi 
terminated  in  the  death  of  Lugna,  and  the  expulsion  of  the  royal 
army  out  of  the  country.  This  news  enraged  and  exasperated  the 
monarch.  He  again  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  his  troops,  and 
carried  fire  and  sword  once  more  into  Connaught,  which  he  devastated 
in  the  most  merciless  and  oppressive  manner.  The  usuri)ing  king 
fled  from  his  throne,  and  Cormac  appointed  Niamho)',  the  hrotlier  of 
Lugna,  in  his  room.  It  was  during  this  expedition  that  king  Cormac 
lost  his  eye  in  an  engagement,  a  deprivation  that  forced  him  to 
abdicate  the  throne  of  Ireland  soon  after.  Carbre,  the  monarch's 
eldest  son,  not  being  then,  A.  D.  270,  arrived  at  mature  age,  the 
national  estates  elected  Eochaidh  Gonnadh,  the  grandson  of  king 
Fergus,  monarch  of  Ireland.  The  law  that  pronounced  the  mon- 
arch, who  might  be  mained  or  wounded  in  fighting  the  battles  of  his 
country,  incapable,  afterwards,  of  reigning,  was,  we  think,  unjust, 
cruel,  and  barbarous.  O'llalloran,  in  narrating  this  transaction, 
observes,  with  great  truth,  ''  It  is,  indeed,  singular  enough,  that  the 
brave  Cormac,  notwithstanding  the  many  improvements  he  made  in 
the  police  of  the  land  ;  notwithstanding  his  reducing  Connaught  into 
an  Irish  province,  and  transferring,  in  a  manner,  the  crown  of  it 
from  the  Damnonii  to  his  own  family;  yet  still,  by  the  loss  of  an 
eye,  though  in  the  cause  of  his  country,  he  was  judged  unworthy  of 
sovereign  authority,  and  obliged  to  make  a  surrender  of  the  crown. 
His  son,  too,  wanting  a  short  time  of  that  age  which  the  Irish  law 
judged  necessary  for  government,  was,  on  this  occasion,  laid  aside. 
But  it  was  not  enough  that  an  Irish  monarch  should  be  of  the  blood 
royal,  of  the  equestrian  order,  and  of  proper  age  :  he  must  also  be 
perfect  in  all  his  corporeal,  as  well  as  mental  faculties."  * 

Dr.  Keating,  in  his  history,  gives  a  legendary  story  of  the  capture 
of  a  Pictish  princess,  about  this  period,  by  some  of  the  knights  of 
the  Red  Branch  attached  to  Fion's  army  in  Albania  ;  and  that  after 
the  arrival  of  the  fair  caj)tjve  in  Ireland,  the  monarch  heard  of  her 
beauty,  which  is  of  course  represented  as  fascinating  as  that  of  any 
lovely  heroine  of  romance,  and  commanded  that  she  should  be 
conveyed  to  Tara,  as  soon  as  possible,  privately.  The  king  on 
seeing  her  was  transported  with  her  attractive  charms,  and  she,  kind 

*  It  W.1S  not  llioiiglit  decent  or  propitious  in  tiioso  days  for  an}'  man  to  be  a 
monarch  wlio  had  a  personal  blemish  ;  he  was,  therefore,  in  consequcnee  of  tho 
loss  of  his  eye,  contented  to  deliver  up  the  reins  of  government,  and  to  retire  to  a 
mean  little  house  at  Anacoil,  in  tlie  vicinity  of  his  former  palace.  Here  it  was, 
therefore,  that  he  drew  up  "  a  Book  of  Advice  to  Kings  "  for  the  use  of  his  son 
Carbre,  tlieu  his  successor  on  the  throne,  a  book  full  of  legislative  wisdom  and 
sound  philosopliy,  which  Keating  and  0'Flah(>rty  mention  as  extant  in  their  day  ; 
and  of  wliich  tlie  former  says,  that  it  was  such  a  te.sfimou}'  of  Coiimac's  learninor 
and  political  knowledge,  as  is  wortliy  to  be  inscril)("d  in  golden  ciiaracters  for  the 
information  of  princes,  and  as  a  perfect  standard  of  policy  to  all  ages. — Warner. 


213 

lady,  "  nolliing  loath,"  listened  to  his  tender  appeal  to  licr  lieart  with 
joy,  and  consented  to  become  his  iiiistress.  Tiie  whole  fiction  is 
v.ouiid  up  to  a  climax  of  dramatic  romance  by  tlie  enraged  jealousy 
of  the  queen,  and  the  cruel  mode  which  she  resorted  to  for  the 
j)urpose  of  punishing  her  beauteous  rival.  This  tale,  which  carries 
with  it  the  marks  of  the  alchymy  of  poetic  fable,  should  have  never 
been  transfused  tlirough  the  alembic  of  Irisii  history  by  so  grave  and 
reverend  a  writer  as  Keating. 

Warner,  and  McDermott  have,  like  us,  alluded  to  the  imaginary 
loves  of  Coruiac  and  the  princess  Ciarnuit,  to  stamp  discredit  on  this 
silly  traditionary  relation. 

Before  the  monarch  surrendered  the  emblems  of  regal  power  to 
his  successor,  Eochaidli,  lie  published  a  manifesto,  in  whicli  he 
denounced  the  druids  as  impostors,  and  tlie  druidical  religion  as  a 
system  of  error,  idolatry  and  heresy  ;  and  called  upon  the  princes 
and  people  of  the  nation  to  break  the  idols  and  extinguish  the  fires 
of  Bel,  and  transfer  their  homage  and  adoration  to  the  great  celestial 
Creator  of  the  sun,  as  well  as  of  all  the  universe.  This  paper  was 
so  fraught  with  powerful  arguments,  and  persuasive  eloquence,  that 
a  great  majority  of  the  princes  and  natioual  representatives  abjured 
the  druidical  ritual  on  reading  it.  This  attack  of  king  Cormac  made 
the  state  religion  of  ages  totter  on  its  very  foundation.*  The  druids 
were  astounded  at  what  they  designated  the  daring  and  blasphemous 
impiety  of  an  abdicating  monarch.  But  when  Eochaidh,  on  the 
day  of  his  coronation,  seated  himself  on  the  stone  of  destiny,  and 
placed  the  diadem  upon  his  head  without  their  aid  or  attendance  at 
the  ceremony,  their  alarm  became  tremendous ;  and  they  boldly 
predicted  the  ruin  of  the  monarchy. 

*  "  Our  celebrated  Cormac  O'Cuin  (perhaps  the  greatest  legislator  of  the  Mile- 
sian kings,  as  he  was  indisputably  the  greatest  philosopher  of  our  nation)  had  so 
much  learning  and  sagacity  as  to  penetrate  into  the  deception  and  delusion  of  the 
druidical  creed,  which  for  fifteen  centuries  had  been  the  established  religion  of 
Ireland.  This  monarch  had  the  courage  of  openly  exclaiming  against  the  imposi- 
tion and  corruption  of  Druidism,  and  of  asserting  the  original  theology  of  the 
superintendence  of  one  omnipotent,  eternal,  all  creating  and  all  merciful  JJeing,  in 
opposition  to  their  superstitious  and  absurd  s^^stem  of  Polytheism.  As  the  laying 
the  axe  to  the  root,  struck  directly  at  the  authority,  and  consequently  the  temporal 
power  of  those  heathen  priests,  who  warded  against  the  stroke  by  a  seasonable 
conspiracy,  which  cost  that  great  monarch  his  life ;  but  his  blood  nourished  the 
acrons  from  whence  has  sprung  the  majestic  oak  of  Christianity,  which  will  grow 
and  flourish  in  spite  of  the  tenij)est  of  wars  and  revolutions  in  Ireland,  until  time 
shall  be  no  more." — Annals  of  the  Four  J\!usters. 

*•  Will  it,"  says  the  liberal  English  writer,  Dr.  Warner,  "  be  any  longer  doubted 
after  this,  whether  the  ancient  native  Irisli  had  any  philosophy,  literature,  or  arts 
in  their  pagan  state  I  Will  any  critic  in  this  country  (England)  any  longer  confi- 
dently assert,  that  the  Iriiih  had  not  the  use  of  letters  till  after  the  arrival  of  St. 
Patrick,  and  the  conversion  of  the  island  to  Christianity  .'  Ought  we,  English- 
men, not  rather  to  lake  shame  to  ourselves,  that  we  have  hitherto  always  treated  that 
ancient,  gallant  pcoj)le,  with  such  illiberal  contempt — ichu  hud  the  start  of  the 
Britons,  for  many  ages,  in  arts  and  sciences — in  learning  and  in  Zairs." 

"  Anterior  to  tlie  propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  Ireland,  our  great  monarch, 
Cormac  McArt,  was  transccndantly  pre-eminent  above  all  others,  in  the  third 
century,  for  his  profound  knowledge  in  the  antiquity  and  jurisprudence  of  his 
country,  the  schools  be  endowed,  the  books  be  coini)osed,  and  tlio  laws  he  estab- 
lished, bear  unquestionable  testimony  of  his  munificence,  wisdom,  and  learning.'' 
Transactions  of  the  Dublin  Gaelic  Socictij. 


214 

Kinjif  Cormac,  well  pleased  that  bis  religious  principles  had  taken 
so  deep  a  root  in  public  opinion,  retired  from  the  cares,  the  pomp 
and  grandeur  of  royalty,  to  a  small  cottage  near  Tara,  to  devote, 
after  a  signal  and  distinguished  reign  of  twenty-three  years,  tlie 
remainder  of  bis  life  to  pliilosophy,  literature  and  science.  It  was 
in  this  retreat  that  this  illustrious  prince  wrote  bis  famous  book  of 
Advice  to  Princes,  a  work  that  abounds  w'itb  philosophic  views, 
sound  maxims  of  political  wisdom,  legislative  knowledge,  and  an 
elegant  literary  taste.  Here  he  also  revised  the  Celestial  .Juclg7ncnts, 
the  Psalter  of  Tara,  and  Ollamh  Fodhla's  Treatise  on  the  Laws  and 
Antiquities  of  Ireland.  His  Advise  to  Kings  is  replete  with  the 
results  of  Legislative  and  governmenfal  experience,  as  well  as  the 
dictates  of  that  equitable  and  liberal  policy  that  should  regulate  the 
relation  of  a  prince  with  his  subjects.  It  was  written  for  the  instruc- 
tion of  his  son,  Carbre,  and  it  luminously  points  out  bis  duty  as  a 
king,  a  legislator,  a  soldier,  a  statesman,  and  a  philosopher.  A  copy 
of  this  work  \vas  in  the  hands  of  Dr.  O'Halloran  when  he  wrote  his 
History  of  Ireland.  Would  to  Heaven  we  could  lay  our  bands  on 
it !  and  our  readers  should  soon  have  it  in  English.  Though  Cor- 
mac did  not,  in  fiict,  exercise  the  executive  power  of  the  state  now, 
still  bis  influence  bad  a  preponderating  eftect  in  the  councils  of  the 
government.  All  the  ministers  of  the  state  and  principal  nobility 
often  visited  the  humble  residence  of  Cormac  to  consult  him  on 
national  aftairs.  The  druids  observed  with  regret  that  Cormac's 
opinions  and  advice  were  still  consulted,  and  regarded  with  as  much 
respect  and  deference  as  ever.  All  their  eftbrts  to  sink  his  popularity 
failed.  As  a  dernier  resort,  they  waited  on  king  Eocbaidh,  and  by 
threats  of  divine  vengeance  caused  him  to  issue  a  proclamation 
calling  on  all  the  princes  and  notables  of  the  nation,  to  come  and 
worship  the  golden  calf  of  Bel,  on  a  stated  day  at  Tara.  The 
behest  was  imperative,  and  no  person  of  any  consideration  was  missed 
from  the  assembly  on  the  solemn  occasion,  but  the  ex-monarch, 
whom  of  all  other  individuals  the  druids  wished  to  have  seen  there. 
They  bitterly  complained  to  the  reigning  sovereign  of  the  impious 
contempt  with  which  Cormac  had  treated  his  decree,  not  only  his 
decree,  but  the  sacred  worship  of  Bel.  Eochadh,  in  reply  to  their 
complaint,  suggested  to  them  the  expediency  of  bringing  the  holy 
idol  to  the  residence  of  Cormac,  and  ascertain  whether  he  was  so 
refractory  and  heretical  as  to  refuse  its  divine  adoration.  A  depu- 
tation, consisting  of  Maoilogcann,  the  arch  druid,  and  four  of  his 
suflVagans,  accordingly  repaired  to  Cormac's  abode,  carrying  with 
them  the  idol. 

When  they  reached  the  dwelling  of  the  king,  they  found  him 
offering  up  bis  prayers  to  the  God  of  heaven  and  earth.  The  moment 
they  entered  the  apartment  they  set  up  their  idol  on  a  tripod,  and 
then  fell  down  before  it  in  the  most  jn'ofound  reverence  of  devotional 
obeisance.  As  soon  as  the  arch  druid  perceived  that  the  monarch 
looked  upon  them  and  their  ceremony  with  contempt,  he  arose,  and 
in  an  authoritative  and  dogmatic  tone,  demanded  why  he  refused 
joining  in  the  adoration  of  the  idol  of  Bel.  The  king  with  great 
energy  replied,  that  be  would   worship  no  idol  that  human  liands 


215 

could  fashion  ;  for  tliat  the  Deity  whom  lie  adored  was  so  onmijio- 
tent  that  he  could,  with  a  breath,  extinguish  the  sun  and  stars,  dry 
up  the  ocean,  and  sink  the  universe  beneath  its  bed.  lie  then 
exhorted  them  to  renounce  their  superstitious  ritual,  which  was 
unworthy  of  rational  and  intelligent  beings,  and  become  worshippers 
of  the  God  who  held  the  destinies  of  heaven  and  earth  in  his  divine 
hands. 

The  druids  appeared  horror  struck  at  Cormac's  bold  blasphemy, 
as  they  considered  it.  Not  feeling  themselves  competent  to  enter 
into  a  controversy  on  the  point,  they  instantly  after  the  king  had 
done  speaking,  bore  away  their  calf,  uttering  imprecations,  and 
vowing  vengeance  against  him.* 

On  the  very  evening  after  this  conference,  the  king  was  choked 
by  a  bone  of  the  salmon  on  which  he  supped.  When  the  druids 
heard  of  his  sudden  death,  of  which  they  are  accused,  they  rejiaired 
in  solemn  procession  to  the  temple,  and  announced  to  the  people 
that  the  inipious  Cormac  was  deprived  of  his  life  by  the  interposition 
of  their  otfended  gods.  Thus  died  Cormac  O'Con,  monarch  of 
Ireland,  a  prince  who  might  be  emphatically  called  the  Solon  of 
Ireland  ;  for  in  legislative  wisdom,  and  j)hiUisophic  illumination,  his 
character  will  not  shrink  from  a  comparison  with  the  Athenian  sage. 
That  he  did  not  possess  the  pity  and  justice  which  should  ever  find 
an  asylum  in  the  breast  of  a  magnanimous  king,  we  readily  concede 
to  those  who  may  charge  iis  with  heightening,  beyond  desert,  the 
colors  of  his  eulogium.  He  was,  indeed,  ambitious,  arbitrary,  and 
revengeful  ;  and  on  several  occasions,  during  his  reign,  he  invaded 
the  rights  of  the  subject,  and  listened  to  the  voice  of  despotism, 
instead  of  the  admonitions  of  equity.  These  are  the  dark  spots  that 
must  ever  obscure  the  halo  which  historic  panegyric  has  thrown 
around  the  reputation  of  "  Cormac  the  Lawgiver."  Keating, 
O'llalloran,  and  O'Flaherty,  concur  in  stating  that  in  the  sixth 
century  St.  Columbkille  discovered  the  tomb  of  Cormac  at  Cruachan, 
in  the  county  of  Roscommon,  in  wdiich  his  body  was  found  quite 
perfect.  The  saint  erected  a  church  over  the  royal  grave,  whose 
ruins  still  exist.  Our  Annalists  say  that  Fingal  died  A,  D.  279, 
shortly  after  the  demise  of  his  royal  master,  in  the  camp  of  the  Irish 
militia  (or  Fine  Eircn)  at  Mull,  in  Argyleshire,  Scotland,  and  that 
he  was  interred  in  a  cave,  in  the  island  of  Stafta,  which  is  to  this 
day  denominated  "  FingaVs  Cavcy  t  In  our  next  chapter  the  rise 
and  fall  of  the  Irish  militia  shall  occupy  our  attention. 

*  King  Corinac  had  convinced  himself  of  the  absurdities  of  idolatry,  upon 
principles  of  philosophic  reason  too  just  and  solid  to  be  shook  with  their 
superstitious  folly  :  and  had  he  lived  but  a  little  longer,  it  is  probable  that  pagan- 
isni  would  have  been  extinct  in  Ireland  before  the  introduction  of  Christianity, 
and  that  the  original  theology  and  patriarchal  worship  would  have  been  restored. 
VVaknkr. 

t  Vide  Molloy,  jlnnals  of  the  Four  Masters,  Bishop  Usher,  Camden,  Pinkcrton^ 
Shaw,  Laing,  McDcrmott,  and  the  Booh  of  Donegal. 


CHAPTER   XXX. 

The  reign  and  death  cf  lung  Carhre. —  The  haUlc  nf  Galihra,  and  the  unni.hiJittion  of 
the  Irish  militia  ; — and  the  death  of  Oscar,  the  son  of  Ossian.     A.  D.  Ji'j7 

Carbre,  surnamcd  Liffechairc,  in  consecjucnce  of  his  having  been 
nursed  on  the  hanks  of  the  Liflcy,*  ascended  the  thi-oiie  of  his 
ancestors  on  tlie  death  of  Eocliaidh  Gonnadh,  who  was  assassinated 
in  the  first  year  of  his  reign.  This  monarch  came  recommended  to 
the  Irish  people  by  all  those  prepossessions  wliich  the  reputation  of 
mihtary  talents,  united  with  acknowledged  literary  acquirements,  is 
calculated  to  create  in  favor  of  a  new  king.  Carbre  studied  war, 
legislation  and  philosophy  under  the  enlightened  instruction  of  his 
father  Cormac;  consequently,  his  cultivated  genius  was  equally  fitted 
for  the  direction  of  an  army  in  the  field,  or  a  council  of  statesmen 
in  the  cabinet.  In  various  exploits  in  the  wars  of  his  father,  he  gave 
signal  proofs  of  his  courage  and  capacity  in  the  martial  contest, 
while  the  treatises  which  he  had  written  on  jurisprudence  and 
national  polity  raised  his  literary  fame  to  the  loftiest  pinnacle  of 
popular  opinion.!  Carbre,  in  his  early  years,  was  committed  to  the 
tutorage  of  Cormac's  chief  justice,  the  celebrated  Flaitlirighc.  A 
singular  story  is  told  by  our  ancient  historians,  of  this  chief  justice, 
of  which  we  give  a  version  on  account  of  the  moral  it  conveys. 
Fiothill,  a  learned  Druid,  the  father  of  the  chief  justice,  when  on 
his  death  bed,  called  Flaithrighe  to  his  presence,  and  solemnly  con- 
jured him  to  observe  religiously  four  injunctions  which  he  would 
impose  upon  him  with  his  dying  breath.  "  Let,"  said  the  profound 
sage,  "  no  temptation  seduce  you  from  the  guidance  of  the  following 
maxims  :  let  them  be  the  rule  of  your  conduct,  the  beacons  shining 
on  the  rocks  of  danger,  to  warn  you  from  approaching  destruction. 
Then,  my  beloved  son,  remember  the  advice  of  your  father,  which 
a  parental  solicitude  for  your  welfare  behooves  him  to  oflfer.  Let 
no  consideration  induce  you  to  become  the  preceptor  of  a  royal 
prince ;  let  neither  wine  nor  amorous  passion  persuade  you  to 
entrust  a  secret  to    a    woman  ;  let   neither  adulation  nor  interest 

*  This  pastoral  and  romantic  river,  which  glides  so  majestically  through  the 
city  of  Dublin,  springs  from  a  ridge  of  mountains  near  the  seven  churches,  in  the 
county  of  Wicklow,  through  which  county,  as  well  as  those  of  Kildare  and  Dublin, 
it  winds  its  circuitous  progress  to  the  ocean,  to  which  it  pays  its  tributary  streams 
at  Clontarf,  tliree  miles  below  the  city  of  Dublin. 

t  "  This  prince  seemed  to  inherit  all  the  virtues  of  his  renowned  father,  Cormac 
the  Great ;  for,  like  hini,  he  revised  the  history  and  antiquities  of  his  country, 
reformed  the  laws,  and  wrote  rules  for  decisions  in  certain  difficult  law  cases, 
which,  from  their  precision,  accuracy,  and  justice,  got  the  title  of  Breithe  Aimhe, 
or  celestial  judgments.  Neither  in  his  personal  condnct  did  he  show  himself 
unworthy  of  his  great  descent." — Warner. 

"■  When  we  read  of  the  literary  performances  of  the  pagan  Irish,  must  we  not 
surrender  our  judgment  to  the  most  incorrigible  prejudice  if  we  assert  that.  St. 
Patrick  found  them  an  unlettered  people." — Vide  2  Hmrtfs  History  of  Great 
BriMin,  vol.  i.  p.  573. 

"  The  great  learning  of  the  Irish  Druids  was  the  wonder  of  Europe  ;  and  Julius 
Caesar  alludes  to  them  in  his  famous  account  of  the  Druidical  order." — Pinkcrton. 


217 

influence  you  to  elevate  a  person  of  low  birth  and  narrow  education 
to  an  exalted  station;  and^inally,  my  dear  child,  never  commit  the 
care  of  your  money,  nor  the  management  of  your  household  aflairs, 
to  a  sister." 

The  alfected  son  faithfully  promised  to  adhere  inviolably  to  the 
admonitory  injunctions  of  his  parent;  bui  the  sequel  will  show  how 
soon  this  resolution  was  subverted  by  the  intervention  of  circum 
stances.  Flaithri<jhe's  fame  for  literary  attainments  and  moral 
prudence,  pointed  him  out  to  king  Cormac,  as  the  most  competent 
person  in  his  dominions  to  instruct  the  heir  apparent,  prince  Carbrc. 
The  yoinii!:  and  aspiring  lawyer  was  highly  elated  on  receiving  his 
royal  jiupil,  with  the  commission  of  chief  justice  of  the  kingdtnTi. 
Considering  himself  now  on  the  summit  of  human  grandeur,  above 
the  assaults  of  envy  or  calinnny,  he  formed  the  resolutiojii  of  trying, 
by  experiment,  the  validity  and  justice  of  his  father's  maxiins,  whose 
veracity  he  had  long  doubted,  by  putting  them  to  the  test  of  practice. 
He,  therefore,  to  carry  his  plan  into  effect,  concealed  the  young 
prince,  when  six  years  of  age,  in  the  hut  of  one  of  his  foresters, 
under  the  care  of  a  confidant,  in  the  middle  of  a  thick  wood.  Hav- 
ing thus  left  the  child  in  perfect  security,  he  returned  home,  and  in 
the  presence  of  his  wife  assumed  the  air  of  the  greatest  sorrow  and 
dejection.  She,  surprised  and  alarmed  at  the  expression  of  affliction 
which  his  countenance  exhibited,  anxiously  inquired  the  cause  that 
pressed  so  heavily  on  his  spirits,  but  he  remained  as  sad  and  silent 
as  if  sorrow  deprived  him  of  the  power  of  utterance.  This  had  the 
eftect  of  heightening  her  amazement  and  exciting  her  curiosity,  and 
summoning  to  her  aid  her  tears,  the  most  aflfecting  eloquence  that  a 
woman  can  use  to  soften  the  heart  of  man,  she  at  length  elicited 
from  him  an  evasive  reply,  enunciated  in  sighing  accents  and  broken 
monosyllables.  To  her  fond  caresses  and  ardent  entreaties,  he 
pretended  to  yield  compassionate  pity  by  telling  her  that  he  had  that 
day  the  misfortune  of  killing  the  prince  royal.  He  then,  m  the 
most  solemn  and  aflectionate  manner,  conjui'ed  and  implored  her  to 
lock  up  in  her  breast  a  secret  on  which  his  life  depended.  "  Oh  ! 
spouse  of  my  aflections,"  replied  she,  "do  you  for  a  moment  suppose 
that  my  tongue  could  divulge  a  secret  that  would  destroy  my  own 
happiness,  and  rob  my  heart  of  the  source  of  its  earthly  felicity. 
Can  you  think  me  so  base,  so  regardless  of  the  fate  of  a  husband 
whom  I  love  dearer  than  my  own  life  ?" 

The  secret  lay  buried,  however,  but  a  day  or  two  in  the  recesses 
of  her  bosom,  for  on  some  diflerence  occurring  between  herself  and 
her  lord,  she  became  so  incensed  against  him,  that  in  the  fury  of  her 
rage,  she  hastened  to  the  king  and  informed  him  of  the  fate  of  the 
j)rince  his  son.  The  unfortunate  chief  justice  was  dragged  as  a 
criminal  from  the  bench,  tried  for  the  murder  of  the  heir  ai)i)arent, 
and  condemned  to  die  !  During  the  two  days  he  w  as  allowed  to 
prepare  for  death,  after  his  sentence  of  condemnation  was  pro- 
nounced, he  wrote  to  an  upstart  whom  he  had  raised  to  high  dignity, 
to  intercede  in  his  behalf  with  the  king,  but  that  ingratc  thirsted 
more  for  his  death  that  any  of  his  enemies,  as  the  chief  justice's 
life  must  only  serve  to  remind  him  of  his  worthless  and  low  origin. 
28 


218 

Disappointed  by  this  ignoble  creature  of  his  bounty,  as  well  as  by 
the  wife  of  his  bosom,  he,  on  the  morning  appointed  for  his  execu- 
tion, applied  to  his  sister  for  the  cofl^ers  of  money  with  which  he  had 
entrusted  her  a  few  days  before  his  misfortune  ;  but  she,  instead  of 
sending  it  to  him,  grossly  abused  his  messengers,  and  utterly  denied 
ever  having  received  any  money  from  her  brother.  Prior  to  his 
ascending  the  scaflold,  however,  he  solicited  an  audience  of  the  king, 
whom  he  informed  of  the  prince's  existence  and  safety,  as  well  as  of 
the  injunctions  of  his  dying  father.  The  king,  overjoyed  to  find 
that  his  son  was  living,  embraced  the  culprit,  and  ordered  the  upstart 
ingrate  to  be  punished,  and  the  wife  and  sister  to  be  immured  for 
three  days  in  the  very  dungeon  which  Flaithrighe  had  left.  No 
sooner  were  his  fetters  knocked  off  than  he  flew  to  the  grave  of  his 
father,  where  he  dropped  a  compunctious  tear  of  expiation,  and 
invoked  his  ghost  to  pardon  his  disobedience  to  parental  injunction 
and  sage  admonition. 

Carbre  being  as  it  were  the  nursling  of  battles,  was  inspired  with 
military  ardor,  and  impatient  after  obtaining  the  diadem  to  signalize 
himself  in  fresh  exploits.  The  Irish  militia,  under  the  command  of 
Ossian,  in  Albania,  having  been  greatly  wasted  and  reduced  in  their 
various  battles  with  the  generals  of  the  emperor  Diocletian,  implored 
the  Irish  monarch  to  send  them  reinforcements.  With  this  request 
Carbre  resolved  to  comply  ;  but  he  foresaw  that  unless  he  had  money 
he  could  not  raise  a  sullicient  body  of  men  for  the  expedition  thither. 
He,  therefore,  like  his  father,  resorted  to  the  stale  expedient  of 
enforcing  the  payment  of  the  Leinster  tribute  by  the  power  of  his 
arras. 

The  Leinsterians  far  from  tamely  submitting  to  this  arbitrary 
aggression,  flew  to  arms  to  resist  it.  The  formidable  preparations 
made  by  the  people  of  Leinster  for  a  defensive  war  in  support  of 
their  liberties,  rights,  and  property,  impressed  Carbre  with  the  con- 
viction that  the  military  force  then  at  his  disposal  in  Ireland,  was 
not  at  all  adequate  to  the  task  of  reducing  Leinster.  Still  resolved 
to  adhere  to  his  original  purpose,  he  employed  himself  with  unwearied 
assiduity  in  recruiting  his  armies,  which,  under  his  management  and 
inspection,  soon  amoimted  to  a  powerful  force,  with  which  he 
speedily  marched  into  Leinster.  The  indignant  Leinsterians  boldly 
met  him  in  battle  at  Ciiamhrois,  in  the  county  of  Carlow,  and,  after 
a  sanguinary  conflict,  in  which  the  courage  and  pro\vess  of  the  rival 
combatants  displayed  acts  of  the  most  signal  heroism,  succeeded  in 
gaining  a  decisive  victory  over  the  monarch,  whom  they  put  to  flight 
with  the  loss  of  ten  thousand  of  his  best  troops.  We  may  form 
some  idea  of  tlie  obstinacy  and  valor  with  which  this  engagement 
was  contested,  by  the  immense  number  of  the  slain  on  both  sides, 
which  some  of  our  annalists  have  estimated  at  fifteen  thousand. 
The  monarch's  three  sons,  and  some  of  the  bravest  of  his  officers, 
fell  in  the  action.  Notwithstanding  the  great  disaster  that  attended 
Carbre's  arms  in  the  battle  of  Cnamhrois,  his  hopes  of  future  con- 
quest were  as  aspiring  as  ever,  and  his  resolution  of  subjugating 
Leinster  instead  of  Iveing  enervated  by  recent  defeat,  only  derived 
fresh  power  of  inflexibility  from  it.     He  immediately  proceeded  to 


219 

retrieve  his  deranged  affairs,  and  to  fill  up  the  chasms  which  defeat 
had  made  in  his  ranks.  lie  recalled  the  Irish  militia,  with  their 
generals,  Ossian  and  Moghcorb,  from  Albania,  in  order  to  strengthen 
his  battalions  by  the  accession  of  that  legion  of  heroes  who  had,  for 
many  ages,  been  the  terror  of  the  Roman  armies.  As  the  J'^ion 
Eu'ion,  or  Irish  militia,  have  emblazoned  the  pages  of  our  history 
with  the  purest  lustre  of  valor,  from  the  days  of  Hercmon  to  the 
epoch  of  which  we  are  now  writing,  it  becomes  necessary  that  we 
should  ^i\e  our  readers  a  succinct  detail  of  the  rise  and  progress  of 
that  illustrious  corps  of  ciiivalric  heroes.*  This  band  was  originally 
organized  by  Heber  and  Heremon,  and  several  of  their  successors 
introduced  into  the  body  various  modes  of  discipline,  and  many 
salutary  ordinances  of  military  regulations  ;  but  it  remained  for 
Cormac  Mac  Art,  the  father  of  Carbre,  and  his  renowned  general, 
Fion  Mac  Ciimhal,  to  render  the  Irish  militia,  what  the  great  Napo- 
leon rendered  his  imperial  guard,  invincible. 

None  were  admitted  into  this  "legion  of  honor,"  but  young 
men  of  respectable  parentage,  liberal  education,  and  unblemished 
character.      But  a  candidate   that   could  not,  in    addition  to  these 

*  "  In  the  reigns  of  Cormac  and  Carbre,  the  Irish  militia  were  in  their  glory. 
Their  exploits  were  the  never  failing  theme  of  poetic  encomium.  At  this  era,  they 
were  commanded  by  Fion  Mac  Cumlial.  (or  Fingal,  as  Dr.  MacpTierson  poetically 
terms  him.)  from  which  they  took  the  name  ofFiana  Erion,  or  standing  militia  of 
the  kingdom." — Bishop  Kicholson. 

"  The  learned  Keating  and  others  tell  us  that  these  militia  were  called  Fin,  from 
Fion  Mac  C'umhal,  (the  Fingal  of  Macpherson  ;)  but  it  is  certainly  a  great  mistake  ; 
the  word  Fin  strictly  implying  a  military  corps.  It  is  on  this  account  that  in  the 
MSS.  long  before  the  present  era,  we  found  the  word  Fin  applied  to  any  body  of 
soldiery  :  thus  we  read  of  the  Fin  Fomharaig,  or  African  legions ;  the  Fi?i  gall, 
or  foreign  troops.  Add  to  this,  that  in  the  '  Fcis  Tighc  Cunainf,'  a  very  old  MS. 
now  before  me,  the  cliampion  Conan  puts  the  following  question  to  Fion  Mac 
Cumhal,  from  whom  it  has  been  asserted  that  these  troops  to«k  their  name :  '  Ca 
hait  an  dearnadk  an  D'ord  Fian,  ar  tyiuis  an  Erin  9'  i.  e.  at  what  time  was  the 
military  order  first  instituted  in  Ireland  ?  and  he  answers,  in  the  time  of  the 
Danaans.  On  the  partition  of  the  island  between  Heber  and  Heremon,  the  differ- 
ent orders  of  the  people,  who  attended  them  from  Spain,  were  also  divided  ;  and 
the  lands  assigned  to  the  military  were  on  condition  of  each  chief  supporting  a 
stipulated  number  of  armed  troops  to  attend  the  prince  when  called  on.  The 
land  thus  disposed  of,  was  called  <  Fcarun  an  Cloidlieamli,'  or  the  land  of  the 
sword.  Behold  then  the  origin  of  military  tenures  in  Europe,  and  their  antiquity 
in  opposition  to  modern  writers  !" — O'Halloran. 

"  Canipian,  an  author  of  little  veracity,  would  impose  upon  the  world  by  assert- 
ing that  Fion,  the  brave  son  of  Cumhal,  was  known  by  the  name  oi  Roanus  ;  but 
tliis  is  either  an  ignorant  mistake,  or  a  signal  instance  of  prejudice  in  this  writer, 
ior  the  father  of  Cumhal  was  Frcin  More,  (the  great,)  the  fourth  lineal  descendant 
from  Nudgadh  "Ncacht,  king  of  Leinstcr,  and  the  mother  of  Fion  was  Muirn 
Munchaomh,  the  fair  daughter  of  Thady,  the  son  of  Kuagatt,  the  arch  Druid  of 
Ireland,  in  the  reign  of  the  monarch  Cathaoir  the  Great.  Aimhuin,  in  the  province 
of  Leinster,  was  the  native  county  and  inheritance  of  Thady,  upon  which  account 
Fion  obtained  possession  of  that  district  in  right  of  his  mother;  yet  Fion  was 
invested  with  the  greater  part  of  the  county  of  Kildare,  (then  called  Forwaoilna,) 
by  the  donation  of  the  king  of  Leinster.  The  reason  why  Fion  was  the 
general  and  first  commanding  ofliicer  over  the  Irish  militia,  was,  because  his  father 
and  grandfather  enjoyed  the  same  dignity  before  him,  and  had  the  iionor  of  being 
at  the  head  of  these  fnvincible  troops ;  biit  upon  tliis  account  more  especially,  he 
had  the  principal  command  of  the  standing  army,  as  he  was  a  person  of  superior 
courage,  of  great  learning  and  military  experience,  which  accomplisinnents 
advanced  him  in  the  esteem  of  the  soldiery,  who  thought  liim  worthy  to  lead 
them." — Keating. 


220 

indispensable  recommendations,  also  adduce  testimonies  of  possess- 
ing tlie  following  retiuisitcs,  could  not  be  enrolled  under  tbe  "  Sun- 
rurst"  ensign  of  the  Irish  militia.*  His  parents,  in  committing  him 
to  the  ordeal  that  was  to  confirm  or  annul  his  pretensions,  were 
previously  compelled  to  give  security  that  they  would  not,  in  case  of 
liis  death,  resort  to  any  means  of  revenge.  The  novice  then  was 
given  up  to  the  military  tribunal,  who  were  invested  with  powers  to 
examine  his  mental  and  corporeal  qualifications.  He  was  first  called 
upon  to  speak  extemporaneously  a  thousand  lines  of  poetry  on  a 
given  subject,  executing  this  to  the  satisfaction  of  his  judges;  he  was 
next  desired  to  stand  at  the  distance  of  nine  ridges  of  land  with  only 
a  shield  and  a  stick  for  his  defence,  while  nine  soldiers  threw  their 
javelins  at  liim.  If  he  escaped  unhurt,  the  chief  judge  put  a  gold 
ring  on  his  finger,  and  complimented  him  for  his  skill  and  dexterity 
in  guarding  his  person.  After  having  accomplished  this,  he  was 
again  called  upon  to  run  into  a  wood  with  such  celerity,  as  would 
outstrip  the  swiftest  soldier  of  the  militia  in  pursuit  of  him.  Suc- 
ceeding in  this  feat  of  fleetness,  only  two  tasks  remained  for  him  to 
perform  ;  the  one  required  that  he  should  vault  over  a  wall  higher 
than  his  head,  and  the  other,  that  he  must  leap  into  the  saddle  of  a 
Avar  horse,  while  running  at  full  speed,  with  his  heavy  armour  on.t 
When  all  was  achieved,  the  victor  was  borne  in  triumph  on  the 
shoulders  of  his  exulting  friends,  cheered  by  the  loud  plaudits  and 
exclamations  of  the  spectators,  to  his  home,  where  the  auspicious 
day  was  spent  in  rejoicings  and  festivities.  The  Irish  militia  were 
divided,  like  the  Roman  armies,  into  cohorts,  called  catlia.  Each 
division,  or  cohort,  consisted,  according  to  Dr.  Keating,  of  three 
thousand  men,  including  officers.  The  company  of  a  captain  con- 
tained a  hundred  soldiers,  under  him  were  lieutenants,  standard 
bearers,  and  sergeants.  In  times  of  peace  their  aggregate  number 
seldom  exceeded  nine  thousand  men.  Every  thousand  of  these  was 
commanded  by  a  colonel,  bearing  in  Irish  the  appellation  of  Comhlan 
3Iile,  or  the  chief  of  ten  hundred.  Each  legion  was  attended  by  a 
proper  number  of  skilful  physicians  and  experienced  surgeons,  and 
these  were  not  appointed  without  undergoing  the  most  rigid  exami- 
nation of  their  talents  and  proficiency.  Consequently,  the  nation 
and  the  army  had  the  most  unshaken  confidence  in  their  experience 
and  ability ;  indeed,  so  much  so,  that  it  became  an  adage  in  Ireland, 
to  say  of  a  person  dying  of  an  incurable  distemper,    "  Ni  thogjisdh 

*  The  standard  of  Fingal  was  designated  the  "  su7i-burst  of  victories." — Vide 
Haloid's  Oi;si<ni. 

t  "  The  reader  will  judge  of  the  propriety  of  most  of  these  qualifications  ;  but 
this  was  not  every  thing  that  was  required,  in  order  for  an  admission  into  this  illus- 
trious corps.  Every  soldier,  it  is  said,  before  he  wascnrolled,  was  obliged  to  subscribe 
to  the  following  articles.  That  if  ever  he  was  disposed  to  marry,  he  would  not  con- 
form to  the  mercenary  custom  of  requiring  a  portion  with  his  wife  ;  but  without 
regard  to  her  fortune,  he  would  choose  a  woman  for  her  virtue,  her  innocence, 
modesty,  and  good  manners:  that  he  would  never  offer  violence  to  a  woman,  or 
attempt  to  ravish  her;  and  that  he  would  not  turn  his  back,  nor  refuse  to  fight 
with  nine  men  of  any  other  nation  that  should  set  upon  him  and  offer  him  violence. 
These  were  the  terms  of  being  a  soldier  in  the  militia  of  Ireland  under  Fion  Mac 
Cumhal  ;  and  whilst  these  were  insisted  upon  and  observed,  the  body  was  invinci- 
ble— a  terror  to  rebels  at  home,  and  to  enemies  abroad."' — Dr.  fVarner. 


221 

Leagha  na  blifion  fi,"  the  meaning  of  which  is,  the  inveteracy  of  his 
mahidy  couUl  not  be  conquered  or  cured,  even  by  the  potent  skill  of 
the  doctors  of  the  Irish  niihtia. 

"  We  likewise  find,"  says  O'Halloran,  "  that  each  cath  had  a  band 
of  music  attendant  on  it,  as  well  as  a  number  of  poets  to  reliearse 
their  deeds,  and  excite  them  to  feats  of  glory.  Thus,  in  the  battle 
of  Ventry,  when  Ossian  is  hard  set,  in  single  combat,  the  poet  Fear- 
gus  animates  him  aloud,  and  he  kills  his  adversary."  When  not 
engaged  in  war,  they  formed  encampments  in  difierent  parts  of  the 
kingdom,  where,  like  an  armed  police,  they  preserved  tranquillity, 
and  suppressed  sedition.*  During  the  winter  season  they  were 
billeted  on  the  inhabitants ;  but  during  the  summer  months  the 
monarch  afforded  them  no  pay,  so  that  they  were  obliged  to  support 
themselves  by  fishing,  hunting,  and  fowling.  "  This,"  writes  Dr. 
Warner,  "  was  not  only  a  great  ease  to  the  monarch  and  his  sub- 
jects, but  it  inured  the  troops  to  fatigue,  preserved  them  in  health 
and  vigor,  and  accustomed  them  to  lie  abroad  in  the  field  ;  and  in 
a  country  which  abounded  then  so  much  with  venison,  fish,  and  fowl 
as  Ireland  did,  it  w^as  no  other  hardship  than  was  proper  to  the  life 
of  soUliers."  If  we  are  to  judge  from  the  manner  in  which  they 
roasted  their  animal  food,  their  camp  equipage  must  have  been 
indeed  very  scanty.  Near  the  stations  of  their  encampments,  which 
were  always  adjoining  a  shady  wood  and  a  clear  running  stream, 
they  dug  large  pits,  into  which  they  threw  a  layer  of  red  hot  stones, 
prepared  in  great  fires  for  the  occasion,  over  which  they  placed  a 
layer  of  flesh,  and  again  anotlier  layer  of  heated  stones,  and  so  on 
in  alternation,  until  the  pit  was  filled  up.  Traces  of  these  fires, 
which  were  large  and  fierce,  are  every  day  discovered  in  Ireland  by 
the  operations  of  the  husbandman,  who,  on  turning  up  the  black 
aslies  that  mark  their  site  with  his  spade,  exclaims,  "  JFii  lacht  Fion,'''' 
or  the  ashes  of  Fin's  fires.  When  invasion  or  rebellion  menaced 
tlie  safety  of  the  state,  the  combined  quotas  of  Irish  militia,  which 
the  monarch  summoned  from  the  four  provinces,  amounted,  accord- 
ing to  Keating  and  O'Flaherty,  to  eighty-four  thousand  eflective 
soldiers.  With  such  a  standing  army  as  this,  the  Irish  monarchs 
were  justly  regarded  as  tlie  arbitrators  of  Europe  :  it  was  this  for- 
midable force  that  enabled  them  so  often  to  subdue  Gaul,  Albany, 
and  Wales. 

What  nation,  we  would  ask,  could  equal  »is  in  those  days  of  war, 
chivalry  and  power,  in  the  glory  of  arms,  or  the  renown  of  martial 
exploits  1  Can  the  page  of  the  world's  history  adduce  a  parallel  of 
military  institutions   being  founded   on   more   excellent  regulations 

*  "  In  the  Cutha  Fion  trairlui,  many  of  these  military  stations  are  pointed  out,  and 
the  names  of  the  leaderrs  under  Fion  Mac  Cumlial,  who  tlien  coninianded  tlicso 
garrisons.  A  part  of  these  troops  were  constantly  on  service,  either  in  Scotland, 
to  oppose  the  Romans,  whence  our  Fin  Albanian  legions,)  or  on  some  continental 
invasion.  From  the  landing  of  Ca;sar  in  Britain  to  its  dereliction  \yy  the  Romans, 
there  was  an  Irish  military  force  constantly  kept  up  in  Albin,  (Scotland,)  and  it 
is  for  this  reason  we  find  that  Cumlial,  the  father  of  Fion.  as  well  as  Fion  himself, 
and  his  son  Ossian,  and  grandson  Oscar,  are  each  called  in  several  of  our  ancient 
manuscripts,  '  Righ  Fin  Eirin  agus  Jllbiri,'  or  chiefs  of  the  military  of  Ireland  and 
Scotland." — O'Halloran. 


222 

than  those  that  formed  the  military  code  of  the  Irish  militia  1 
Here  was  a  corps  of  what  we  might  term  youthful  veterans,  into 
whose  ranks  none  were  admitted,  except  the  intrepid,  the  tried,  and 
the  brave  ;  men  whose  hearts  were  strangers  to  fear,  and  whose 
souls  were  armed  with  enthusiasm,  and  fortitude.  The  Macedonian 
phalanx,  the  Roman  legions,  or  the  death-defying  guard  of  the 
emperor  Napoleon,  in  the  perfection  of  their  tactics,  or  the  impetu- 
osity of  their  valor,  did  not  surpass  our  ancient  soldiers.*  But  it  is 
time  that  we  should  revert  to  king  Carbre,  and  the  events  that  led 
to  the  destructive  battle  of  Gabhra.  At  this  epoch,  A.  D.  292,  Olioll 
Flan-7norc,  the  son  of  Fiacha,  who  was,  as  already  related,  so  barba- 
rously murdered  by  Conla,  in  the  reign  of  Cormac  Mac  Art,  reigned 
over  South  Munster  with  great  glory  and  power.  His  cousin  Mogh- 
corb,  the  son  of  Cormac  Cas,  ruled  at  the  same  time  the  regal 
government  of  North  Munster.  The  Psalter  of  Cashel  paints  the 
ciiaracier  of  this  prince  in  tl^e  most  brilliant  colors  of  encomium. 
Bravery  in  war,  wisdom  in  legislation,  and  amiability  and  generosity 
in  the  social  relations  of  life,  were  the  exalted  virtues  that  shone  out 
in  his  reputation.  Shortly  after  his  accession  to  the  throne  of  Leath 
Mogha^  or  North  Munster,  two  of  his  uncles,  who  were  princes  of 
Denmark,  besought  his  assistance  to  recover  from  their  cousin,  the 
king  of  that  country,  the  hereditary  possessions  of  which  he  had 
unjustly  despoiled  tliem.  Yielding  to  this  request,  and  the  entreaties 
of  his  mother,  a  Danish  princess,  he  raised  a  great  army,  with  which 
he  embarked  himself,  and  set  sail  for  Denmark.  The  Danes  met 
him  on  the  coast,  and  gave  him  battle.  The  conflict  was  terrible, 
but,  after  a  desperate  struggle,  victory  at  length  declared  itself  in 
favor  of  the  Irish  king  ;  as  tlie  Danish  sovereign  and  his  four  sons, 
as  well  as  three  thousand  of  the  hostile  troops,  were  left  dead  on  the 
field  of  battle.  Moghcorb  having  by  this  decisive  victory  the  reins 
of  absolute  authority  over  Denmark,  put,  as  it  were,  into  his  hands, 
seated  his  uncles  on  the  throne,  as  joint  kings,  and  then,  after 
collecting  spoils  in,  and  exacting  a  large  tribute  from  the  nation,  he 
returned  to  his  own  dominions,  flushed  with  victory  and  enriched 
with  trophies  of  conquest.  The  fame  of  his  gallant  achievement 
in  Denmark  preceded  his  arrival  in  Ireland ;  it  filled  every  heart  in 
Munster  and  Leinster  with  pride,  joy,  and  admiration,  while  it 
inflamed  the  jealousy  and  excited  the  fears  of  the  supreme  monarch, 
Carbre.  "The  glory,"  says  OTIalloran,  "of  Moghcorb's  victory 
extended  over  all  quarters,  and  was  the  theme  of  the  bards  and  anti- 
quarians for  many  years  afterwards."  As  soon  as  the  royal  victor 
was  seated  in  his  palace,  he  ordered  a  body  of  his  conquering  army 
to  march  to  the  frontiers  of  Leinster  in  order  to  oppose  any  attack 

*  "  It  is  to  the  superior  courage  and  discipline  of  the  old  Irish  troops  we  may 
ascribe  the  fact  of  the  Romans  not  being  able  to  subject  Ireland  to  their  arms,  as 
they  did  Great  Britain." — Smith's  Jlntiquities  of  Wales. 

"  They  (the  Irisli  militia)  gained  a  name,  which  fame  echoed  in  every  quarter  of 
Europe  ;  it  struck  terror  into  the  hearts  of  their  foes." — Laing. 

"  They  not  only  kept  their  own  country  free  from  foreign  insults,  but  also  pun- 
ished the  invaders  of  the  allies  of  the  Irish  monarch  ;  as  they  poured  their  forces 
into  Gaul,  Britain,  and  the  Isle  of  Man,  (the  latter  for  ages  a  colony  of  Ireland,) 
and  led  on  these  nations  against  the  Romans." — Dr.  Shaw  on  the  Gaelic  language. 


223 

which  the  troops  of  Carbre  might  make  on  that  province.  This 
warhke  movement,  the  monarch  constructed  as  tantamount  to  a 
declaration  of  war  against  him,  and,  in  consequence,  by  a  decree  of 
the  national  estates,  Moghcorb  was  pronounced  a  rebellious  prince. 
It  happened  about  this  juncture  that  Ossiati  and  his  son  Oscar,  as 
well  as  several  other  officers  of  the  Irish  militia,  partook  of  a  banquet 
given  by  the  king  at  Tara.  Carbre,  on  this  occasion,  when  inflamed 
with  wine,  vented  his  rage  against  JNIoghcorb,  and  in  the  vehemence 
of  his  choler,  he  proceeded  to  load  the  memory  of  Fion  Mac  Cum- 
hal  with  bitter  reproaches,  which  had  tiie  tendency  of  stirring  up 
the  indignation  of  Ossian  and  his  son,  Oscar,  who  defended  the 
reputation  of  their  father  with  a  warmth  of  spirit,  and  a  boldness  of 
language,  that  roused  the  mortal  ire  of  the  king,  who  in  the  efferves- 
cence of  his  anger,  struck  the  poet-hero,  and  commanded  his  guards 
to  thrust  him  and  his  son  out  of  his  palace.  Ossian  and  Oscar, 
infuriated  by  the  contumely,  on  their  departure,  loudly  expressed,  in 
the  hearing  of  the  king  and  his  nobles,  their  determination  of  having 
revenge  for  the  degrading  insult  that  was  thus  ottered  to  them.  No 
sooner  did  they  reach  the  camp  of  the  Irish  militia,  than  they 
pathetically  proclaimed  the  gross  indignity  with  which  the  king  had 
treated  them.  The  army  who  idolized  the  warrior-minstrel,  highly 
exasperated  at  the  relation  of  their  venerable  chief,  almost  unani- 
mously declared  their  readiness  to  avenge  his  wrongs.  The  flames 
of  disaffection  being  thus  kindled,  soon  spread  in  a  full  blaze  through 
the  whole  encampments  of  the  militia,  and,  in  consequence,  more 
than  three  thousand  of  these  veterans  deserted  the  standard  of  king 
Carbre,  and  with  Ossian  and  Oscar  at  their  head,  went  over  to  the 
ranks  of  his  enemies.  As  soon  as  the  news  of  Ossian's  defection 
came  to  the  ears  of  the  monarch,  his  wrath  became  boundless,  and 
his  burning  desire  of  revenge  insatiable,  for  all  the  furies  of  resent- 
ment and  indignation  kindled  their  devouring  fires  in  his  soul. 
Nothing  could  now  avert  hostilities  or  rescue  Ireland  from  the  hor- 
rors of  a  civil  war. 

Carbre,  with  great  expedition,  collected  all  the  troops  that  he 
could  muster  at  Tara  ;  his  standard  soon  waved  over  the  heads  of  a 
mighty  army,  consisting  of  his  own  legions,  and  the  contingents  of 
Connaught  and  Ulster.  The  preparations  on  the  other  side  of  the 
coming  struggle  of  life,  liberty,  and  dominion,  were  accelerated  by 
Ossian  and  Moghcorb,  with  a  celerity  that  appeared  miraculous. 
Hosts,  fully  armed,  and  "  ready  for  the  fight,"  sprung  up  around 
their  banners  as  if  called  forth  by  enchantment.  This  embattled 
array  was  composed  of  the  allied  forces  of  the  two  Munsters  ;  the 
auxiliaries  of  Leinster,  and  the  Fion  Eirion,  under  the  command  of 
Ossian  and  Oscar.  In  a  council  of  war,  held  by  Moghcorb,  who 
was  the  generalissimo  of  the  potent  army,  it  was  resolved  that,  in 
order  to  carry  the  miseries  of  war  into  Carbre's  territories,  the  troops 
should  penetrate  into  Meath  by  forced  marches,  and  strike,  if 
possible,  a  decisive  blow  before  the  royal  troops  would  be  fully 
concentrated.  The  plan  was  carried  into  effect  with  unexampled 
success  and  rapidity,  and  the  valiant  Moghcorb  was  encamped  on 
the  plains  of  Gabhra,  within  three  miles  of  Tara,  before  Carbre  had 


224 

an  intimation  of  liis  njarcli  from  Wexford.  An  immediate  engage- 
ment was  rendered  inevitable  by  this  skilful  and  expeditious  movement 
of  Moglicorb.  Carbre  drew  up  his  forces  with  great  order  and 
precision;  himself  led  on  the  centre,  the  king  of  Connaught,  Aodh 
O'Connor,  assisted  by  his  two  sons,  commanded  the  right  wing,  and 
Fiachadh,  the  eldest  son  of  Carbre,  the  left.  The  military  genius, 
the  bravery,  and  chivalry  of  Ireland  contended  for  victory  in  this 
memorable  battle.  It  was  the  strife  of  heroes,  the  murderous 
conflict  of  men  mutually  animated  with  the  feelings  of  fell  revenge, 
and  the  determination  of  destroying  their  foes  or  of  nobly  dying  in 
the  attempt.  Death  and  carnage  paved  the  way  for  annihilation 
through  the  hostile  ranks  of  the  bloody  field  of  Gabhra.  Carbre 
made  an  impetuous  charge,  and  ranks  fell  before  him  like  the  leaves 
of  the  forest  when  swept  by  the  autumnal  storm.  His  whole  fury 
was  directed  against  the  rebellious  Irish  militia,  whom  his  guards, 
assisted  by  the  Connacians  had  almost  cut  to  pieces,  when  Oscar 
came  to  their  aid  with  a  select  band,  and  encountering  the  king, 
sword  in  hand,  for  a  moment  stopped  the  overwhelming  torrent  of 
destruction  ;  but,  after  a  fierce  and  furious  combat,  Carbre  killed 
Oscar,*  and  the  Connacians  deriving  new  courage  from  seeing  the 
fall  of  that  hero,  made  another  irresistible  assault  on  the  remnant  of 
the  militia,  in  which  they  utterly  destroyed  it,  as  the  aged  Ossian, 
we  are  told  by  all  our  historians,  was  the  only  person  that  survived 
that  far  famed  band  of  heroes.  Moghcorb,  at  the  head  of  the  Clana 
Dchca,  or  Munstcr  militia,  rushed  towards  the  king  to  have  vengeance 
for  the  death  of  Oscar,  and  though  Carbre  was  weak  and  wounded 
after  his  combat  with  the  slain  son  of  Ossian,  he  opposed  his  adver- 
sary with  the  most  heroic  resolution  and  intrepidity  ;  but,  after  a 
brave  struggle  that  developed  the  prowess  of  a  giant,  he  fell,  with 
his  breast  perforated  by  the  spear  of  his  foe.  The  lowering  of  the 
royal  standard  was  the  signal  of  the  monarch's  death,  and  the 
cessation  of  hostilities  between  the  few  exhausted  survivors  of  the 
terrible  battle  of  Gabhra. 

Thus  died  the  gallant  monarch,  Carbre  Lifpechaire,  a  victim  to 
ambition  and  the  love  of  absolute  sway.  As  a  soldier  and  a  states- 
man, his  character  merits  the  meed  of  historical  eulogy  ;  but  as  a 
monarch  of  Ireland  he  sacrificed  the  lives  and  happiness  of  his 
people  to  his   own   ambition,    and   chained  bleeding  justice  to  the 

*  "  We  have  yet  extant  a  relation  of  the  battle  of  Gabhra,  supposed  to  have 
been  told  by  Ossian,  the  father  of  Oscar,  to  St.  Patrick  ;  but  it  were  absurd  to 
suppose  that  ho  who  was  advanced  in  years  at  that  dreadful  conflict,  should  be 
alive  near  a  century  and  a  half  after  !  It  is  visibly  of  a  later  date,  and  intended  to 
extol  the  army  of  Lcinster  at  the  expense  of  truth ;  yet  as  it  preserves  the  names 
and  actions  of  the  principal  heroes  on  both  sides  in  this  most  bloody  of  all  battles, 
it  merits  attention." — O  Halloran. 

Mr.  Macpherson,  who  studied  our  ancient  history  attentively,  in  order  to  give 
an  artificial  gloss  of  truth,  and  a  borrowed  air  of  probability  to  his  barefaced  fabri- 
cation of  the  ))oenis  of  Ossian,  introduces  a  vague  and  visionary  description  of  the 
battle  of  Gabhra,  in  the  first  book  of"  Teniora,"  but  it  is  a  sad  jmnble  of  synchron- 
ism, a  mass  of  historical  and  topographical  error,  without  a  beacon  or  a  landmark 
to  direct  intjuiry.  Ossian  and  his  ncpliew,  the  bard  Ronan,  are  only  traditionally 
represented  by  some  of  our  poets  to  have  lived  until  the  coming  of  our  great 
patron  saint  to  Ireland. — P. 


triumphal  car  of  unholy  despotism,  iiisteail  of  actiii2^  like  a  patriot- 
king,  by  assigiiinfT  her  an  asylum  in  the  hallowed  temple  of  consti- 
tutional [ihcrhf.  Out  of  all  the  princes  that  fought  in  the  sanguinary 
battle  of  (Jabhra,  only  two  brf)Ught  life  from  the  field;  the  victor, 
Moghcorb,  and  the  wounded  Aodh,  king  of  Connaught ;  and  these 
two  solitary  survivors  cherishing  still  the  most  implacable  enmity  for 
each  other,  engaged  in  a  new  war,  which  resulted  in  the  defeat  and 
death  of  the  valiant  INloghcorb,  in  less  than  the  period  of  a  year  after 
the  fatal  day  of  Gabhra. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

Milesian  Literature. —  Ossian,  (Uid  the  ancient  Irish  Bards. 

As  Hume,  Macpherson,  Sir  George  Mackenzie,  and  other  unprin- 
cipled revilers,  actuated  with  the  most  ungenerous  prejudice,  and 
influenced  by  the  most  culpable  degree  of  national  vanity,  to  which 
either  truth  or  historical  justice  has  been  ever  sacrificed,  have  sedu- 
lously essayed  to  establish  and  disseminate  throughout  Europe,  the 
opinion,  that  the  Irish  nation  had  neither  letters  nor  arts,  until  St. 
Patrick  introduced  them  into  their  country  with  the  Christian  dispen- 
sation, we  think,  we  will  not  only  gratify  our  readers,  but  illustrate 
our  history  by  devoting  a  chapter  to  the  review  of  our  ancient  litera- 
ture and  science. 

A  venal  and  apostate  Irish  writer,  the  late  Dr.  Ledwich,  has,  we 
are  sorry  to  say,  in  the  baseness  of  his  subserviency  to  the  English 
traducers  of  his  native  land,  and  in  the  expectation  of  obtaining  a 
mitre,  as  the  dishonorable  reward  of  his  vile  calumnies,  stooped  to 
the  degradation  of  playing  second  fiddle  to  our  Albanian  and  Saxon 
libellers,  and  of  becoming  the  trumpeter  of  their  defamatory  false- 
hoods. The  recreant  maligner  has,  in  consequence,  consecrated 
his  name,  like  him  that  fired  the  Ephesian  temple,  to  an  execrable 
immortality,  and  proved  to  the  world,  by  his  ignoble  perversion  of 
truth,  that  he  was 

"  Unworthy  of  the  blessings  of  the  brave, — 
Most  base  in  kind,  and  born  to  be  a  slave  '." 

The  apostacy  of  Ledwich  from  the  historical  orthodoxy  of  his 
country,  filled  the  Scotch  literati,  who  were  still  staggering  from  the 
felling  blow  which  the  colossal  arm  of  Dr.  Johnson  inflicted  on  their 
arrogant  pretension  to  Ossian,  with  feelings  of  pride  and  exultation. 
His  raven  notes  "came  upon  their  ears,"  as  IMacpherson  has  it,  like 
the  melody  of  the  nightingale,  when  heard  by  a  bewildered  traveller 
in  the  woody  labyrinth  ;  his  arguments,  though  glittering  in  the  glare 
and  tinsel  of  sophistry,  were  ]M-onf)unced  the  refined  gold  of  eloquent 
logic  ;  and  his  assertions,  though  blemished  by  the  stains  of  moral 
turpitude,  were  exhibited  in  the  deceitfid  mirror  of  Scotch  philosophy^ 
as  the  inspired  divinations  of  the  oracles  of  unimpeachable  candor. 
29 


226 

He  was  enrolled  among  the  cliampions  who  fought  the  battles  of 
Scottish  veracity,  and  numbered  in  the  register  of  inflated  eulogium, 
as  the  gifted  and  candid  historian,  on  whose  beaming  mind  tlie 
historical  muse  poured  tlie  milder  influence  of  her  auspicious 
irradiation. 

After  he  had  published  what  he  called  the  "  Antiquities  of  Inland,''^ 
every  press  in  Scotland  was  employed  in  multiplying  editions  of  a 
work,  which  the  Scots  regarded  as  the  expiatory  altars  for  the  immo- 
lation of  Irish  history,  and  records,  as  well  as  a  lasting  monument 
reared  up  by  the  penitent  and  atoning  genius  of  an  Irish  annalist,  to 
attest  the  fact  of  Ossian  being  a  native  of  Caledonia! 

Ledwich  sets  out  in  his  feeble  attack  against  the  historians  of  his 
country,  on  his  Quixotic  crusade,  by  making  the  following  rather 
feeble  and  neutralized  show  of  hostilities. 

"  When  we  review  the  remote  histories  of  England,  Scotland,  and 
Ireland,  and  find  names  and  facts  delivered  with  unhesitating  confi- 
dence and  chronological  accuracy,  it  seems  at  first  an  unreasonable 
degree  of  scepticism  to  withhold  our  assent  from  them,  or  question 
their  authority.  But  minuter  in([uiry  satisfactorily  evinces  them  to 
be  but  specious  delusions,  and  some  of  the  numberless  vagaries  of 
the  human  mind-" 

Here,  then,  the  spiritless  deserter  from  his  country's  phalanx,  has 
not  the  hardihood  to  say,  that  the  chart  of  Irish  history  is  not  marked 
with  chronology,  and  harmonious  arrangement  of  facts.  Here  are 
shining  landmarks  that  cannot  be  removed,  and  rocky  pillars  of 
authenticity,  surviving  the  ruin  t)f  ages,  which  apostate  Irish  scepti- 
cism, or  preposterous  Scotch  vanity,  cannot  subvert  or  annihilate. 
The  species  of  vague  and  speculative  conjecture,  with  which  the 
doctor  has  assailed  our  annals,  is  quite  impotent ; — his  battery  stands 
on  a  quagmire — it  shakes  while  its  arrows  are  hurled  at  the  rock- 
sustained  citadel  of  Erin's  recorded  story.  Dr.  Ledwich  allows  that 
we  have  chronology,  "  and  facts  delivered  with  unhesitating  confi- 
dence," and  yet,  though  our  annals  rear  their  proud  dome  on  so 
immutable  and  indestructible  a  basis,  his  "  unreasonable  scepticism" 
could  not  be  brought  to  consider  it  a  solid  and  stable  foundation  ! 
But  there  are  men,  clinging  so  tenaciously  to  their  own  favorite 
opinions,  and  rendered  so  impregnably  obstinate  in  the  entrenchments 
of  pride,  conceit,  and  interest,  that  it  is  impossible  to  make  them 
recede  from  apparent  error.  Burke  emphatically  illustrates,  and 
shows  the  absurd  tendency  of  this  headstrong  species  of  vulgar 
obstinacy.  "  I  am  satisfied,"  says  he,  "  that  a  mind  which  has  no 
restraint  from  a  sense  of  its  own  weakness,  may  very  plausibly 
attack  every  thing  the  most  excellent  and  venerable, — that  it  would 
not  be  difficult  to  criticise  the  creation  itself,  and  that  if  we  were  to 
examine  the  divine  fabrics  by  our  ideas  of  reason  and  fitness,  we 
might  make  the  wisdom  and  power  of  God  in  his  creation  appear  to 
many  no  better  than  foolishness.  There  is  an  air  of  plausibility 
which  accompanies  vulgar  reasonings  and  notions  taken  from  the 
beaten  circle  of  ordinary  experience,  that  is  admirably  suited  to  the 
narrow  capacities  of  some,  and  to  the  laziness  of  others;" — "for," 
says  Isocrates,  "  it  is  far  more  easy  to  maintain  a  wrong  cause,  and 


'Z27 

to  support  i)aracloxical  opinions  to  the  satisfaction  of  a  common 
auditory,  than  to  establish  a  doubtful  trutli  by  solid  and  conclusive 
arguments."  The  credit  that  so  magnetically  attaches  itself  to  the 
early  period  of  our  history,  does  not  entirely  depend  on  the  veracity 
of  t!ie  Milesian  historians;  for  they,  it  is  true,  recorded  the  history 
of  their  jiredecessors,  as  they  had  received  it  from  themselves  ;  and 
instead  of  adopting  that  barbarous  policy  which  degrades  the  annuls 
of  the  Romans,  Saxons,  Saracens,  and  other  victorious  nations — 
instead,  we  say,  of  destroying  the  written,  or  suppressing  the  tradi- 
tional accounts  for  which  they  had  been  indebted  to  the  conquered 
inhabitants,  they  assiduously  recorded  them  with  that  industry,  and 
with  that  integrity  which  characterize  their  own  annals  for  many 
succeeding  ages.  We  do  not,  however,  deny  the  fact  of  the  Milesian 
historians  having  a  fondness  of  embellishing  their  narratives  with 
the  borrowed  graces  of  fiction  and  of  romance,  as  it  must  be 
remembered,  that  the  first  recorders  of  national  annals  are  bards  and 
])atriots,  who  wish  to  extol  in  the  exaggeration  of  patriotism  and  the 
luxuriance  of  poetry,  the  deeds  of  their  ancestors:  consequently  it 
was  not  easy  to  divest  themselves  of  the  passion  of  ornamenting 
truth,  and  clothing  its  naked  simplicitly  in  the  alien  robes  of  fancy 
and  hyperbolical  decorations. 

"  The  want  of  literary  memorials,"  *  continues  Ledwich,  "  created 
an  impenetrable  obscurity,  which  every  attempt  to  deduce  the  origin 
of  nations  or  detail  early  events,  was  unable  to  penetrate  or  dispel. 
How,  then,  were  national  honor,  and  high-born  ancestry,  the  love 
of  which  is  most  conspicuous  and  prominent  in  a  rude  people,  to  be 
supported  ?  The  answer  is,  by  poetic  tales  and  bardic  inventions, 
— and,  hence  we  find  the  wild  and  naked  German  sang  the  praises 
of  his  great  progenitor,  Tidsco ;  the  Hi'ghlander  of  Scotland,  the 
exploits  of  Cuchulkn;  and  the  Hibernian,  the  wonderful  peregrina- 
tions of  Milcsius.'''' 

Dr.  Ledwich  imagined,  we  presume,  that  he  would  have  prostrated 
all  our  pretensions  fo  high  and  illustrious  antiquity  by  this  sweeping 
charge — a  charge  which,  though  ridiculous  and  vague,  did  not  origi- 
nate with  him,  as  Buchanan,  Blair,  and  Sir  George  Mackenzie,  have 
taunted  us  with  it  often  ;  while  English  prejudice,  ever  anxious  to 
seize  on  any  tale  discreditable  to  Ireland,  loudly  trumpeted  forth  the 
allegation  of  our  "  want  of  literary  memorials.^''  Indeed,  every 
thinking  person  knows  that  the  historian  who  cannot  find  autlienti- 
cated  materials  and  attested  records  to  weave  into  the  web  of 
historic  narrative,  must  of  necessity  resort  to  the  stores  of  conjecture 
to  supply  the  deficiency. 

The   question    and   answer  that  succeed,  have   in   them    nothing 

*  "  TJie  Irish  can  lay  a  higher  claim  to  antiquity  tlian  any  other  nation  in 
Europe.  Let  their  history  be  tried  in  two  ways,  in  which  all  historical  systems 
must  be  tried, — whether  it  is  consistent  with  probability,  and  whether  it  is  sup- 
ported by  such  evidence  as  it  is  reasonable  to  expect,  1  presume  to  think  it  will 
stand  the  test.  For  as  the  Jews,  even  before  they  had  the  history  of  Moses,  and 
before  letters  were  invented,  found  ways  to  preserve  their  rrenealogies,  and  many 
of  their  chief  actions,  down  from  Adam,  why  should  it  be  thought  incredible  that 
the  Irish,  who  were  an  observing  people,  should  carry  their  history  above  thirteen 
hundred  years  before  Christ,  which  is  not  Jialf  the  way  up  to  the  beginning  of 
heathen  history." — Dr.  Warner. 


228 

more  original  than  the  trite  observation  of  our  alleged  want  of 
"literary  memorials."  But  let  us  see  what  the  doctor  has  so  sagely 
concluded  from  his  hypothetical  premises.  We  have  already 
observed  that  the  drift  of  the  doctor's  remarks  on  the  fabulous  heroes 
of  the  Germans — of  llie  Highlanders,  and  of  the  Hibernians,  was 
borrowed  from  other  writers,  who  have  assailed  in  vain  tiie  fortress 
of  our  historical  system  ;  but  to  himself  we  may  fairly  attribute  the 
inconsistency  and  dogmatic  assurance  of  the  conclusion,  which  he 
has  so  unwarrantably  and  so  illogically  drawn  from  the  unsupported 
assertions  of  the  Albanian  historians.  We  indeed  grant  that  many 
nations  in  Europe,  for  want  of  "literary  memorials,"  have  had 
recourse  to  poetic  fiction  to  raise  materials  for  building  up  a 
chimerical  monument  of  "  national  honor  and  high-born  ancestry." 
But  before  the  doctor  classed  his  native  country  among  the  nations 
that  were,  thus,  destitute  of  written  evidences  of  remote  antiquity, 
he  should  have  satisfiictorily  proved  that  Ireland  was  not  possessed 
of  real,  authenticated,  and  verified  memorials  of  her  ancient  refine- 
ment in  civilization,  of  her  glory  in  arms,  and  of  her  illumination 
and  proficiency  in  letters  and  arts. 

To  deny  a  nation  the  use  of  letters,  is  to  sap  the  very  pillars  that 
sustain  her  history,  and  to  extinguish  the  lights  by  which  posterity 
might  read  her  records  of  the  martial  exploits  of  her  heroes,  and  the 
achievements  of  her  literary  genius  in  the  fields  of  science  and 
philosophy.  It  were  as  fruitless  a  task  for  Dr.  Ledwich  to  prove 
Julius  Csesar  an  imaginary  hero,  who  was  cast  in  the  mould  of  poetic 
fiction,  as  to  convince  any  one  acquainted  with  Irish  history,  that 
such  a  person  as  our  great  ancestor,  Milesius,  never  existed.  Bishop 
Hutchinson,  Dr.  Shaw,  and  the  late  able  and  erudite  antiquarian, 
Mr.  P.  M'Elligott,  of  Limerick,  have  abundantly  proved  that  the 
cavils  of  the  doctor  against  our  historical  system  were  impotent,  and 
that  a  man  like  liim,  utterly  ignorant  of  the  Irish  language,  was 
absolutely  incompetent  to  shake  its  immoveable  basis,  or  cast  clouds 
of  obscurity  over  the  bright  horizon  of  Milesian  antiquities.  The 
doctor's  reasoning  sets  every  rule  of  Locke  at  reckless  defiance ; 
for  he  certainly  should  not  have  taken  the  asserted  want  of  memo- 
rials as  if  granted,  nor  have  argued  from  it  as  if  it  had  been  conceded 
as  an  admitted  principle,  especially  as  he  had  not  yet  proved  by  a 
"  minute  inquiry"  the  unfounded  reproach  of  our  destitution  of  lite- 
rary memorials.  It  was  indeed  a  gigantic  stride — a  resolute  onset 
in  Dr.  Ledwich,  in  his  attack  on  the  history  of  his  country,  to  occupy 
at  once  a  bold  position,  and  assume  that  for  granted,  which  all  the 
powerful  labors  of  antiquarian  research  and  historical  investigation 
have  hitherto  been  unable  to  prove.  But  presumption  is  ever  the 
stronghold  of  futile  and  unsupported  argument.  Bold  and  arrogant 
assertions  are  the  weapons  with  which  sophistry  combats  in  the  lists 
of  controversy.  Perhaps  that  the  doctor  concurred  in  the  opinion 
of  Bacon,  that  "boldness  in  critical  cases,  often  effects  what  legiti- 
mate talent  would  fail  to  accomplish  ;  yet  boldness  is  a  child  of 
ignorance  and  baseness;  hut  nevertheless,  it  doth  fascinate  and 
bind  hand  and  foot  those  that  are  either  shallow  in  judgment  or 
weak  in  courage  ; — yea,  and  prevaileth  with  wise  men  at  weak  times." 


229 

The  ignoble  impiigncr  of  our  liistorical  creed,  after  endeavoring 
to  prepossess  the  mind  of  his  reader  with  a  strong  prejudice  against 
"bardic  tictions  and  unfounded  tradition,"  proceeds,  tlu-ougli  pages 
of  false  deductions  and  incoherent  arguments,  to  exhibit  the 
legendary  cliaracter  of  our  antifpiities ;  but  instead  of  the  ingenious 
investigation  or  the  lucidity  of  the  boasted  "  minute  inquirif  with 
which  lie  promised  to  ilhiminate  the  obscurity  of  our  recorded  story, 
he  only  seduced  his  readers,  by  a  rusli-light  of  elucidation,  into  the 
dark  mazy  catacombs  of  error  and  sophistry. 

Dr.  Ledwich  was  certainly  a  learned  man  in  classical  and  English 
literature,  but  he  was  eminently  devoid  of  the  great  attributes  of  an 
impartial  historian — candor  and  integrity  of  priiici[)le.  The  ambition 
of  wielding  a  prelate's  crosier,  and  of  wearing  an  episcopal  mitre, 
rendered  his  patriotism  frigid,  and  his  honor  a  panderer  to  his 
passion.  Aware  of  his  own  incapacity  to  confute  the  powerful 
arffuments  marshalled  under  the  banners  of  our  ancient  historians, 
by  Usher,  Ware,  A'allancey,  O'Connor,  and  Dr.  Warner,  he  sum- 
moned to  his  aid  Dr.  Macpherson,  and  placed  him  in  the  van  ground 
of  his  controversial  warfare  with  the  literary  champions  of  Ireland. 
After  deriding  our  claims  to  an  eastern  origin,  he  launches  into  an 
extravagant  panegyric  on  the  abilities  of  the  fabricator  of  i\\e  poems 
of  Ossian.  "This  learned  and  ingenious  writer,"  (Macpherson,) 
adds  he,  "has  carefully  examined,  and  fully  confuted  the  notion  of 
the  Ilispanian  extraction  of  the  Irish."  But  why  has  not  the  national 
traducer  quoted  some  of  the  arguments  which  this  "learned  and 
ingenious  writer"  made  use  of  to  controvert  and  confute  our  well- 
founded  notion  of  Milesian  descent.  W'e  know,  however,  the 
borrowed  arguments  employed  by  Dr.  Ledwich  never  made  a  prose- 
lyte to  his  historical  heresy,  nor  did  they  bring  an  acquisition  of 
strength  to  the  silly  attempts  made  by  Macpherson  to  overthrow  the 
credit  of  our  annals,  in  order  to  forge  a  pretended  antiquity  for  his 
own  country.  But  Dr.  Johnson's  potent  pen,  like  the  wand  of  a 
magician,  scattered  the  Utopian  fabric  of  Macpherson  into  dust,  and 
plucked  the  stolen  laurel  from  the  brows  of  Caledonia,  and  restored 
it  to  the  wreatli  of  Erin  ;  while  other  accomplished  writers  have 
come  forth,  arrayed  in  the  armour  of  truth  and  justice,  and  over- 
whelmed the  conclusions  of  the  cavilling  Dr.  Ledwich. 

Honest  Scottish  writers,  such  as  Laing,  Pinkerton,  and  the  acute 
and  classical  Jeffret/,  have  pronounced  the  defence  of  our  history 
and  antiquities  by  Shaw,  liutcliinson,  Bernard,  O'Connor,  Nicholson, 
and  Lanagan,  as  conclusive,  convincing,  and  irrefutable.  The  doc- 
tor's opposition  to  the  authenticity  of  our  annals,  pitted  itself  on  ten 
or  a  dozen  of  garbled  quotations  from  several  of  our  ancient  histo- 
rians, whom  he  sought  to  represent  as  dealers  in  fiction  and  poetic 
invention.  We,  indeed,  have  uniformly  in  the  pages  of  this  history 
admitted  that  a  portion  of  fable,  introduced  for  moral  purposes,  has 
been  blended  with  a  relation  of  facts  in  the  composition  of  our 
annals.  We  think,  however,  that  the  poetic  coloring  which  has  been 
thus  used  to  ornament  the  narratives  of  the  Irish  annalists,  rather 
tends  to  strengthen  the  authenticity  of  their  relations,  than  to  afford 
grounds  for  tiie  charge  brought  against  them  by  foreign  writers,  of 
being  fabricated  in  later  times. 


230 

When  the  doctor's  hook,  inappropriately  entitled  ^^  Irish  Antiqui- 
ties" was  pnhlisiied,  the  editors  ot^  an  Analytical,  Critical  and 
Monthly  review,  extolled  it  with  the  mo^t  lulsonie  encomiums  ;  not 
for  its  literary  merit,  not  for  the  deptli  of  its  research,  nor  the  com- 
prehensiveness of  its  details,  hut  lor  the  efforts  made  hy  its  author  to 
depreciate  the  credit  of  our  Irish  historians,  and  siidi  tlieir  records 
of  the  primeval  greatness  and  glory  of  ancient  Ireland  into  disre- 
pute and  disregard.  But  were  these  reviewers  competent  to  form 
an  accurate  estimate  of  ti:e  antiquities  of  a  nation  with  whose 
original  language  they  were  wholly  unacquainted  ?  These  men 
niiglit  as  well  attempt  to  review  the  philosophy  of  Confucius  without- 
the  slightest  knowledge  of  the  Chinese, — they  might,  in  fact,  with 
better  pretensions  to  truth,  undertake  to  explain  all  those  phenomena 
of  nature,  whose  causes  have  as  yet  batfled  the  incjuiry  of  science, 
and  probably  ever  will,  escape  the  acumen  of  human  penetration,  as 
to  presume  to  offer  a  dissertation  on  the  literature  and  antiquities  of 
Irehuid.  Dr.  Ledwich,  having  no  knowledge  of  the  Irish  language, 
being  ignorant  of  the  characters  of  its  very  alphabet,  and,  conse- 
quently, of  the  ideas  which  they  represent,  could  not  by  possibility 
illustrate  the  subject  on  which  he  has  so  dogmatically  descanted, 
with  any  compreliension  beyond  the  narrow  space  of  hypothetical 
assertion  and  indefinite  arguments.  If  this  shallow  species  of  contro- 
versy should  be  admittetl  into  the  field  of  disputation,  it  would  be  an 
easy  task  for  any  doubting  sciolist  to  destroy  the  sacredness  of  all 
truth  whatever,  whether  in  physics,  ethics,  or  religion.  Might  not  a 
man  with  ordinary  talents  and  intelligence  argue,  at  least  with  as 
strong  a  claim  to  credibility  as  Dr.  Ledwich,  that  the  history  of  the 
Jewish  nation  is  entirely  a  romance,  the  visionary  creations  of 
Hebrew  bards,  and  that  as  no  other  country  in  the  world  has  pre- 
served memorials  of  its  early  history,  we  ought  to  conclude  that  the 
events  related  in  holy  writ  owe  their  existence  to  the  inventions  of 
imagination  1  But  though  it  be  uncertain  when  an  event  occurred, 
does  it  follow  that  it  never  happened  ?  This  kind  of  corollary  was 
uniformly  resorted  to  by  Dr.  Ledwich  to  help  out  his  friend  Mac- 
pherson  from  the  labyrinths  of  his  untenable  paradoxes. 

It  is  conceded  by  general  experience,  that  many  occurrences  are 
narrated  in  history  to  which  no  chronology  has  assigned  a  particular 
date,  and  yet  but  few  doubt  the  truth  of  their  having  actually  taken 
place.  Who  can  tell  the  day  and  hour  that  the  world  was  created  1 
Moses  records  the  event,  and  we  give  credence  to  his  history.  It  is 
such  a  frivolous  objection  as  this  which  is  urged  by  the  denouncers 
of  Irish  antiquities  ;  such  are  the  grounds  of  reproaching  us  with 
being  "  pertinacious  defenders  of  palpable  fictions."  Dr.  Keating, 
who  has  given  more  of  the  fabulous  part  of  Irish  history  than  any 
other  of  our  annalists,  relates  them  for  the  purpose  of  exhibiting  the 
manners,  customs,  habits,  and  opinions  of  the  nation,  and  thus  they 
served  to  shed  the  light  of  illustration  on  positive  events,  and  to  give 
expression  to  the  sentiments  of  the  age  ;  so  that,  to  cite  the  opinion 
of  an  intelligent  historical  writer,  (M'Dermott,)  "it  is,  perhaps,  to 
tlie  fabulous  portion  of  ancient  history  we  are  chiefly  indebted  for 
our  most  correct  ideas  of  the  manners  and  peculiarities  of  our  remote 
ancestors." 


231 

The  writings  of  Dr.  Ledwicli  impress  lis  with  the  belief  that  he 
was  a  most  dogmatic  and  superciUoiis  disputant  ;  and  he  seems  to 
liave  spoken  with  most  pertinacious  confidence  where  lie  was  most 
involved  in  tlic  obscurity  of  error.  In  tlic  fury  of  his  zeal  to  invaU- 
dato  the  authenticity  of  our  antiquities,  and  to  immure  them  in  the 
tomb  of  historical  scepticism,  he  had  not  the  generous  candor  of 
telling  his  readers  that  many  literary  memorials  to  prove  that  we 
derived  letters  and  science  from  our  Milesian  ancestors,  are  still  in 
existence.  It  seemed  to  be  the  object  of  the  unpatriotic  writer  to 
have  extinguished  the  beacons  of  history — to  subvert  the  veritable 
structure  of  our  reverenced  annals — to  impeach  the  testimony  of  the 
hoary  witnesses  of  ages,  and  to  destroy  a  time-honored  system,  by 
ingulfing  in  an  abyss  of  oblivion  all  the  sacred  monuments  of  Mile- 
sian renown.  His  unsocial  and  misanthropic  theory  was  a  fearful 
monster,  which,  having  no  progeny  of  its  own,  oidy  watched  with 
malicious  envy  an  opportunity  of  destroying  the  offs|)ring  of  others. 

Giving  credit  to  the  calumnious  assertions  of  Vohmdius,  which 
endeavored  to  persuade  Europe  that  we  had  no  letters  or  science 
before  the  mission  of  St.  Patrick,  he  did  not  take  the  trouble  of 
ascertaining  whether  he  had  "  Utcrnry  mciiiorials."  Had  he  read 
Jocelyn  he  might  have  learned  that  St.  Patrick  was  amazed  on 
liearing  the  elo([nent  disputations  of  the  Druids,  and  the  inspired 
stanzas  of  the  Irish  Laureate,  Dubthagk.*  Among  the  four  hundred 
volumes,  exquisitely  written  in  illuminated  Plia^nician  characters, 
which  the  zealous  saint  committed  to  the  flames  at  Tara,  in  order  to 
exterminate  paganism,  were  two  large  tomes,  narrating  the  migra- 
tions of  the  Milesians,  of  which  Irial,  the  prophet  monarch  of  Ireland, 
who  reigned,  A.  M.  3025,  was  the  author.  The  autograph  writings 
of  Ollamh  F^odhla,  of  Cormac  O'Con,  the  Solon  of  Ireland,  of  Ossian, 
and  of  innumerable  other  regal  and  druidical  authors,  unfortunately 
for  our  ancient  literature,  shared  the  same  devouring  fate.     The  famed 

*  "  This  bard,  whom  his  countrymen  designated  "  the  light  of  wisdom  and  the 
soul  of  song,"  is  said  to  have  first  set  the  example,  and  to  have  bent  the  knee  in 
obeisance  to  the  holy  missionary,  St.  Patrick-  and  Jocelyn,  after  lauding  the 
pathetic  beauty  of  some  of  his  poems,  which  are  still  preserved  among  the  relics 
that  Danish  and  Englisii  invaders  left  us,  relates  that  the  royal  Laureate  of 
Lughair,  our  first  Christian  monarch,  exercised  his  talents  in  hymns  of  praise  ta 
the  most  high  God,  in  place  of  celebrating,  as  before,  the  vain  and  transient  glory 
of  temporal  princes." — Vide  0' Flanagan's  Essaijs  on  Irish  Literature. 

"  St.  Patrick  found  the  Irish  Druids  eminently  conversant  with  Greek  litera- 
ture."—  Cmnhdcn . 

'•  It  is  to  our  great  apostle  we  are  indebted  for  the  Roman  alphabet;  for  prior  to 
his  coming,  our  ancestors  used  but  sixteen  letters,  and  wrote  from  light  to  left, 
according  to  the  eastern  usage  introduced  by  Cadmus." — Transactions  of  tlic 
Gaelic  Society. 

"  The  apostle  was  very  desirous  to  introduce  the  Roman  language  among  a 
people  whom  he  succeeded  in  converting  ;  and  Colgan  asserts  that  the  saint  taught 
Latin  to  Duhtltagh  the  great  poet,  who,  in  return,  instructed  the  saint  how  to  speak 
the  Irish.  Rlany  of  the  manuscripts  of  our  ancient  Laureate  are  still  preserved 
as  venerable  relics  of  our  ancient  literature  in  Connaught." — Bishop  Molloij. 

"  Cajsar,  in  speaking  of  the  Druids  of  Ireland,  informs  us  that  they  were  men 
of  letters — that  they  knew  philosophy,  theology,  and  the  other  sciences  ;  and  that 
such  of  the  Gauls  as  wished  to  be  perfected  in  the  knowledge  of  their  mysteries, 
travelled  to  liibernia  for  instruction." — Critical  Essaij  on  the  Scote-Milcsian  Jlri- 
tiquitics.     Dublin,  Itili. 


232 

Lcahhar  Lcacain,  which  was  written  in  the  first  century,  was  carried 
from  Trinity  college,  Dublin,  by  James  II.  anil  deposited  in  the 
archives  of  the  Irish  University  in  Paris.*  This  is  a  complete 
history  of  the  laws  and  genealos;;ies  of  Ireland  for  many  ages.  King 
Cormac,  our  great  legislator's  work  on  the  duties  of  a  king,  is  still 
preserved  in  the  library  of  the  late  duke  of  Chandos,  where  it  was 
deposited  by  the  celebrated  lord  Clarendon.  The  translator  of 
Keating  states,  in  his  preface,  "that  he  saw  in  the  library  of  Trinity 
College,  among  other  manuscripts,  a  volume  in  folio,  written  on 
parchment,  made  from  the  bark  of  an  oak  tree,  centuries  before  St. 
Patrick  was  born. 

These  and  many  other  existing  monuments,  of  whose  reality  and 
antiquity  there  can  be  no  rational  doubt  entertained  by  any  mind 
nnwarped  and  unbiassed  by  the  dark  dogmas  of  such  apostate 
Pyrrhonism,  as  perverted  the  better  judgment  and  debased  the  Irish 
feelings  of  Dr.  Ledwich.t 

It  was  from  these  creditable  authorities,  and  various  other  docu- 
ments, which  existed  until  the  irruption  of  Danish  barbarians  into 
our  fair  clime,  and  the  subjugation  of  our  ancestors  by  English 
conquest,  eft'ected  by  treachery,  that  all  our  early  historians  borrowed 
the  materials  of  their  details,  and  tlie  irrefragable  proofs  of  our 
eastern  extraction.  The  Huns  of  Elizabeth  and  the  ruthless  Goths 
of  Cromwell  demolished  our  abbeys,  and  the  vast  literary  treasures 
they  contained. I  For,  as  we  have  already  sufliciently  shown  in  the 
course  of  this  history,  tliere  was  no  nation  in  Europe,  had  such  a 
rich  repository  of  literary  mouTiments  as  Ireland  before  the  Danish 
and  Saxon  invasions,  or  where  poets,  philosophers,  and  legislators 
wrote  so  voluminously  and  elaborately,  as  Bede,  Fordun,  Cambden, 
Stillingfleet,  Warner,  Whitaker,  and  Laing,  with  a  degree  of  com- 
mendable liberality,  admit.     Even  Sir  George  Mackenzie,  who  was 

*  "  The  late  Mr.  Charles  O'Connor  had  a  copy  of  the  Book  of  Lccan  in  his 
possession,  the  accounts  in  which  he  compared  with  Newton's  Chronology,  and 
found  their  dates  to  accord  most  particularly.  Another  copy  of  this  celebrated 
book  was  presented  by  the  Rt.  Rev.  Dr.  M'Kenna,  bishop  of  Cloyne,  to  Dr. 
O'Halloran,  which  he  acknowledged  in  the  preliminary  discourse  to  his  history  of 
Ireland.  The  Abbe  M'Geoghegan,  who  wrote  his  history  of  Ireland  in  Paris,  tells 
us  that  a  copy  of  the  same  book  was  carefully  preserved  in  the  Vatican." — .4 
Vindication  of  the  Early  History  of  Ireland. 

t  "  In  the  annals  of  Ulster  are  copied  several  poems  of  Forchcarn  Mac  Deag 
and  Jisthirnc  Mac  Jlmltuas,  who  were  the  bards  of  Connor,  king  of  Ulster,  a  cen- 
tury before  the  Christian  era." — Hutchinson. 

"  Our  history  and  poetry,  our  laws  and  philosophy,  have  been  deranged  and  dis- 
persed, shattered  and  mutilated,  and  nearly  consigned  to  contemptuous  neglect  and 
annihilating  oblivion.  Nothing  now  remains  of  our  native  literature  but  the 
mutilated,  yet  interesting  fragments  of  the  poetry  and  wisdom  of  a  singularly 
reflecting  people.  Thus  the  venerable  fabric  of  our  ancient  dignity  had  been 
hurled  down  a  dreadful  precipice  by  the  storms  of  persecution  and  adversity;  and 
the  only  consolation  left  is,  tiiat  it  appears  affecting  and  majestic,  even  in  ruin  !" — 
Observations  on  the  Irish  Language. 

t  "  Elizabeth  gave  orders  to  her  officers  to  destroy  every  Irish  manuscript  they 
could  find.  The  Milesians  of  Ireland  enjoyed  their  own  laws  and  customs  until 
the  reign  of  James  1.,  when  the  Brehon  system  of  jurisprudence  was  sujipressed, 
and  the  Englisli  code  established.  Then  for  the  first  time  the  Gaelic  ceased  to  be 
spoken  by  the  chiefs  of  families,  and  at  court ;  and  English  schools  were  erected 
with  strict  injunctions  that  the  vernacular  language  should  no  longer  be  spoken  in 
the  seminaries." — Vide  Shaw's  Gaelic  Gramvuir.     Edinburgh,  1778. 


233 

for  a  while  the  resolute  champion  of  Macpherson's  literary  imposi- 
tions, candicJly  admitted,  in  liis  '■^Defence  of  the  rnxjalUnc  of  HcuthuK]^'' 
puhlitihed,  A.  D.  lOSo,  that  he  had  to  resort  to  Irish  history  for  facts, 
and  that  he  fortunately  procured  a  manuscript  nhich  belonged  to 
the  abbey  of  Hi  Cohimbkille.  "  Since  I  began  this  work,"  says  he, 
"  there  fell  into  my  hands  a  very  ancient  manuscript  of  the  abbey 
of  Hi  Cohimbkille,  written  by  the  Irish  monarch,  Carbrc  J.iffta- 
chaire*  who  reigned  about  six  generations  before  St.  Patrick  vi.-ited 
Ireland.  This  juanuscript  gives  an  exact  account  of  the  Irish  kings, 
whence  I  must  conclude  that  the  Irish  had  letters  and  manuscripts 
before  the  days  of  St.  Patrick,  and  that  they  did  not  borrow,  as 
many  writers  have  unjustly  stated,  their  alphabet  from  that  mission- 
ary." t  But  we  trust  we  liave  adduced  ample  reasons  to  prove  the 
unfounded  arguments  and  puerile  objections  urged  by  Dr.  Ledwich, 
through  a  spirit  of  apostacy,  and  the  desire  of  an  episcopal  stall, 
against  the  history  and  antiquities  of  his  country.  Influenced  by 
his  ambition,  and  assuming  a  composed  and  philosophic  as[)ect,  to 
\\\n  over  a  certain  class  of  readers  for  his  doctrine,  to  whom  the 
calumny  of  Ireland  was  a  literary  treat,  he  brought  into  action  all 
the  industry  of  ingenious  bigotry,  to  inculcate  the  opinion,  that  our 
pretended  extraction  from  the  Milesians  originated  in  the  general 
diftusion  of  "  oriental  fabling.'''' 

So  much  for  the  late  Dr.  Ledwich  ; — let  us  now  proceed  to  say  a 
few  words  to  his  friend  and  prototype,  Dr.  James  Macpherson,  the 
pretended  translator  of  the  poems  of  Ossian.  The  attacks  of  Dr. 
Macpherson  have  been  already  so  signally  and  decisively  repelled 
by  able  Irish  writers,  that  it  would  be  like  "fighting  the  Ossianic 
battles  over  again,"  and  slaying  the  vanquished,  to  array  a  defence 
against  them  now.  A  few  observations  may,  however,  be  bestowed 
on  the  history  of  Ossian.  In  his  preface  to  the  history  of  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland,  the  Scottish  doctor  states,  "that  Spain,  the 
centre  of  oriental  fabling,  always  enjoyed  the  celebrity  above  that  of 
any  other  European  country;  the  Irish,  therefore,  esteemed  it  a 
matter  of  the  greatest  imijortance  to  exhibit  a  olear  deduction  of 
their  ancestors  from  thence,  and  which  their  native  writers,  in  every 
age,  have  zealousy  inculcated  as  a  fact."  We  do  not  know  by  what 
geographical  rule,  the  Scotch  Ossian  could  place  in  his  Utopian  map, 
Spain,  the  most  iccstcrly  part  of  Europe,  in  the  centre  of  "  oriental 
fabling;"  nor  have  we  yet  learned  from  all  we  have  read,  that  the 
Spanish  nation  was  ever  so  distinguished,  either  by  the  lustre  of 
arms,  the  feats  of  chivalry,  or  the  renown  of  poetry,  as  Greece  and 
Rome.  It  is  also  a  groundless  assertion  to  say  "that  the  Irish 
esteemed  it  a  matter  of  great  importance  to  deduce   their  ancestors 

*  See  the  last  cliapter  of  our  history. 

t  "  Notiiing  could  be  so  absurd  or  so  contrary  to  the  evidences  of  facts  produced 
by  old  Irish  manuscripts,  as  the  assertion  that  the  Irish  had  no  alphabet  until  tJie 
period  of  St.  Patrick's  arrival." — IVhitakcr. 

'•  Raymond  has  incontestably  proved  that  the  Irish  characters  were  those  used 
by  the  ancient  Celtic  nation.  He  has  adduced  such  testimonies  of  the  identity  of 
the  old  Celtic  and  Irish  languages,  as  must  irrefragably  answer  all  tlie  objections 
which  Innis,  Macpherson,  and  other  writers  have  made  to  the  early  use  of  letters 
in  Ireland." — Warner. 

30 


234 

from  thence."  Now  it  is  indeed  to  be  wondered  at,  that  Dr. 
Macpherson,  who  boasted  of  havinw;  carefully  studied  our  annals, 
should  be  so  ignorant  of  the  claim  which  we  always,  from  the  earli- 
est epoch  of  our  history,  steadily  maintained  and  set  up — that  of 
being  the  legitimate  descendants  of  Milesius,  a  Scythian  prince,  as 
will  appear  to  those  who  may  peruse  the  beginning  of  this  history. 
Dr.  Macpherson  might  as  well  aflirm,  that  we  claimed  our  origin 
from  Egypt  or  Crete,  where  the  Milesians  were  sojourners,  as  from 
Spain. 

The  doctor  and  the  most  noted  of  his  literary  countrymen,  put 
their  utmost  skill  and  ingenuity  to  work,  in  order  to  stamp  the  signet 
of  credibility  on  his  version  of  Ossian.  To  produce  an  impression 
throughout  Europe,  that  the  Irish  historians  were  mere  dreaming 
romances,  was  the  plan  designed  by  the  national  vanity  of  INIacken- 
zie,  Blair,  Macpherson  and  Hume,  who,  in  their  unwearied  atten- 
tion, wrote  countless  essays  and  dissertations,  for  the  purpose  of 
stripping  our  ancient  testimonies  of  the  respect  and  credit,  which 
revolving  ages  had  so  deeply  impressed  upon  them.  A  Utopian 
kingdom,  called  Selma,  was  discovered  by  the  telescope  of  invention 
in  the  highlands,  and  the  waves  of  Scotland  miraculously  cast  upon 
the  shore,  to  the  great  joy  of  the  natives,  a  king  Fingal,  ready 
crowned  and  armed.  Here  was  a  new  paradise  opened  for  the 
recreation  of  Albanian  imagination,  and  the  brave  Fion  3Iac  Cumhal, 
the  gallant  leader  of  the  Irish  militia,  who  so  often  protected  the 
highlanders  from  the  ravages  of  the  Romans,  underwent  as  strange 
a  metamorphose  as  any  in  Ovid,  by  being  transformed  into  a  Cale- 
donian monarch. 

Ossian,  the  Irish  bard,  the  son  of  Fion,  whose  harp  breathed  the 
tones  of  his  native  music,  to  inspire  the  Caledonians  with  courage, 
and  whose  hands  .wielded  the  spear  and  the  target  in  the  martial 
conflict,  against  the  Roman  enemy,  was  claimed  as  a  sturdy  high- 
lander,  and  as  such,  verses  and  songs  attributed  to  him  that  never 
emanated  from  his  mind.* 

*  '•  The  late  amiable,  venerable,  and  Rev.  Dr.  Shaw,  of  Shelvy  parsonage,  near 
Bristol, — '  the  sturdy  nioralist,  who  loved  truth  better  than  Scotland,'  however 
strongly  attached  to  his  nativit)"^,  proved,  from  personal  knowledge,  that  the  Post 
original,  of  Mr.  Macpherson's  poems,  is  a  modern  fabrication ;  as  well  as  that  the 
list  of  Gaelic  manuscripts,  given  at  the  end  of  the  gorgeous  publication,  were  Irish, 
not  .^llnniian." — Transactions  of  the  Gaelic  Socictij  of  Dvblin. 

"  That  eminently  ingenious  and  accomplished  scholar,  the  late  Bishop  of  Clan- 
fert,  (Dr.  Young.)  was  warmly  affected  towards  Irish  literature.  In  the  summer 
of  1784,  he  traversed  the  highlands  in  search  of  Gaelic  poetry.  He  was  directed 
to  a  bookseller  in  Perth,  with  wliom,  it  was  asserted  tiiat  the  original  of  Macpher- 
son's poems  were  deposited.  On  inspection,  however,  it  proved  to  be  an  ancient 
Irish  manuscript  on  vellum,  containing  historic  tl-acts,  and  several  genealogies  ; 
particularly  one  of  the  illustrious  house  of  O'Neil.  The  bishop,  while  in  Scotland, 
wrote  a  letter  to  a  friend  in  Dublin,  frona  which  we  take  the  following  extract. 
'  The  Irish  language  is  spoken  with  considerable  accuracy,  in  many  parts  of  the 
highlands  of  modern  Scotland.  This  I  conclude  from  having  conversed  with 
several  gentlemen  of  this  country  with  tlie  greatest  ease  and  familiarity  ;  and  I 
must  add  that  none  of  them  refused  an  immediate  and  unequivocal  acknowledge- 
ment that  the  Gaelic  of  Scotland  was  a  dialect  of  the  mother  tong~iic  of  Ireland  ; 
as  well  as  the  highland  Scots  were  the  descendants  of  a  colony  from  the  mother 
country.  They  readily  assented  to  the  dishonorable  fabrication  of  Macpherson, 
and  declared  that  they  knew  from  undisputed  tradition,  that  Fingal,  Ossian,  Oscar, 
and  all  the  other  Finnian  heroes  were  Irishmen.'  " — Ibid. 


235 

III  fabricating  a  system  of  antiquities  for  liis  country,  and  in 
peoplinjr  it  with  a  race  of  heroes  of  ideal  creation,  he  had  to  draw 
largely  uj)()n  iiis  inventive  genius,  for  he  had  to  create  new  scenes, 
build  up  the  palace  of  Sclnia — embank  the  lake  of  Cona — provide 
wives  and  mistresses  for  his  Fingalian  heroes — forge  chains  of  cir- 
cumstances— bring  together  men  and  their  exploits  who  lived  at 
distant  periods,  and  to  make  the  established  and  sacred  principles 
of  truth,  a  basis  for  the  fanciful  pillars  on  which  the  imposing  fabric 
of  his  literary  imposture  rested.  But  the  magic  pile  has  vanished, 
and  critical  justice  has  torn  oft*  the  mask  that  for  a  while  Iiid  the  false 
divinity  of  Scottish  pretension  :  imposition  has  withered  before  the 
indignant  glance  of  patriotic  investigation  ;  and  equitable  justice  lias 
restored  the  original  right  of  Ireland,  in  compliance  with  the  request 
of  unprejudiced  judgment.  There  is  not  now  a  literary  Scotchman 
in  existence,  would  have  the  arrogance  of  claiming  our  Ossian  for  a 
countryman  ;  and  but  few  that  would  have  the  hardihood  to  assert, 
in  the  face  of  attested  history,  in  the  teeth  of  an  incontrovertible 
testimony,  corroborated  by  contemporaneous  evidence,  confirmed  by 
universal  tradition,  and  strengthened  by  tlie  concurring  circum- 
stances of  ages,  that  our  annals  and  antiquities  are  the  creation  of 
poetic  fancy,  or  the  romantic  fables  of  monkish  imagination.  Away 
then  with  that  ini(]uitous  system  of  historical  fabrication  !  which,  to 
accommodate  itself  to  the  vanity  and  prejudices  of  one  nation, 
would  despoil  another  of  the  trophies  of  ages,  and  sacrilegiously  rob 
the  sacred  shrines  of  Irish  piety  of  their  antique  jewels,  and  the 
niches  of  Irish  fame  of  the  statues  of  our  kings,  princes,  bards,  war- 
riors, senachics*  and  legislators.  The  Scotch  writers  of  the  last 
century,  (those  of  the  present,  ashamed  of  the  deeds  of  their  prede- 
cessors, have  prudently  renounced  their  historical  errors  !)  in  their 
predatory  warfare  against  their  venerable  viothcr  country,  not  only 
plundered  the  temple  of  the  Irish  muses  of  the  most  splendid  oft'er- 
ings  of  Irish  genius,  but  in  their  insatiate  rapacity,  ravished  the  very 
harp  of  Erin  from  the  inspired  hands  of  music,  as  she  wept  in  the 
ruins  of  Tara,  tore  from  it  some  of  the  sweetest  strings  that  ever, 
under  the  magic  and  lightning-tipped  fingers  of  our  O'Brodin, 
O'Regan,  M'Cabe,  M'Dairy  or  Carolan,  vibrated  with  the  thrilling 
tones  of  the  melody  of  the  passions  and  the  heart !  Has  not  the 
voice  of  literary  Europe  reproached  them  for  national  vanity,  in 
pluming  themselves  with  borrowed  feathers,  clandestinely  plucked 
from  the  wings  of  the  Irish  songsters  ;  and  for  clothing  the  meagre, 
deformed,  and  decayed  skeleton  of  their  history,  in  garments  stolen 
from  the  wardrobes  of  our  learned  antiquarians  and  annalists. 
Macpherson  was  certainly  a  poet  whose  talents  had  graduated  in  the 
Parnassian  college,  and,  while  we  deny  him  the  honor  due  to  candor, 
we  cordially  concede  that  those  poems,  (called  Ossian's)  to  which 
we  award  him  the  full  credit  of  having  framed  and  fabricated,  from 
fragments  of  Irish  poetry,  possess  traces  of  genius  that  would  have 
reflected   credit  on   even   the  best   epic  of  Homer.     No  writer  of 

*  "  The  Senacliies,  (or  antiquarian  sages,)  were  men  informed  in  every  liberal  art 
and  science  known  in  their  time.  They  were  poets  by  name,  but  philosophers  in 
practice." — Lvncu. 


236 

judgment  can  question  Macpherson's  intellectual  endowments,  tlie 
expansive  range  of  his  imagination,  nor  Iiis  acknowledged  siiill  in 
arraying  epic  and  heroic  themes  in  the  most  graceful  drapery  of 
pathetic  poetry.  But  why  was  he  so  vain,  selfish,  and  silly,  as  to 
thrust  his  false  Ossian  on  public  credulity  1  Why  did  he  make  such 
an  obstinate  stand  in  the  field  of  imposture  ?  or  with  his  fungus 
sponge,  and  leaden  truncheon,  essay  to  eflace  from  the  adamantine 
pillar  of  our  antiquarian  renown,  the  indelible  inscription  which  the 
immortalizing  chisel  of  History  insculptured  upon  them,  for  the 
admiration  and  instruction  of  future  ages? 

By  his  own  admission,  it  appears  that  the  modern  Scotia  was  for 
the  periixl  of  eleven  hundred  years  without  literary  records;  but  at 
length  the  sun  beams  of  knowledge,  as  if  by  enchantment,  dawned 
upon  the  torpid  intellects  of  the  Scots,  and  the  redoubt;d)le  James 
Macpherson,  like  a  midnight  sexton,  came  forth  from  the  moulder- 
ing tomb  of  Ossian,  waving  the  sepulchral  torches,  wliich  he  rav- 
ished from  the  bard's  bier,  to  illuminate  the  perennial  darkness  in 
which  the  antiquities  of  Albania  had  been  shrouded  for  eleven  centu- 
ries.* When  we  come  to  treat  of  St.  Patrick,  we  shall  advert  to  the 
preceding  suiiject  again.  As  to  the  charge  of  our  having  no  know- 
ledge of  the  fine  arts  before  the  era  of  the  mission  of  our  patron 
saint,  it  is  only  necessary  to  observe,  in  its  refutation,  that  the 
remains  of  our  druidical  temples,  display  majestic  and  imposing 
architecture, — the  arabesque  ceilings  of  our  ancient  caves  attest  our 
skill  in  mosaic  and  fresco  painting,  and  the  crowns,  shields,  and 
amulets  of  our  heathen  kings  and  warriors,  proclaim  to  the  world, 
that  the  pagan  sculptors  of  Ireland  were  capable  of  the  most  exquisite 
execution  of  the  Grecian  art. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 


Tlie  grandsons  nf  Mac  Con  are  elected  joint  Monarchs  of  Ireland. —  Their  reign  and 
death. —  OlioU,  king  of  Munster. — Fiac/ta,  the  son  of  Carhre,  is  raised  to  the 
throne. — Is  killed  in  buttle  by  his  nephews,  the  Collas. — Destruction  of  the  palace 
of  Eniania,  A.  D.  33G. — Accession  of  the  elder  Culla  to  tlie  throne. — He  is  deposed 
and  succeeded  by  Muireadhach. 

The  monarch  Carhre  having  fallen  in  the  battle  of  Gabhra,f  as 
related  in  a  former  chajiter,  the  national  estates  assembled  at  Tara, 
and  elected  the  two  Fiathachs  joint  sovereigns  of  Ireland.  But 
scarcely  had  these  princes,  who  were  the  grandsons  of  Mac  Con,  of 

*  •'  1  believe  that  our  ancestors  for  eleven  hundred  years  believed  themselves 
the  descendants  of  the  Irish  Sc^ts,  and  that  the  authorities  of  Bede  and  Buchanan, 
tended  to  support  this  erroneo^,  but  popular  opinion.  Those  poems,  (Ossian 's.) 
were  preserved  by  oral  traditioh  in  the  highlands  for  fifteen  hundred  years.  The 
whole  system  of  Irish  history  was  fabricated  by  the  monks  in  the  sixth  century, 
when,  it  appears,  monkish  learning,  religious  virtues,  and  ascetic  atisteritics  flour- 
ished in  Ireland." — Vide  Introduction  to  Ossian,  by  James  Macpherson,  Esq. 

\   Gabhra,  the  scene  of  this  battle,  is  a  town  land  in  the  county  of  Mcath. 


237 

the  house  of  Ith,  been  invested  witli  regal  power,  than  envy  and 
jealousy  severed  the  bonds  of  fraternal  afl'ection,  and  filled  their 
liearts  with  feelings  of  inveterate  resentment  and  abhorrence  against 
each  other.  Their  irreconcilable  dillerence,  could,  therefore,  only 
be  terminated  and  decided  by  the  fcjrce  of  arms.  In  the  rencounter 
which  ensued  they  both  were  killed.  Their  death  called  forth  Fiacha 
Streabhthuine,*  the  son  of  the  monarch  Carbre,  as  a  candidate 
for  tlie  sovereignty  of  Ireland.  The  n.-itional  estates  raised  him  to 
the  summit  of  his  wishes.  \'aliant  and  enlightened,  he  was  admira- 
l)ly  (jualified  to  shed  lustre  on  the  throne,  and  confer  happiness  on 
the  nation. 

Shortly  after  his  accession  to  supreme  power,  he  appointed  his 
brother  Eochaidli,  commander-in-chief  of  the  Irish  army,  into  which 
he  introduced  the  most  etYective  s[>ecies  of  disci|)line.  lie  embodied 
a  legion  of  troops,  composed  of  the  flower  of  the  Irish  youth,  which, 
in  honor  of  his  great  ancestor,  king  Cormac  Cas,  he  designated  Dal- 
gas.  This  body  of  warlike  heroes,  who  were  finally  annihilated  at 
the  battle  of  Clontarf,  were  forages  distinguished  for  their  gallantry 
and  chivalrous  exploits,  seemed  as  if  animated  with  tlie  spirit  of  their 
renowned  predecessors,  the  Irish  MilitiaA  The  monarch's  Queen 
was  a  daughter  of  the  Prince  of  Wales;  and  the  wife  of  Eochaidli 
was  Oilcan,  princess  royal  of  Scotland,  a  woman  whose  beauty  was 
only  surpassed  by  her  ambition.  By  this  lady  Eochaidh  became  the 
father  of  the  three  famous  Collas,  whose  deeds  are  such  gloiious 
themes  for  historical  eulogium,  as  well  as  for  the  epic  and  dramatic 
muses. 

Some  of  the  most  illustrious  names  that  illuminate  Irish  history, 
were  descended  from  the  brave  Collas.  The  eldest  brother,  who 
was  distinguished  by  the  appellation  of  Uas,  or  the  noble,  was  the 
common  ancestor  of  the  IMac  Donnels,  both  of  Ireland  and  Scotland, 
as  well  as  of  the  Doules,  Mac  Roney's,  O'Slieehies,  O'Kierins, 
O'Gniefes,  and  other  septs  of  high  repute  in  the  Milesian  genealogi- 
cal records.  To  the  second  brother,  called  Colla  Crioch,  the  families 
of  the  Mac  3Iahon,  of  Monaghan,  the  Mac  Guires,  of  Fermanagh, 
the  O'Hanlon's,  of  Louth,  as  well  as  the  O'Carrol's,  princes  of 
IJrial|  or  Orgial,  and  the  Mac  Anaigh,  Mac  Manus,  Mac  Egan, 
O'Kelly,  O'Madden,  O'Nealan,  Mac  Nulty,  &c.,  owe  their  great 
oriffin. 

If  the  third  brother,  Colla  Aodh,  had  any  legitimate  issue,  we  think 

*  '■  He  was  the  son  of  Carbre  Lijf'cacliairc,  the  monarch  ;  he  was  known  by  this 
name,  because  he  was  bred  and  had  his  education  in  Streabthuine,  in  Connaught." 
Keating. 

t  "  Tlie  Dai.gas,  like  the  Irish  Militia,  not  only  submitted  to  the  military  trials 
of  probation,  but,  by  way  of  pre-eminence,  were  constantly  to  be  the  van-guard  in 
every  battle,  and  the  rear  in  every  retreat." — O'H.iLi.oRAX. 

I  "  After  the  great  battle  of  MtiUanh  Lmtltdlicrg,  (now  called  Market  Hill)  in 
the  County  of  Armagh,  was  fought,  the  Collas  by  right  of  conquest,  took  possession 
of  Orgial  of  Urial,  a  large  tract  of  country,  now  known  by  the  names  of  Louth, 
Armagh,  and  uNIonaghan.  These  valiant  brolhers  made  a  contract  with  the 
monarch  of  Ireland,  A.  D.  33G,  which  stipulated  for  themselves  and  their  descen- 
dants, that  whenever  hostages  were  demanded  from  them,  if  shackled,  their  fetters 
were  to  be  of  pure  gold.  Hence  Orgial,  from  or  (Gold,)  and  Gial,  a  hostage." — 
Lynch. 


238 

our  annalists  would  not  have  neglected  to  record  their  names  and 
their  deeds. 

At  this  juncture,  A.  D.  309,  Fearciiorb  was  kin*;;  of  JVIunster,  a 
pri«)ce  extolled  hy  our  historians  for  his  genius  and  hravery  in  war, 
and  his  prudence  and  wisdom  in  governing  his  people.  Several 
Irish  poems  are  still  extant,  in  which  his  exploits,  wisdom  and  hos- 
pitality are  eloquenily  lauded.  He,  according  to  the  psalter  of 
Cashel,  regularly  retained  one  hundred  minstrels  in  his  court,  as 
well  as  a  great  numher  of  historians  and  artists. 

He  invaded  Connaught,  where  he  gained  several  victories,  and 
compelled  the  king  of  that  country  to  cede  him  a  large  tract  of  ter- 
ritory, over  which  he  appointed  his  son  viceroy. 

During  his  reign,  the  monarch  Fiacha  was  restrained  by  fear  from 
making  any  hostile  attempts  against  Munster  ;  but  as  soon  as  he 
was  informed  of  tlie  demise  of  his  gallant  rival,  he  formed  the  reso- 
lution of  invading  Munster,  and  of  reducing  its  inhabitants  to  servile 
subjection.  The  plan  thus  designed  he  quickly  proceeded  to  carry 
into  effect.  A  powerful  army,  under  the  command  of  his  son,  Prince 
Bluircadhach,  marched  to  the  frontiers  of  Munster,  wliere  he  had 
orders  to  encamp,  and  wait  the  arrival  of  the  king,  with  the  second 
division  of  the  forces  that  were  then  in  the  course  of  organization  at 
Tara.  But  the  young  and  chivalric  prince,  animated  with  martial 
ardour,  and  the  ambition  of  havirig  the  undivided  glory  of  the  con- 
quest of  Munster,  carried  fire  and  sword  at  once  into  the  country. 
Daire  Cearb,  the  then  king  of  Munster,  after  being  defeated  by  the 
invader  in  three  battles,  was  necessitated  to  abandon  his  capital, 
Cashel,  and  retreat  to  Cork.  The  monarch  was  so  elated  by  the 
conquest  achieved  by  his  son,  that  he  raised  him  to  the  rank  of 
Generalissimo,  and  loaded  him  with  other  honors  and  dignities. 
Eochaidh,  provoked  and  enraged,  that  a  beardless  boy  should  be 
appointed  to  a  post  which  he  possessed  for  twenty  years,  declared 
that  he  should  revenge  the  slight  and  indignity  with  which  the  king, 
his  brother,  treated  him.  His  sons  too,  the  three  CoUas,  inflamed 
with  envy  at  the  success  and  valour  of  prince  Muircadhach,  partook 
of  his  resentment,  and  burned  with  the  desire  of  vengeance.  The 
glorious  achievements  of  the  young  prince  threw  their  fame  into  the 
shade,  whilst  it  made  him  the  idol  of  the  nation's  popularity.  The 
conquest  of  Munster,  at  this  era,  rendered  the  prince  royal  as  emi- 
nent on  the  summit  of  renown,  as  that  of  Italy  rendered  the  great 
Napoleon.  The  monarch  of  Ireland  was  on  the  eve  of  marching  to 
Munster,  when  the  intelligence  of  his  brother's  defection  reached 
him.  This  unnatural  rebellion  astonished  and  grieved  him.  That 
his  brother  and  nephews  should  conspire  to  deprive  him  of  life  and 
kingdom,  for  rewarding  a  heroic  son,  to  whom  the  whole  nation 
accorded  praise  and  homage,  naturally  excited  sorrow,  wonder,  and 
indignation  in  his  bosom.  While  ruminating  on  the  plans  which 
the  exigency  of  the  occasion  required  to  be  put  in  prompt  execution, 
a  herald  arrived  from  his  brother  to  challenge  him  to  battle.  "  Go 
back,"  said  the  king,  "to  my  ungrateful  brother,  and  tell  him,  that, 
though  my  son  is  absent,  1  shall  meet  him  in  the  field  of  strife,  and 
chastise  him  and  his  rebel  followers,  for  this  audacious  and  impious 


239 

act  of  treason  !"  The  king's  prime  minister,  at  this  epoch,  was  an 
eminent  druid  and  prophet,  who  had  oaiiied  great  reverence  and 
respect  in  Ireland  by  liis  predictions.  The  monarch,  at  so  momen- 
tous a  crisis,  called  upon  the  seer,  to  presage  the  event  of  the 
approaching  war  with  the  insurgents. 

In  accordance  with  the  king's  request,  the  prophet  tuld  him  that 
it  was  ordained  by  fate  that  if  his  nephews  should  be  slain  in  the 
coming  battle,  the  sovereignty  of  Ireland  would  in  that  event  pass 
from  the  Ileremonian  dynasty  to  that  of  another  race.  Tliis  prog- 
nostication struck  the  monarch's  heart  with  grief  and  disappointment. 
"But,"  observed  the  druid,  "  if  their  death  can  be  avoided,  your 
majesty's  family  shall  sit  for  ages  on  the  Irish  throne."  "That, 
good  druid,"  replied  the  king,  "is  truly  consolatory :  let  me  fall 
nobly  in  the  field,  by  a  brother's  or  a  nephew's  hand,  so  as  my  son 
and  his  posterity  may  reign  in  this  warlike  realm,  which  our  renowned 
progenitor,  Ileremon,  won  by  his  sword,  and  bequeathed  to  his  royal 
race."  When  he  engaged  in  the  conflict  with  his  antagonists,  he 
for  some  time  fought  w  ith  unconquerable  valour,  but  finding  that  his 
troops  gave  ground,  and  that  the  fate  of  the  day  was  against  him,  he 
rushed  into  the  middle  of  his  foes,  where  he  was  killed  by  one  of  his 
nephews,  in  the  thirty-first  year  of  his  reign. 

Thus  died  the  magnanimous  Fiacha,  a  prince  in  whom  some  of 
the  noblest  virtues  of  humanity  shone  in  the  brightest  lustre.*  The 
eldest  Colla,  immediately  after  the  death  of  his  predecessor,  pro- 
ceeded to  Tara,  where  he  was  crowned  Monarch  of  Ireland;  The 
army  which  Prince  Muireadhach  commanded  in  Munster,  was  not 
of  sulficient  force  to  compete  with  the  power  of  Colla;  so  that  the 
prince  prudently  hearkened  to  the  overtures  which  the  ministers  of 
the  reigning  king  made  to  him,  to  induce  him  to  resign  his  right  to 
the  throne  of  Ireland.  Colla  entered  into  a  treaty  with  his  rival, 
which  provided  that  Muireadhach  should  rule  Connaught,  as  a  tribu- 
tary Prince,  and  rclin(iuish  all  claims  to  the  Irish  monarchy.  This 
treaty,  which  necessity  dictated  for  the  interest  of  both  parties,  did 
not  remain  long  inviolate;  for  at  the  end  of  four  years,  the  Prince 
of  Connaught  raised  a  large  army,  with  which  he  marched  to  Tara, 
in  order  to  depose  Colla.  The  monarch,  unprepared  for  so  unex- 
})ected  an  attack,  abandoned  the  palace  of  Tara,  and  with  his  aged 
father,  and  two  brothers,  flew  from  the  active  pursuit  of  his 
triumphant  enemy,  to  Scotland.  The  king  of  that  country  received 
his  brother-in-law  and  nephews  with  warm  kindness  and  liberal 
hosjjitality.  When  the  Pictish  king  despaired  of  being  able  to 
restore  his  nephew  to  the  Irish  throne,  he  sent  an  embassy  to  the 
Irish  monarch,  to  entreat  him  to  pardon  his  uncle  and  his  cousins, 
and  in  the  true  magnanimity  of  clemency,  to  permit  them  to  return 

*  "  Though  this  monarch  made  no  great  improvements  in  law,  or  in  government 
in  his  time,  yet  we  read  of  no  oppression  or  misrule.  Scenes  of  public  action, 
conquest,  and  military  glory,  are  indeed  the  scenes  which  enliven  history  the 
most  of  any ;  hut  they  are  not  the  scenes  in  which  wise  and  good  men  would 
choose  to  pass  away  their  lives.  It  was  greatly  and  humanely  said  by  Scipio,that 
he  had  rather  save  the  life  of  a  single  citizen,  than  destroy  a  thousand  enemies. 
The  reign  of  this  monarch,  therefore,  though  for  the  most  part  still  and  peaceful, 
yet  was  happy  to  himself  and  all  his  subjects." — Warner. 


240 

to  their  native  land,  as  they  pined  and  languished  in  exile.  This 
appeal  melted  the  heart  of  the  nionarcli  to  compassion,  and  disposed 
him  to  yield  to  the  entreaties  of  the  Scottish  prince.  Orders  were, 
in  consequence,  issued  to  the  officers  stationed  on  the  Irish  coast  to 
permit  the  royal  exiles  to  land,  and  allow  them  to  proceed,  under  a 
pro])er  escort,  to  Tara.  When  they  a])|)eared  at  court,  the  king  was 
liighly  pleased,  as  well  as  much  affected,  by  the  contrite  manner  of 
their  submission.  He  assured  them  of  his  forgiveness,  and  his 
determination  to  reward  them  according  to  the  rectitude  and  sin- 
cerity of  their  future  conduct.  They,  charmed  and  elated  at  the 
clemency  and  generosity  of  the  monarch,  resolved  to  profit  by  every 
opportunity  that  might  otter,  to  cfiace  the  stigma  of  their  treason, 
and  to  gain  a  higher  ascendency  in  the  confidence  of  so  humane  a 
priiice.  Actuated  by  this  feeling,  they  soon,  by  their  zeal  and 
laudable  conduct,  obtained  such  an  estimation  in  the  opinion  of  the 
king,  that  he  began  to  regard  them  as  the  pillars  of  his  throne,  and 
the  shields  of  his  kingdom.  To  convince  them  of  his  esteem,  he 
assigned  them  territories,  and  promoted  them  to  the  highest  offices 
in  the  state.  But  this  was  not  all;  he  oftered  them  troops  to  eflect 
any  conquest  they  might  wish  to  achieve  in  the  neighboring  countries. 
Such  an  ofler  made  to  these  daring  and  ambitious  princes  was  too 
tempting  to  be  refused. 

They  artfully  told  the  monarch,  on  finding  him  in  this  mood  of 
mind,  that  the  insult  and  indignity  which  their  common  ancestor, 
Cormac  O'Con,  had  experienced  in  the  court  of  Emania,  from 
Feargus,  king  of  Ulster,  who  burned  his  hair  and  beard,  a  century 
before,  remained  still  without  being  fully  avenged,  and  that  they  had 
long  sought  for  the  occasion,  which  now  arrived  of  sacrificing  the 
great  grandson  of  him  whoso  ignominiously  dishonored  their  famed 
progenitor. 

The  king  warmly  applauded  the  spirit  that  inflamed  them,  and  in 
order  to  enable  them  to  chastise,  if  not  dethrone  the  Irion*  King  of 
Ulster,  who  had  rendered  himself  obnoxious  to  Muireadhach,  in 
consequence  of  his  having  sent  forces,  by  sea,  to  assist  the  people  of 
Munster  to  resist  his  invasion  of  that  province,  he  placed  at  their 
disposid  an  army  of  twenty-one  thousand  men,  at  the  head  of  which 
they  marched  to  Ulster.  Feargu.s  Fodha,  King  of  Ulster,  put  all 
the  forces  he  could  collect  in  a  posture  of  defence,  and  set  on  foot 
every  opposition  to  impede  the  progress  of  the  foe  ;  but  in  vain,  for 
after  a  desperate  conflict  which  lasted  three  days,  his  army  was 
destroyed,  and  himself  slain,  at  Lcath-Dhcarg,  in  the  county  of 
Down.  This  succession  of  victories  left  the  people  of  Ulster  no 
alternative,  btit  an  unconditional  submission  to  the  conquerors.  The 
victors,  not  content  with  subjugating  the  province  to  their  dominion, 
and  slaying  its  king  in  battle,  carried  their  ruthless  vengeance  still 
farther,  by  first  plundering  the  magnificent  palace  of  Emania  of  all 
its  wealth,  treasures  and  ornaments,  and  then  setting  it  on  fire. 
"Thus,"  says  O'Halloran,  "the  bloody  battle  of  Leath-Dhearg,  in 
which  the  king  of  Ulster,  his  principal  nobles,  and  the  entire  band 

*  The  descendants  of  Ir,  the  son  of  Milesiiis,  from  whom  Ireland  derives  its 
present  name,  were  designated  Irians. —  Vide  \st  Chapter  of  this  History. 


241 

of  the  Red-Branch  fell,  was  the  ruin  of  the  siipcih  palace  and  stalely 
city  of  Einauia,  after  flourishing"  in  all  their  regal  pomp,  and  aflbrd- 
ing  themes  to  the  descriptive  muse,  for  eight  centuries;"  but — 

"  Non  indignemur  mortalia  Corpora  solvi; 
Cernimus  exemplis,  oppida  posse  mori !" 

The  victors  now  divided  Ulster  between  them,  and  in  order  to 
ensure  the  suj^port  of  the  monarch  of  Ireland,  in  the  possession  of 
their  conquests,  they  sent  him  the  arrears  of  the  Ulster  tribute,  as 
well  as  part  of  the  spoils  and  trophies  of  their  victories.  Accf)m- 
panying  the  grand  en)bassy,  which  brought  these  from  the  Collas  to 
the  palace  of  Tara,  were  several  of  the  captive  princes  and  nobles 
of  Ulster,  who  were  fettered  in  massy  chains  of  gold.*  While  the 
Collas  were  engaged  in  forming  the  government  of  their  new  domin- 
ions, Caolbhadii,  the  son  of  the  late  king  of  Ulster,  contrived  to 
make  his  escape  from  prison  to  the  court  of  his  cousin  Aongus 
Tireach,  king  of  Munster.  This  prince,  on  whom  was  bestowed  the 
appellation  of  Tireach,  or  the  taxer,  we  are  told  by  our  annalists,  in 
consequence  of  his  having  subjected  Spain  and  Denmark  to  his  arms, 
and  imposed  taxes,  and  levied  contributions  from  the  inhabitants  of 
those  countries,  received  the  royal  refugee  with  every  mark  of  dis- 
tinction, kindness,  and  honor.  Aongus  thought  now  that  the  moment 
was  arrived  for  gratifying  his  ambition,  and  for  avenging  the  wrongs 
which  he  and  his  people  had  experienced  from  the  monarch  of 
Ireland,  when  he  invaded  Munster.  He,  therefore,  promised  the 
Ulster  prince  the  most  potent  aid,  not  only  to  recover  his  hereditary 
dominions,  but  to  push  off  the  monarch  Muireadhach  from  the 
throne.  The  army  of  Munster  was  speedily  put  in  motion,  as  welt 
as  the  troops  of  the  king  of  Connaught,  which  combined  forces 
inarched  almost  to  the  gates  of  Tara,  before  the  king  of  Ireland 
opposed  them  with  an  efficient  resistance.  The  belligerents,  by 
mutual  consent,  resolved  to  decide  their  pretensions  to  the  crown, 
by  the  result  of  a  battle.  In  the  engagement,  which  took  place  in 
the  vicinity  of  Tara,  Muireadhach  was  killed,  in  the  thirtieth  year 
of  his  reign,  and  his  army  routed.  The  conquerer  made  his 
triumphal  entry  into  Tara,  where  the  Druids  solemnly,  on  the  stone 
of  destiny,  inaugurated  him  monarch  of  Ireland.  But  his  reign 
was  short,  for  ere  a  year  had  expired,  he  was  killed  in  battle,  by  the 
hand  of  his  successor,  Eochaidh,  the  son  of  Muireadhach,  the 
monarch. 

*  "  To  load  prisoners  of  royal  blood  and  noble  rank  with  golden  chains,  was  not 
only  a  custom  anionfr  the  ancient  Irish,  but  among  the  Persians  and  Macedonians. 
AVlien  Alexander  captured  Parus,  he  caused  him  to  be  shackled  in  chains  of  gold, 
and  treated  '  like  a  king.'  Darius,  after  the  battle  of  Arbela,  when  treacherously 
betrayed  by  the  Governor  of  Bacfriana,  was  bound  by  the  traitor  in  a  similar  man- 
ner. Many  of  llie  Roman  conquerors,  while  making  their  triumphal  entry  into 
Rome,  were  followed  by  royal  captives  wearing  fetters  of  gold.  In  lrel:iiui  these 
chains,  many  of  which  have  been  found  emboweled  in  the  sites  ol  jialaces  and 
camps,  were  fabricated  in  the  finest  taste  of  workmanship  ;  a  fact,  that  adds  another 
corroboration  to  the  million  of  proofs,  which  attest  the  authenticity  of  the  liistory 
of  ancient  Ireland." — Hutchinson. 
31 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

Mccssion  of  Euchaidk  to  the  throne.— His  endeavor  to  ertort  contributions  from 
Lclnstcr  frustrated.— His  reign  and  death. —  The  reign  and  death  of  the  Monarch 
Criomthan,  Jl.  D.  353. 

EocnAiDii,  the  vanquisher  of  the  last  king,  Caolhhadh,  no  sooner 
reached  the  palace  of  Tara,  than  the  national  representatives  saluted 
him  monarch.  The  popularity  of  his  father  Muireadhach  gave  him 
a  passport  to  the  partiality  and  favor  of  the  Irish  people.  During 
his  administration  in  Connaught,  as  viceroy,  he  espoused  the  princess 
royal  of  Munster,  3Iunig  Fion,  (the  fair,)  daughter  of  Fiachadh, 
the  king  of  that  province.  By  this  lady  he  became  the  father  of 
four  sons,  who  were  named  Brian,  Fiachrc,  Fergus  and  OUoll. 
From  the  first  two  princes  of  this  issue  were  descended  the  future 
kings  of  Connaught,  who  our  historians  and  genealogists  distin- 
guished by  the  patronymic  appellation  of  ^^  J hj  B runes'''  and  " //» 
Fiachrcs.'^  The  queen  of  Eochaidli  died  shortly  after  his  accession 
to  the  crown,  when  he  again  married  Carrina,  the  daughter  of  the 
Prince  of  Wales,  who  gave  birth  to  the  famed  and  illustrious  hero, 
Nial,  of  the  nine  hostages,  the  great  progenitor  of  the  O'Neils, 
or  Hynials,  O'Donnels,  Colemans,  Quins,  O'Dalys,  M'Aulays, 
M'Geoghegans,  O'MoUoys,  O'Kindelins,  Foxes,  M'Loughlins,  and 
several  other  branches  that  once  adorned  and  beautified  our  gene- 
alogical tree,  ere  the  Saxon  invaders  eradicated  it  from  the  native 
soil  in  which  it  had  so  long  flourished  and  luxuriated.  Eochaidh, 
to  replenish  his  exchequer,  had  recourse  to  the  stale  attempt  of 
imposing  a  tax  on  Leinster.  For  the  purpose  of  enforcing  the  pay- 
ment of  the  required  tribute,  he  marched  to  the  frontiers  of  that 
province,  with  a  large  army  of  native  troops  and  Welsh  auxiliaries. 
The  king  of  Leinster,  Eana  Kinsellagh,*  unable,  single-handed,  to 
oppose  the  force  that  threatened  himself  and  his  people  with  ruin, 
applied  for  assistance  to  Lugha-lanih-dhearg,  (or  of  the  bloody  hand,) 
a  name  bestowed  on  him  in  consequence  of  that  emblem  being 
painted  on  his  ensign.  Lugha,  being  a  warlike  and  ambitious  prince, 
rejoiced  in  having  an  opportunity  of  appeasing  a  grudge  which  he 
owed  for  some  cause,  to  Eochaidh,  promptly  proceeded  with  his 
army  to  the  camp  of  Eana.  The  monarch  became  alarmed  for  the 
success  of  his  expedition,  when  he  sa«'  the  formidable  array  which 
was  to  contend  with  him.  In  this  extremity  he  despatched  messen- 
gers to  Connaught,  for  the  purpose  of  invoking  the  assistance  of  that 
province,  to  which,  in  the  event  of  compliance,  he  promised  to  cede 
the  county  of  Clare,  as  the  price  of  its  alliance  with  him.  The 
Connacians,  covetous  to  possess  that  territory,  lost  no  time  in  send- 
ing the  required  reinforcement  to  Eochaidh.  Judging  now  that  he 
was  able  to  strike  a  decisive  blow,  he  led  on  Iiis  army  to  the  attack. 
The  onset  was   fierce   and   furious,  as  both  armies   were  brave  and 

*  "  Called  Censulach,  (which  means  in  Irish,  the  Tool  head)  in  consequence  of 
his  having  killed  a  Druid,  after  the  battle  of  Crxiachan  Claonta,  who  had  given 
him  insolence." — O'Flahertv. 


243 

resolute.  For  hours  victory  inclined  to  neither  side  ;  but  at  length 
Lun^lia  and  Eana  made  a  combined  and  powerful  charge  of  spears 
on  the  monarch's  centre,  which  they  compelled  to  give  ground. 
This  partial  advantage  animated  tlie  hopes  of  the  allied  jjrinces, 
without  depressing  those  of  Eochaidh ;  for,  rallying  with  renewed 
vigor,  he  regained  the  position  which  he  had  lost.  Both  armies, 
during  the  night,  reposed  upon  their  arms  in  the  field  of  battle.  As 
soon  as  the  dawn  of  the  morning  aftorded  light,  the  engagement  was 
renewed.  Never  did  courage  and  valour  more  signally  display 
themselves  than  in  that  terrible  conflict,  to  which  the  intervention  of 
another  night  put  a  short  period.  The  desperate  strife  and  emulous 
struggle  of  heroes  were  resumed  on  the  third  morning,  with  an 
increased  spirit  of  gallantry.  For  fifteen  days,  we  are  told,  they 
thus  combated,  until  at  length,  after  the  most  sanguinary  succession 
of  battles,  the  monarch's  army  was  reduced  to  a  skeleton. 

Eochaidh,  foiled  and  frustrated  in  his  designs  of  conquest  and 
exaction,  was  necessitated  to  agree  to  the  most  humiliating  terms  of 
a  peace,  by  which  he  had  to  relinquish  for  himself  and  his  successors 
all  claims  to  tribute  from  Leinster. 

The  monarch  returned  to  Tara,  with  a  broken  spirit  and  a 
discomfited  army,  while  the  victorious  King  of  Munster  invaded 
Connaught,  which  he  reduced  to  the  most  complete  subjection.  To 
reward  his  officers  and  soldiers,  Lugha  parcelled  out  to  them,  as 
military  fiefs,  for  which  they  were  to  render  sword  service,  when 
required,  the  entire  county  of  Clare.  Some  of  these  feudatory 
tenors  existed  in  that  country  until  the  days  of  Elizabeth.* 

It  may  not  be  unamusing  to  our  readers  to  detail  the  occurrence, 
which  took  place  at  the  battle,  that  discomfited  the  army  of  Eochaidh, 
as  from  it  the  once  princely  family  of  Rinsellagh  derived  their  name.t 
Among  the  prisoners  who  were  brought  in  chains  to  the  tent  of 
Eana,  the  King  of  Leinster,  was  Ccadmuithach,  the  arch  druid  of 
Tara,  wh.o  had  patriotically  distinguished  himself,  not  only  by  his 
arms,  in  the  past  engagement,  but  by  his  poetic  eloquence  in  stimu- 
lating and  exciting  the  warriors  of  the  n^onarch  to  courage  and 
intrepidity. 

No  sooner  was  the  gallant  and  patriotic  sage  introduced  into  the 
presence  of  the  King  of  Leinster,  than  he  began  to  chide  the  soldiers 
for  not  putting  him  to  death.  The  druid,  provoked  and  enraged  at 
the  inhuman  and  irreverent  expressions  which  fell  from  Eana,  felt 
all  the  enthusiasm  of  projjhetic  inspiration,  as  he  burst  out  in  the 
following  predictive  philippic  : — "  King  of  Leinster,  if  the  life  of  the 
priest  of  our  luminous   Deity  must   be   sacrificed  to  your  cowardly 

*  "  By  the  peace  made  by  Lugha  and  his  ally,  the  king  of  Leinster,  with  the 
monarch  and  the  Connacians,  it  was  covenanted,  that  every  village  in  Lcaih  Ctiin, 
(the  patrimonial  territory  of  the  Irisli  nionarclis)  Connaught  and  Ulslor  should 
pay  the  conquerors  an  ounce  of  pure  gold.  So  potent  was  the  power  ot  the  king  of 
Munster,  from  whom  Mr.  O'Connef.!.,  the  [now,  1835]  great  mover  and  agitator 
of  the  Catholic  Board,  is  lineally  descended,  that  he  fearlessly  dictated  to  Eochaidh, 
and  carried  his  boldness  so  far  as  to  force  him  to  banisli  all  foreigners  from  the 
kingdom." — Laicder's  Chart  of  Iiisk  flistori/ — Dublin,  l.Sll. 

t""  The  O'Kinsollaghs,  descended  from  king  Cnithir-More,  were  for  many  ages 
kings  of  Leinster." — LyNcH. 


244 

vengeance,  I  am  ready  to  part  with  it  as  becomes  a  man  of  my 
exalted  order.  Death  can,  it  is  true,  anniliilate  my  body  ;  but  as  to 
my  spirit,  it  is  a  spark  of  heaven  that  will  hve  to  give  evidence  of 
your  cruelty  and  injustice  before  the  celestial  tribunal,  where  your 
soul  must  soon  stand  as  a  criminal.  The  sun  of  your  earthly  glory 
is  gradually  sinking,  and  yonder  field  shall  be  soon  moistened  with 
your  heart's  blood.  Would  to  heaven  you  were  never  born  !  for  a 
prince  of  your  family,  (Dermod  Macmurrough,)  by  his  pride  and 
his  lusciviousness,  shall  bring  ruin  and  disgrace  on  his  country,  and 
help  to  fetter  her  in  the  chains  of  foreign  despotism!  Your 
descendants,  haughty  prince  !  will  become  bondsmen  and  slaves,  and 
servile  servitors  to  their  oppressive  invaders.  They  will  wander 
forth  through  the  world  as  outcasts  and  exiles,  ere  the  lapse  of  many 
ages,  and  posterity  shall  designate  them  to  reproach,  and  execrate 
your  infamous  memory,  for  wickedly  slaying  a  servant  of  tlie  Most 
High,  Ccnsallagh,  (filtliy  head,)  a  designation  that  will  remain  as  a 
blot  on  the  escutcheon  of  your  family's  nobility,  and  an  eternal 
stagma  on  every  one  that  bears  your  nam.e.  Take  my  life,  tyrant ! 
I  lay  it  down  cheerfully  !  but,  alas  !  my  poor  country  !  I  must  sigh 
in  the  last  struggle  of  expiring  nature,  when  I  read,  in  the  visions 
which  futurity  crowds  upon  my  sight,  of  the  ages  of  injustice  and 
intolerable  miseries  which  you,  dear  native  land  of  heroes  and  sages  ! 
are  destined  to  endure  from  foreign  task-masters."  His  words 
kindled  the  king's  choler  to  such  a  rage  of  indignation,  that  he 
ingloriously  pierced  him  through  the  body  with  his  spear.*  That 
the  prognostication  of  the  venerable  seer,  preserved  in  MoUoy's 
miscellanies,  and  which  now,  for  the  first  time,  appears  in  the  English 
language,  has  been  literally  verified  with  a  fearful  vengeance,  is,  for 
Ireland,  a  melancholy  fact,  that  nearly  seven  centuries  of  English 
despotism  and  persecution  have  inscribed  on  the  lasting  pillars  of 
history,  while  they  still  exfcite  the  sympathy  and  the  indignation  of 
all  the  reading  world.  Dr.  O'Halloran  says,  on  what  authority  we 
know  not,  that  Lugha,  King  of  Munster,  passed  over  into  Scotland, 
and  drove  the  Romans  out  of  that  country.  "  Ammianus  Marcelji- 
nus,"  observes  he,  "the  historian,  and  the  poet  Claudian,  who 
flourished  after  the  era  in  question,  !)ear  ample  testimonies  of  these 
invasions,  and  of  the  distress  the  Britons  were  reduced  to  by  tliem. 
Claudian  celebrates  the  successes  which  Theodosius  gained  over 
these  allies  in  the  following  lines : 

" IMaduerunt  Saxone  fuso 

Orcades  ;  incaluit  Pirtorum  sanguine  Thule  ; 
Scotorum  Cumulus  flevit  glacialis  Ierne." 

At  this  juncture,  A.  D.  267,  the  monarch  Eochaidh  died  peaceably 
at  Tara,  in  the  eighth  year  of  his  reign.  This  sovereign  had  many 
redeeming  qualities  to  atone  for  his  inordinate  ambition  and  love  of 

*  "  The  family  of  this  prince  was  afterwards  known  by  the  name  of  J'ilih  Ccn- 
sallarrh  : — the  word  salach  means  in  the  Irish,  foul  or  reproachful,  a  character  that 
this  royal  line  of  Leinster  could  never  wipe  off.  This  kinij  Eana  Censallaoh,  was 
a  fortunate  and  martial  prince,  and  the  most  powerful  and  formidable  of  any  of 
the  petty  princes  of  the  island.  The  Psalter  of  Cashcl,  whose  credit  and 
authority  will  admit  of  no  dispute,  has  it  upon  record,  that  the  aforesaid  Eana 
gained  fifteen  victories  in  Connaught  and  Mcath." — Keating. 


245 

military  glory.  lie  was  generous  and  merciful,  and  during  liis 
reign  tlie  laws  were  administered  with  justice,  clemency,  and 
imj)artiality. 

'IMie  national  estates,  as  soon  as  the  throne  became  vacant,  pro- 
ceeded to  elect  a  new  monarch.  Their  choice  fell  on  Criomthan ,  u 
Munster  prince,  of  the  dynasty  of  Heber.  The  success  of  his  elec- 
tion is  imputed  by  our  historians  to  the  power  and  influence  of  his 
cousin  Luglia,  King  of  Munster,  by  whose  intrigues,  the  sons  of 
Eochaidh  were,  for  the  present,  set  aside.  His  queen  was  7^/f//ie««^, 
the  daughter  of  the  king  of  Connaught,  by  whom  it  does  not  appear 
that  he  had  any  issue.  This  prince,  having  fought,  with  honorable 
distinction,  in  all  the  wars  of  Lngha,  had  a  passion  for  military 
fame.  Shortly  after  his  gaining  possession  of  the  crown,  the  Romans 
made  another  incursion  into  Albania,  where  they  committed  great 
ravages  and  licentious  excesses. 

The  people,  oppressed  and  harassed  by  the  invaders,  implored 
the  [rish  king,  as  their  natural  ally,  to  come  to  their  aid.  He  joy- 
fully and  ])roinptly  complied  with  their  entreaties.  An  army  was 
raised,  and  a  fleet  fitted  out  with  rapid  celerity. 

Prior,  however,  to  the  embarkation  of  the  monarch,  he,  by  the 
consent  of  the  national  assembly,  appointed  Connal,  the  son  of  his 
relative  and  benefactor,  Lugha,  regent  of  Ireland. 

About  a  year  before  this  epoch,  on  the  death  of  Lugha,  his  son, 
Connal,  through  tlie  assistance  and  interest  of  Criomthan,  was 
invested  with  the  sovereignty  of  Munster,  in  despite  of  Core,  the 
rightful  heir,  and  in  contravention  of  the  will  of  OUoll  Ollitm,  made 
in  the  second  century,  which  stipulated  that  the  posterity  of  both 
his  sons,  Eogan  and  Corraac,  should  alternately  reign  kings  of 
Munster,  and  possess  the  crown  in  regular  succession.  The 
adherents  of  Prince  Core,  who  was  the  son  of  Luigh,  and  the  direct 
and  legitimate  descendant  of  Eogan,  in  conjunction  with  the  great 
majority  of  the  people  of  JMunster,  caused  a  strong  remonstrance  to 
be  presented  to  the  national  convention,  then  (A.  D.  370)  assembled 
at  Tara,  in  which  they  feelingly  complained  of  the  illegal  infraction 
of  the  will  of  Olioll,  and  boldly  arraigned  the  partiality  and  injustice 
of  the  supreme  monarch  of  Ireland,  in  depriving  Core  of  his 
unalienable  right.  This  manifesto  intimidated  Criomthan,  and 
extorted  from  him  a  tardy  concession  to  the  demands  of  Munster. 
Impatient  to  embark  for  Scotland,  and  anxious  to  allay  all  causes  of 
discontent  at  home,  during  his  absence  abroad,  he  convened  an 
assembly  of  the  estates  of  Munster  to  decide  on  the  claims  of  the 
competitors  to  the  crown  of  that  kingdom. 

The  members  who  composed  this  convention  were  men  of  moral 
courage,  justice,  and  honor,  who,  in  their  impartial  decision,  swayed 
by  efpiitable  fairness  alone,  and  regardless  of  the  threats  and  frowns 
of  the  monarch,  unanimously  awarded  the  crown  to  Core,  the 
rightful  heir.  But,  wliile  we  commend  the  energy  and  equity  of 
their  conduct,  we  should  not  omit  bestowing  the  meed  of  merited 
eulogium  on  the  promptitude  with  which  Connal,  in  compliance  with 
the  decision  of  the  assembly,  laid  down  a  crown  which  the  law  did 
not  entitle  him  to  wear.     This  amicable  adjustment  of  the  disputes 


24G 

in  Mnnster  removed  all  fears  for  tlie  tranquillity  of  tlie  kingdom  from 
the  mind  of  the  monarch.  lie,  therefore,  set  out  on  his  ex})edition 
to  Scotland,  with  confidence  in  tlie  allegiance  of  his  people,  and 
with  hopes  that  victory  and  conquest  would  crown  his  arms.  On 
his  arrival  the  Picts  and  a  large  body  of  Saxons,  who  fled  from  the 
despotism  of  the  Romans,  enrolled  themselves  under  the  Irish 
standard.  Criomthan,  finding  himself  now  at  the  head  of  a  nume- 
rous and  well  disciplined  army,  commenced  the  attack  on  the 
Roman  legions,  whom,  after  an  obstinate  struggle  in  several  battles, 
he  ultimately  drove  into  Britain. 

The  Romans  having  retreated  to  the  middle  of  Britain,*  the 
victor  resolved  to  give  their  power  elsewhere  another  blow,  in  a  more 
vulnerable  point.  To  accomplish  that  purpose  he  augmented  his 
army  by  levies  of  troops  in  Ireland  and  Scotland,  with  which  he 
made  a  descent  on  the  maritime  coast  of  Gaul,  where  he  attacked 
the  Rojnans  in  their  very  camp,  which  he  compelled  them  to 
abandon,  after  leaving  behind  all  their  equipages,  spoils,  and 
trophies. 

He  continued  in  Gaul  nearly  the  period  of  a  year,  during  which 
he  fought  many  battles  with  the  Romans,  and  in  the  most  of  them 
was  successful.  It  is  recorded  by  Rapin  that  the  Irish  monarch  was 
obliged  to  halt  in  his  career  of  conquest  in  Gaul,  on  receiving 
intelligence  that  Maximus  Magnus  was  preparing  an  expedition  in 
Britain,  for  the  invasion  of  Ireland.  This  news  determined  the 
monarch  to  return  to  his  beloved  country,  and  protect  her  shores 
from  the  aggression  of  the  foe.  His  triumphal  entry  into  Tara,  has 
been  represented  as  the  most  magnificent  spectacle  that  ever  had 
been  witnessed  in  Ireland. 

It  is  related  by  some  of  our  historians,  that  it  was  at  the  request 
of  an  Irish  petty  prince,  who  had  deserted  to  the  Romans,  and  thus 
proved  a  trator  to  his  king  and  country,  that  Maximus  determined 
to  invade  Ireland.  Moore,  in  his  History  of  Ireland,  in  narrating 
the  treason  of  the  deserter,  has  made  the  following  striking  and 
apposite  reflection  on  Irish  traitors: — 

"  It  would  hardly  be  possible,  perhaps,  in  the  whole  compass  of 
history,  to  find  a  picture  more  pregnant  with  the  future,  more 
prospectively  characteristic,  than  this  of  a  recreant  Irish  prince,  in 
the  camp  of  the  Romans,  proffering  his  traitorous  services  to  the 
stranger,  and  depreciating  his  country  as  an  excuse  for  betraying 
her.  It  is,  indeed,  mournful  to  reflect  that,  at  the  end  of  nearly 
eighteen  centuries,  the  features  of  this  national  portrait  should 
remain  so  very  little  altered ;  and  that  with  a  change  only  of  scene 

*  "  The  extreme  vanity  of  the  Scots  of  Albany,  in  presuming  to  arrogate  to  the 
North  Britons  only  the  glory  of  these  days  in  exclusion  of  their  Irish  ancestors, 
has  been  so  fully  exposed  by  the  most  respectable  writers  of  Britain  and  Ireland, 
that  1  should  deem  it  an  insult  to  the  understanding  of  my  readers,  to  say  any 
thing  further  on  this  head,  than  bravely  to  remark,  that  to  a  contemplative  mind 
it  must  appear  very  extraordinary  how  tiic  Nortli  Britons  should,  in  early  days 
acquire  so  great  a  power  as  to  be  able  to  attack,  and,  for  near  four  centuries,  keep 
the  whole  power  of  South  Britain,  aided  by  Rome,  on  the  defensive  rather  than 
the  offensive ;  whilst  in  subsequent  periods,  almost  to  our  own  days,  they  were 
seldom  able  to  oppose  the  British  Saxons  alone  !" — O'Hallouan. 


247 

from  the  tent  of  tlie  Roman  general  to  tlie  closet  of  the  English 
minister  or  viceroy,  the  spectacle  of  an  Irishman  playing  the  game 
of  his  country's  enemies,  has  been,  even  in  modern  history,  an 
occurrence  by  no  means  rare." 

But  his  glory  and  his  triumphs,  with  his  life,  were  now  closed  by 
the  cruel  and  unnatural  hands  that  should  have  guarded  and  caressed 
him.  His  own  sister,  a  proud  and  ambitious  woman,  with  the  view 
of  having  her  son's  brow  encircled  with  the  royal  diadem  of  Ireland, 
administered  a  cup  of  j)oison  to  the  monarch,  while  he  was  on  a 
visit  in  her  apartment,  at  Tara.  Our  annalists  say,  that  the  poison 
was  so  deadly  and  malignant,  that  when  the  vile  woman  applied  the 
cup  to  her  lips,  pretending  to  drink  to  her  brother,  the  very  fumes 
of  it  produced  her  death  almost  as  soon  as  that  of  the  king.  Such 
was  tiie  fate  of  the  brave  and  magnanimous  Criomthan,  in  the  third 
year  of  his  reign.  Had  not  treachery  cut  him  off,  his  exploits  and 
liis  virtues  wou'd  have  reached  as  exalted  glory  as  any  Milesian 
prince  ever  attained.  His  very  name  was  a  terror  to  the  Romans; 
and  had  he  but  lived  a  (ew  years  longer,  it  is  probable,  he  would 
have  achieved  their  utter  expulsion  from  Britain,  Caledonia,  and 
Gaul. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 


jXial  of  the  A''i7ic  Hostages  is  elected  Monarch  of  Ireland. — He  sails  to  Scotland,  to 
assist  the  Irish  colony. — Drives  the  Romans  into  Britain. — Changes  the  name  of 
Mhania  into  Scotia  Minor,  in  honor  of  Scotia,  the  xcife  of  his  great  ancestor, 
Miles  ius. 

The  death  of  the  chivalrous  monarch  Criomthan,  in  the  barbarous 
and  treacherous  manner  narrated  in  the  last  chapter,  called  forth 
several  candidates  to  compete  for  the  crown  of  Ireland.  Eana, 
king  of  Lcinster,  with  the  view  of  securing  the  prize  by  force  of 
arms,  marched  to  Tara,  and  took  possession  of  the  palace,  and 
surrounded  the  house  of  the  national  assembly  with  his  troops.  This 
violent  procedure  gave  great  offence  to  the  northern  princes  who 
marshalled  all  their  forces,  and  placed  them  under  the  command  of 
Prince  Nial,  the  son  of  a  former  monarch,  Eochaidh. 

With  this  army,  Nial  marched  to  the  neighborhood  of  Tara,  where 
he  halted,  and  despatched  heralds  to  Eana,  threatening  him  with 
vengeance,  unless  he  evacuated  the  palace,  and  withdrew  with  all 
his  soldiers,  three  leagues  from  Tara,  in  order  that  the  national 
estates  might  not  be  controlled,  or  overawed,  in  the  exercise  of  their 
elective  rights. 

Core,  king  of  Munster,  came  also  to  the  vicinity  of  Tara,  with  an 
army  to  support  his  pretensions  to  the  throne.  Eana,  however,  on 
the  arrival  of  the  heralds,  judged  it  prudent  to  acquiesce  to  the 
requisition  of  Prince  Nial. 

The  election  now  proceeded,  unbiassed  and  unrestricted  by  the 


248 

presence  of  an  army;  and,  after  a  long  discussion  of  the  respective 
merits  of  the  three  candidates,  the  majority  of  the  princes  and  elec- 
tors declared  in  favor  of  Nial,  the  son  of  Eochaidh,  of  the  dynasty 
of  Ilerenion.  As  soon  as  this  decision  was  announced  to  the  suc- 
cessful candidate,  through  the  heralds,  he  made  his  triumphal  entry 
into  Tara,  where  the  druids  placed  the  crown  upon  his  head,  A.  D. 
380.  Core  and  Eana,  grieved  and  disappointed  by  the  election  of 
their  rival,  united  their  armies,  and  boldly  jiroclaimed  their  determi- 
nation of  deposing  the  reigning  monarch,  notwithstandmg  that  he 
was  constitutionally  elected  by  the  representatives  of  the  people. 
These  illegal  and  violent  proceedings  only  added  strength  to  the 
power  of  Nial,  and  served  to  enlist  the  afiections  of  the  whole  nation 
in  his  favor. 

Hostilities  were  resorted  to,  and  after  a  series  of  sanguinary 
conflicts,  the  pretenders  were  totally  defeated  and  discomfited,  and 
compelled  to  submit  to  such  terms  of  peace  as  the  monarch  thought 
proper  to  dictate.  By  the  terms  of  this  memorable  treaty,  Core, 
King  of  Munster,  and  Eana,  King  of  Leinster,  recognized  the 
election  of  Nial  as  fair  and  constitutional,  and  hound  themselves,  by 
hostages,  to  pay  an  annual  tribute  to  the  monarch  during  his  reign. 
Nial,  on  the  other  hand,  well  pleased  at  the  result  of  the  treaty, 
presented  the  Kings  of  Leinster  and  INFunster  with  1000  war  horses, 
500  suits  of  silver  and  steel  armour,  190  gold  rings,  and  fifty  golden 
cups,  bearing  suitable  inscriptions,  to  commemorate  this  treaty  of 
peace.* 

Nial,  being  now  firmly  seated  on  the  throne,  and  undismayed  in 
the  full  exercise  of  his  regal  authority,  began  to  form  projects  of 
foreign  conquest. 

At  this  juncture,  the  Roman  power  was  on  the  wane  in  Britain, 
so  that  the  Picts,  forgetful  of  the  protection  which  several  of  the 
Irish  monarchs  afforded  them  from  the  incursions  of  the  Romans, 
began  to  view  the  Dalriadan  colony  with  extreme  envy  and 
jealousy,  and  to  concert  plans  for  expelling  these  Irish  settlers  out 
of  the  country.  Actuated  with  these  feelings,  the  Picts  assembled 
an  army  to  invade  the  territories  of  the  Irish  colonists.  The  Irish 
for  a  while  defended  their  possessions  with  formidable  valour,  and 
gallantly  repelled  several  attacks  of  the  invading  foe.  But  the 
Picts,  resolved  to  accomplish  their  purpose,  called  in  the  Anglo 
Saxons  to  their  aid.  With  this  reinforcement  they  succeeded  in 
driving  the  Irish  into  their  strong  holds.  The  colonists,  reduced  to 
this  extremity,  sent  ambassadors  to  the  Irish  Monarch  to  implore 
him,  as  the  sovereign  of  their  mother  country,  to  send  them  aid  lo 
rescue  them  from  the  danger  which  environed  their  lives  and  proper- 
ties. The  monarch  was  greatly  affected  by  the  relation,  which  the 
ambassadors  of  the  aggressions  and  devastations  of  the  Pictish 
invaders;  and  in  the  fulness  of  his  compassion,  he  assured  them  that 

*  "  It  was  the  custom  of  the  Irish,  in  controverted  elections,  when  a  i)eace  was 
made,  that  tlic  acknowlcdjred  monarch  made  presents  to  his  former  antagonists. 
Thus,  Maul  sac  III  in,  Kintr  of  Leinster,  surrendered  the  diadem  of  Ireland  to  Brian 
Boroilnne,  he  received  from  the  new  monarcli  a  present  of  horses  and  arms,  and 
his  attendants  were  likewise  rewarded." — O'IIalloran. 


249 

the  inoratitude  of  the  Picts  should  be  \isited  with  severe  retributive 
justice,  as  he  was  resolved  to  coinniniid  the  army  in  person,  which 
was  destined  to  reduce  to  his  subjection,  the  country  of  the  Picts. 
With  these  assurances  from  Nial,  the  ambassadors  hastened  back 
to  the  Irish  colonists,  to  cheer  them  with  the  gladdeninj^  tidings  that 
powerfid  aid  and  succors  were  at  hand.  The  monarch,  with  a  large 
fleet  and  army,  in  accordance  to  his  ])romise,  speedily  made  a  descent 
on  the  Caledonian  coast,  and  immediately  after  landing,  he  com- 
menced his  march  to  the  Pictish  camp,  whicii,  on  his  approach, 
they  suddenly  abandoned,  leaving  behind  all  their  equipage  and 
spoils  for  the  conqueror,  and  fled  into  the  mountains. 

The  wandering  fugitives,  despairing  of  success,  sent  an  embassy 
to  the  Irish  king  to  sue  for  peace.  Nial,  like  a  magnanimous  hero, 
readily  accepted  the  olive,  and  requested  that  nine  of  the  principal 
chiefs  of  the  Picls  should  be  delivered  into  his  hands,  as  hostages 
for  the  faithful  performance  of  the  treaty  then  in  progress  of  nego- 
tiation. Hence  this  illustrious  monarch  is  distinguished,  in  our 
annals,  on  which  his  exploits  shed  an  undying  lustre,  by  the 
appellation  of  "  Niol  of  the  Nine  Hostages^*  This  famous  treaty 
stipulated,  that  the  Dalriada,  or  Irish  colony,  should  not  owe  any 
allegiance,  or  pay  tribute  to  any  sovereign  except  their  protector, 
the  monarch  of  Ireland  ;  that  the  Picts  should  forever  pay  an  annual 
tribute  to  the  Irish  sovereigns,!  and  that  in  order  that  the  whole 
country  should  be  dependant  on  Ireland,  and  acknowledge  her 
power  and  conquest,  Albania  should  ever  after  be  called  Scotia 
Minor.  In  those  days  the  favorite  name  of  Ireland  was  Scotia,  so 
that  Scotland  is  indebted  to  us  for  her  present  name,  as  she  is  for 
letters,  government,  religion,  and  nobility  of  blood. |  Hume,  in 
adverting  to  the  origin  of  his  country,  observes,  with  his  character- 
istic caution,  and  extreme  reluctance  to  acknowledge  Scotia  the 
"venerable  mother  of  modern  Scotland,"  "that  in  every  ancient 
language  Scotland  means  only  the  coiintry  north  of  the  Friths  of 
Clyde  and  Forth.     I  shall  not  (he  adds)  make  a  parade  of  literature 

*  "  The  troops  which  this  great  Irisii  prince  led  to  Albania,  (Scotland)  were  ia 
valour  and  discipline  the  best  then  in  Europe." — Vallancey. 

t  We  have  the  authority  of  Cambden,  Whitaker,  and  Bishop  Usher,  that  Scot- 
land continued  to  pay  this  tribute  to  Ireland,  down  to  the  tenth  century.  M'Cur- 
tin,  in  his  biography  of  Brian  the  Great,  says,  that  if  that  hero  had  not  fallen  at 
the  battle  of  Clontarf,  he  would  have  forced  Malcom  II.  to  pay  the  arrears  of 
tribute  which  the  modern  Scotland  owed  the  Irish  crown. — Author. 

t  "  The  occasion  of  this  name  was  in  honor  and  memory  of  the  princess  Scotia, 
the  daughter  of  Pharaoh  Nectonebus,  king  of  Egypt,  who  was  the  wife  of  Mile- 
sius,  king  of  Spain.  From  this  monarch  the  Dalriads  descended,  and  therefore 
they  made  choice  that  the  island  should  be  called  Scotia  Major,  rather  than  Erin, 
Hibernia,  or  any  otiier  appellation.  The  authority  of  the  learned  Cambden  might 
be  insisted  upon  in  confirmation  of  this  account,  for  he  asserts  in  his  Chronicle  of 
Britain  that  Scotland  was  called  Scotia  Minor,  and  Ireland  Scotia  Major,  and 
declares  that  tliere  is  no  certain  evidence  upon  record,  to  prove  that  the  inhabitants 
of  Scotland  were  known  by  the  name  of  Scots  before  the  time  of  Constantine 
the  Great.  It  is  evident  from  the  ancient  records  of  the  island,  that  the  country 
of  Scotland  was  known  by  the  name  of  Jllbanlu,  until  the  reign  of  the  Great  Nial 
of  the  iNine  Hostages.  The  kingdom  of  Scotland  was  styled  Albania  from  Jllba- 
natus,  the  third  son  of  Brutus,  to  whom  the  country  was  assigned  by  lot,  when 
the  father  was  making  provision  for  his  children." — Keating. 
32 


250 

to  prove  it,  because  I  do  not  find  the  j)oint  is  disputed  by  the  Scots 
themselves.^''  To  establish,  by  additional  testimony,  the  facts  that  the 
Scots  are  descendants  of  the  Irish,  their  own  historian,  Buchanan, 
stamps  authenticity  upon  the  truth  of  our  annalists,  by  the  asser- 
tion, that  "  the  Irish  and  the  Scotch  are  from  one  common  origin, 
since  the  natives  of  Ireland,  and  tlie  colonies  sent  from  thence  at 
various  periods  into  Scotland,  were  originally  called  Scots.  In  order 
to  distinguish  between  the  Irish  and  those  Scots,  they  began  to  call 
those  transplanted  Irish  by  the  name  of  Albanian  Scots."  Nial, 
having  brought  the  Picts  thus  under  his  subjection,  and  established 
the  Irish  colony  on  an  independent  basis,  came  to  the  determination 
of  invading  Gaul,  and  of  wresting  a  portion  of  that  country  from 
the  Romans.  To  embody  an  army  competent  to  gain  success  in  the 
daring  enterprise,  he  caused  a  levy  of  troops  to  be  made  in  Ireland 
and  Scotia.  In  a  short  time  he  saw  a  mighty  host  of  troops  under 
his  standard,  with  which  he  embarked  for  the  continent. 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 


Nial  ravages  France,  and  drives  the  Romans  beyond  the  Loire. — Seizes  on  a  great 
many  captives,  among  icliom  iccre  St.  Patrick  and  his  tico  sisters. —  The  Saxons 
prevail  on  him  to  assist  than  in  resisting  the  aggressions  of  the  Romans,  under 
the  Emperor  Ma.cimus. —  He  returns  to  Britain  in  conseejuence,  and  forces  the 
Romans  to  retreat  to  IVales. — Eochaidh,  the  son  of  Eana,  captures  the  palace  of 
Tara. —  The  conijaering  A'ial  brings  his  victorious  army  back  to  his  kingdom,  with 
which  he  devastates  Leinster,  and  takes  Eochaidh,  the  king,  a  prisoner,  whom  he 
causes  to  be  chained  to  a  rock. —  The  captive  Prince  kills  his  jailors  and  effects  his 
escape  to  Scotland. — Partition  cf  Munster. — JVial's  Will,  and  an  account  of  his 
family. — His  exploits,  and  death  in  France. 

The  army  which  Nial  transported  to  Gaul,  in  valour,  discipline, 
and  numerical  strength,  was  superior  to  any  force  that  Ireland  had 
ever  before  sent  into  a  foreign  country.  It  consisted  of  the  best 
troops  of  Ireland  and  Scotland,  commanded  by  the  bravest  officers 
of  the  nobility  and  chi\alry  of  both  nations.  The  unexpected 
descent  of  such  an  army  on  the  coast  of  Brittany,  headed  by  a 
monarch  whose  gallantry  was  only  surpassed  by  his  martial  genius, 
threw  the  Roman  legions  into  consternation  and  dismay. 

Nial  was  no  sooner  disembarked,  than  he  began  to  act  on  the  offen- 
sive. The  Romans  assumed  a  bold  attitude,  and  stood  the  shock  of 
the  fierce  attack  of  the  Irish  army  with  their  characteristic  courage 
and  steadiness;  but,  after  an  obstinate  struggle,  they  were  defeated 
and  compelled  to  retreat  to  the  city  of  Tours,  whither  the  victor 
rapidly  pursued  them.  Not  deeming  their  force  adequate  to  the 
defence  of  that  fortress,  they  abandoned  it  on  the  niglit  after  the 
Irish  monarch  had  arrived  at  the  gates.  The  citizens  opened  their 
gates,  and  threw  themselves  on  the  mercy  of  the  conqueror. 

Nial  found  here,  every  thing  that  his  army  could  stand  in  need 
of.     This  city  was  captured,  according  to  O'Flaherty,  the  most  cor- 


251 

rect  clironolof>;ist  among  our  historians,  A.  D.  387.*  To  secure  the 
fultilment  of  tiie  terms  which  Nial  iirescribed  to  the  citizens,  he 
required  two  Innidred  of  the  chihhen  of  the  notables  of  Bretagnc  as 
hostages,  whom  he  had,  immediately  after  their  delivery  into  his 
hands,  transported  to  Ireland.  Among  these  were  St.  Patrick,  then 
in  the  sixteenth  year  of  his  age,  as  well  as  his  two  sisters,  whose 
names  were  Lupida  and  Dererca. 

Nial,  in  order  to  follow  up  his  victories,  and  to  give  a  death-blow 
to  the  Roman  power  in  Gaul,  resolved  to  pursue  them  beyond  the 
Loire  ;  but,  just  as  he  was  on  the  point  of  marching  from  Tours,  he 
received  a  letter  from  Gabhran,  the  prince  of  the  Dalriada, 
acquainting  him  that  Maximus  had  been  proclaimed  emperor  by  his 
soldiers  in  Britain,  ajid  that  he  was  about  passing  over  to  Gaul  with 
his  whole  army,  to  assert  his  claim  to  the  sovereignty  of  the  empire. 
This  letter,  which  suggested  to  the  monarch  the  facility  with  which 
he  might,  in  the  absence  of  the  Romans,  make  himself  master  of 
all  Britain,  induced  him  to  abandon  his  project  of  following  the 
Romans.  The  contiguity  of  England  to  his  own  kingdom,  render- 
ing it  a  much  more  desirable  concpiest  for  his  arms  than  the  French 
provinces,  prevailed  upon  him  to  relinquish,  for  a  time,  his  designs 
there,  and  to  return  to  North  Britain.  He  left,  however,  on  his 
departure,  a  strong  garrison  in  Tours,  to  which  he  purposed  return- 
ing as  soon  as  Britain  should  be  reduced  to  his  subjection.  After  he 
had  landed  in  Scotland,  he  commenced  his  campaign  against  Britain, 
by  razing  the  Roman  wall.  In  his  march  through  England,  multi- 
tudes of  the  Saxons  crowded  to  his  standard,  and  solicited  him  to 
become  their  sovereign.  But,  as  he  was  proceeding  in  this  career 
of  triumph,  he  learned  that  Eochaidh,  king  of  Leinster,  the  son  of 
his  former  rival,  Eana,  headed  an  insurrection,  and  that  he  was 
marching  with  the  disaft'ected  towards  Tara. 

This  intelligence,  soon  decided  the  course  he  was  to  take,  to  crush 
rebellion.  He  immediately  retraced  his  steps  to  his  fleet,  and 
embarked  for  Ireland,  where  he  landed  after  a  short  passage.  In 
the  mean  time,  Eochaidh  seized  on  the  palace  of  Tara,  and  vio- 
lently entered  the  house  of  the  national  assembly,  with  an  armed 
band,  to  compel  the  representatives  to  declare  him  supreme  monarch 
of  Ireland.  This  illegal  procedure,  instead  of  shaking  the  members 
with  alarm,  on  the  contrary,  roused  their  indignation  and  courage. 
A  son  of  the  arch-druid  rose  up  in  his  place,  and  denounced  the 
unconstitutional  conduct  of  Eochaidh,  in  acrimonious  terms.  He 
lauded  the  glory  and  exploits  of  Nial,  in  a  lofty  strain  of  eloijuence, 
and  pointed  out  to  the  attention  of  the  assendjly,  the  eclat  which  his 
achievements  had  imparted  to  the  national  glory,  which  they  served 
to  immortalize.  lie  further  insisted,  that  Eochaidh,  not  having 
been  yet  installed  a  knight  of  the  Grarlh-Gaoisge,  or  golden  collar, 
an  order,  without  which,  no  Milesian  prince  could  aspire  to  the 
crown  of  Ireland,  that  he  was,  in  consequence,  incapacitated  by  the 

*  "  The  Irish  Scots,  under  Nial  the  Great,  wasted  and  destroyed  many  provinces 
of  Britain,  in  opjjosition  to  the  power  of  the  Romans.  Tlicy  atteni|)ted  to  possess 
themselves  of  the  nortliern  part  of  Britain;  and  at  length,  having-  driven  out  the 
old  inhabitants,  these  Irish  seized  upon  the  country,  and  settled  in  it." — Jocelyn. 


252 

defect  from  taking  the  reigns  of  the  regal  antliority.*  These  obser- 
vations made  a  deep  impression  on  tiie  minds  of  the  assembly,  and 
turned  the  current  of  popuhir  opinion  from  the  pretensions  of 
Eochaidh,  who,  despairing  of  success,  consented  to  evacuate  the 
jjalace,  and  return  back  to  liis  own  territory  of  Lein.ster. 

Eochaidh,  disguising  liis  deadly  enmity  against  the  son  of  the 
arch-druid,  whose  eloquence  had  so  forcibly  tended  to  frustrate  the 
designs  of  his  usurpation,  invited  him,  and  several  others  of  the 
national  representatives,  to  a  bancpiet,  which  he  had  ordered  to  be 
prepared  in  the  palace,  on  the  eve  of  his  departure  from  it.  The 
devoted  personage  attended,  but  on  liis  return  home  from  the  feast, 
he  was  assassinated.  Though  our  historians  do  not  directly  charge 
the  king  of  Leinster,  with  the  commission  of  the  atrocious  deed,  we 
stil!  think  that  he  was  implicated  in  it.  The  monarch,  Nial,  inflamed 
with  the  desire  of  vengeance,  committed  dreadful  excesses  in  the 
course  of  his  march  from  Wexford  to  Tara.  Blood  and  fire  marked 
his  pathway.  Never  did  ruin  and  devastation  signalize  themselves 
by  a  more  destructive  system  of  ravage  and  spoliation.  Nial,  in 
this  instance,  gave  loose  to  a  spirit  of  licentiousne-ss,  which  must 
stand  against  him  as  a  disgrace,  on  the  pillars  of  his  immortality. 

As  he  approached  Tara,  he  espied  the  troops  of  Eochaidh  march- 
ing in  an  opposite  direction,  and  pointing  his  sword  towards  them, 
lie  exclaimed,  "  Now^  Eochaidh  must  be  either  a  dead  man,  or  a 
living  caj)ti\e  !  Soldiers,  your  monarch  has  confidence  in  your 
fidelity.  You,  that  enchained  victory  so  often  to  the  Scotian  stand- 
ard in  Albania,  Britain,  and  Gaul,  will  not,  in  your  own  native  soil, 
yield  to  dastard  rebels.  Your  monarch  and  general,  will  either  die 
in  the  field,  or  live  like  his  illustrious  ancestor,  Hcremon,  sole 
Monarch  of  Ireland." 

His  address  excited  the  feelings  of  the  soldiers,  to  the  highest 
pitch  of  enthusiasm,  and  thus  actuated,  the  king  led  them  on  to 
attack  Eochaidh,  and  the  forces  of  Leinster.  The  assault  was 
irresistible:  Eochaidh's  trooj)s  were  annihilated  in  the  first  charge, 
and  himself  taken  prisoner.  This  battle  was  fought  at  Dunshaugh- 
lin,  now  a  handsome  village  in  the  county  of  Meath,  fourteen  miles 
north  of  Dublin. 

When  the  unfortunate  Eochaidh,  was  brought  before  Nial,  the  latter 
evinced  very  little  of  the  magnanimous  spirit  of  the  true  hero;  for 
he  gave  himself  up  to  the  influence  of  his  anger,  and  loaded  the 
unfortunate  captive  with  the  most  vulgar  abuse.  After  inveighing 
against  the  royal  c;iptive,  in  the  severest  terms  of  contumely,  he 
ordered  a  massy  iron  hoop  to  be  clasped  round  his  body,  to  which 
was  appended  a  heavy  chain,  tliat  was  to  bind  him  to  a  perforated 
crag  of  a  rock,  near  Tara. 

*  "  His  not  havingf  received  the  Equestrian  Order,  deiealed  his  object.  The 
law  of  Ireland  regarding  candidates  for  the  inonarcli}',  required  that  a  prince  being 
of  the  royal  blood  of  Milesius,  was  not  suHicient  without  lie  was  fully  invested 
with  the  Knighthood  of  the  Gnidh-Guuiagc,  or  the  regal  order  of  chivalry." — 
Illustrations  of  the  JJiston/  of  Ireland. 

"  The  first  order  of  chivalry  in  ancient  Ireland,  was  the  jXiah  JS'ase,  or  Knights 
of  the  Golden  Collar,  and  tiiis  order  was  peculiar  to  the  blood  royal,  as  without  it 
no  prince  could  presume  to  becorne  a  candidate  for  the  nionarcliy.  The  truth  of 
this  is  exemplified  in  the  history  of  Eochaidh,  King  of  Leinster." — O'Flaherty. 


253 

To  carry  the  sentence  passed  by  the  monarch,  on  his  unfortunate 
prisoner,  into  execution,  nine  of  the  most  athletic  soldiers  of  the 
royal  guard  were  nominated.  But  as  these  gigantic  men  were  ahout 
fastening  the  chain  to  the  rock,  Eochaidh,  who  was  renowned  for 
his  bodily  strength  and  lunoic  courage,  wrested  it  out  of  their  hands, 
and  attacked  them  so  bravely  with  it,  that  he  killed  five  of  them,  and 
so  disabled  the  other  four,  as  to  render  them  incompetent  to  offer 
any  opposition  to  his  escape.  Having  thus  efiected  his  liberation 
from  an  ignominious  captivity,  he  precipitately  fled  to  Scotland, 
where  his  cousin,  Gabhran,  the  prince  of  the  Dalriada,  received 
him  with  kindness  and  hospitality. 

As  soon  as  Nial  heard  that  Gabhran  had  aftorded  an  asylum  to 
Eochaidh,  he  sent  a  herald  to  command  tliat  Dalriadian  prince,  to 
have  him  loaded  with  chains,  and  delivered  up  to  a  guard  of  soldiers 
that  accompanied  the  herald,  to  take  charge  of  the  devoted  Eochaidh. 
The  laws  of  hospitality,  and  the  feelings  of  honor,  alike  persuaded 
Gabhran,  to  refuse  a  compliance  with  the  requisition  of  the  Irish 
king. 

Nial,  although  much  chagrined  by  the  peremptory  refusal  of 
Gabhran,  to  acede  to  his  special  solicitation,  was  still  influenced  by 
policy,  to  conceal  his  resentment.  At  this  juncture,  when  internal 
revolt  dare  not  raise  its  head  in  Ireland,  Nial  was  preparing,  on  a 
grand  and  extensive  scale,  another  expedition  for  France ;  and 
knowing  that  Gabhran  could  supply  a  most  powerful  contingent  to 
his  army,  be  aftected  the  most  friendly  wishes  towards  that  prince, 
and  improved  every  opportunity  of  cultivating  the  amicable 
relations  that  subsisted,  between  the  sovereign  and  the  vassal. 

He  also  prevailed  upon  several  of  the  Anglo  Saxon  princes,  to 
accom|)any  him  to  France,  with  their  troops,  where  he  promised 
them  a  rich  harvest  of  glory  and  spoils.*  The  immense  fleet  of  the 
Irish  monarch,  was  collected  in  a  Scottish  port,  from  whence  it 
sailed  for  the  coast  of  Gaul,  in  the  beginning  of  the  year  401  of  the 
Christian  era.t 

*  "  Nial,  being  encouraged  by  the  number  of  his  captives,  and  the  success  of 
his  arms,  not  only  in  Scotland,  England,  and  France,  resolved  upon  a  second 
expedition  to  the  latter  country  ;  but  not  thinking  his  own  army  sufficient  of  itself 
for  such  an  enterprise,  he  concerts  measures  with  his  relative  and  feudatory  prince 
of  the  Dalriada,  as  well  as  with  the  Saxon  chieftains  of  Britain,  to  join  him  upon 
the  Gaelic  coast,  and  to  share  the  invasion  and  the  plunder  with  the  Irish." — 
Dr.  War.neu. 

t  "  Macpherson,  and  his  bottle  holder,  the  recreant  Ledwich,  have  ignorantly 
asserted,  that  these  invasions  of  the  Irish,  were  from  currachs,  or  boats  made  of 
leatlier  and  wicker-work.  But,  though  our  own  historians  should  be  overlooked 
on  this  occasion,  surely  the  testimony  of  Roman  writers,  should  be  decisive  in  our 
favor.  How  else  are  we  to  explain  the  fine  compliment  which  Claudian,  under 
the  name  of  Britain,  pays  to  his  patron,  StUirlio.  the  commander  of  tlie  Romans  in 
Britain,  during  the  first  part  of  the  reign  of  Theodosius. 

"  Me  quoque  vicinis  pcreuntem  gentihus  inquit, 

Municct  Stilic/io,  to/am  cum  Scotis  Jernam 

Murit  ; — ct  infcslo  spumarit  reniigc  Tlietys. 

Jllius  affectum  curtis,  nc  bclla  timerem 

Scotia  ncc  Pictum  trcmcrcm,  nee  liliure  toto 

Prosjiiccrem  diihiis  venturum  Saxona  vends." 
At  no  time  were  oars  used  in  currachs,  but  all  antiquity  proclaims  that  large  gal- 
leys and  ships  of  war,  were  never  without  them." — M'Dcnnolt's  ] lislonj  of  Ireland. 


254 

At  tliis  juncture,  A.  D.  405,  there  was  a  serious  dispute  hetween 
the  CoMiiaciiiiis  and  the  ])iiiiccs  of  Munster,  reh'itive  to  tiie  county 
of  Chire,  which  both  ])aities  claimed  as  their  territory.  The  com- 
petitors, iiowever,  hy  the  advice  ol"tiie  Arch-Druids  of  Munster  and 
Counaught,  agreed  to  submit  their  respective  claims  to  the  decision 
of  the  monarch  Nial.  The  princes  of  Munster,  in  order  to  dispose 
him  to  their  interest,  furnished  four  regiments  of  the  Dalgas,  as 
their  quota  to  the  expedition  then  destined  to  conquer  l^rance.  The 
appearance,  armour,  clothing,  and  discipline  of  these  troops,  excited 
the  admiration  and  gratitude  of  the  monarch.  In  a  speech  from  the 
throne  to  the  national  assembly,  he  stated,  "  that  the  necessity  of 
adding  to  the  strength  of  the  nation,  by  promoting  concord  and 
unanimity,  influenced  him  to  decide,  that  the  rival  of  Munster, 
Eana,  Arigithach,  tlie  son  of  Connell,  of  the  Dalgas  race  and 
house  of  Heber,  and  Eugenius,  his  cousin,  should  divkle  Munster 
into  two  principalities  :  that  South  Munster  should  belong  to  Eana, 
and  North  Munster,  including  the  county  of  Clare,  should  form  the 
dominion  of  Eugenius."  This  adjudication  was  received  by  the 
people  of  Munster,  with  joy,  but  with  an  expression  of  indignation 
by  the  Connacians,  who  became  loud  in  their  reprobation  of  Nial's 
partiality.  Nial  now  informed  the  national  estates,  that  by  the  con- 
currence of  the  council  of  his  ministers,  he  had  appoined  his  son, 
Maine,  Ard  Comhaircc,  or  sole  regent  of  Ireland,  with  full  powers 
to  govern  the  nation,  during  his  absence  in  France.  To  this  chief- 
tain he  assigned,  as  a  royal  domain,  that  tract  of  country,  that  is 
now  comprehended  in  the  county  of  Longford,  which  remained  in 
the  possession  of  his  posterity,  the  O'FarreH's,  M'Gawleys,  O'Quins, 
and  O'Dalys,  until  the  invasion  of  Henry  II.  This  great  and 
powerful  sovereign,  whose  exploits  raised  the  military  glory  of 
Ireland,  to  the  highest  pinnacle  of  fame,  had  eight  legitimate  sons, 
"four  of  whom,"  says  Dr.  O'Halloran,  "remained  in  Meatli  and 
its  environs  ;  the  others  acquired  possessions  in  the  north.  The  issue 
of  these  eight  sons,  have  been  distinguished  by  the  titles  of  the 
Northern  and  Southern  Ily-Nials,  from  the  situation  of  their  ter- 
ritories, with  respect  to  each  other.  Maine,  Loaghaire,  Connal- 
Criomthan,  and  Fiacha,  with  their  posterities,  settled  in  Meath,  and 
these  are  called  the  southern  Hy-Nials ;  sometimes  Clana-Coleman, 
from  Coleman  the  Great;  sometimes  Cincal  Slaine,  from  Aodh 
Slaine.  The  posterity  of  Eogan,  Connell  Galban,  Carbre,  and 
Eana,  are  the  northern  Ily-Nials."  On  this  occasion,  he  read  his 
will  to  the  national  assembly,  by  which  he  bequeathed  lands  and 
moveables  to  all  his  children. 

Eogan,  the  great  progenitor  of  the  illustrious  O'Nials,  names  that 
are  associated  with  the  proudest  events  that  embellish  our  annals, 
while  they  shine  on  as  lights  to  chivalric  enterprize,  and  unquench- 
able mementos  of  bravery  and  heroism,  was  allotted,  as  his  patri- 
mony, the  entire  county  of  Tyrone.  Connell's  portion,  consisted  of 
the  present  county  of  Donegal,  which  is  still  called,  in  the  Irish 
language,  Tir  Connell,  or  the  country  of  Connell.  In  after  times, 
the  descendants  of  this  prince  assumed  the  name  of  O'Donnell,  in 
honor  of  one  of  their  ancestors.     Carbre,   the   eldest  son  of  the 


255 

monarch  Nial,  from  whom  the  M'Cuires  of  Fermarmirh,  were 
descended,  was  put  in  possession  of  the  tracts  of  country  bordering 
on  Lougli  Erne.  Nial,  iiaving  thus  settled  the  internal  alfairs  of  his 
kingdom,  sailed  to  Scotland,  from  which  country,  with  a  numerous 
fleet  and  mighty  army,  he  proceeded  to  France,  where  he  safely 
landed  without  opposition.* 

Nial,  meeting  no  enemy  on  the  French  coast  to  retard  his  pro- 
gress, commenced  his  march  for  Tours,  where  the  Irish  garrison 
was  then  reduced  to  the  greatest  extremity,  by  the  besieging  Romans. 
But  on  the  approach  of  the  Irish  monarch,  with  his  vast  army,  the 
enemy  hastily  abandoned  their  works,  and  retreated  beyond  the 
Loire. 

At  Tours,  Nial  resolved  to  aflbrd  some  repose  to  his  army,  in 
order  that  they  might  alleviate  the  fatigues  of  their  voyage,  and  gain 
new  spirit  for  the  approaching  campaign. 

But  the  glorious  reign  of  Nial,  was  now  drawing  to  a  close,  and 
that  brilliant  career  of  conquest  and  triumph,  whose  splendors  must 
ever  illuminate  the  history  of  Ireland,  was  arrested  by  the  vile  hand 
of  an  assassin.  Gabhran,  the  prince  of  the  Dal  Riada,  gave, 
unknown  to  Nial,  a  subordinate  command  in  his  army  to  Eochaidh, 
the  deposed  king  of  Leinster.  This  prince,  cherishing  the  most 
rancorous  revenge  in  his  heart,  formed  the  determination  of  making 
the  monarch,  the  appeasing  victim  of  his  resentment.  An  opjjor- 
tunity  soon  offered,  for  carrying  the  infamous  designs  of  his  treason 
and  treachery  into  execution.  He  observed,  that  the  monarch  was 
in  the  habit  of  amusing  himself,  by  fishing  in  the  Loire.  One  day, 
while  Nial  was  engaged  in  this  pastime,  without  the  attendance  of 
any  of  his  suit,  Eochaidh  concealed  himself  behind  a  tree,  where, 
aiming  an  arrow  at  him,  it  pierced  his  heart,  and  deprived  him  in- 

"  As  the  O'Nials  were  the  most  illustrious  of  the  Milesian  Princes,  and  the  last 
Irish  chieftains  that  yielded  to  the  dominion  of  England,  we  subjoin,  from  the 
notes  appended  to  a  beautiful  poem,  entitled  the  '•'  Grave  of  0'J\'icl,"  written  by 
llugk  Clarke,  Esq.,  of  Dublin,  in  X&Zo,  a  genealogical  account  of  the  family,  from 
the  last  legitimate  remnant  of  that  legal  stock,  the  late  Edmund  of  O'Niel,  of 
Green  Castle,  County  of  Donegal,  and  Charles  0"Niel,  of  Banville,  County  of 
Down.     The  family  of  Earl  O'Niel,  were  the  offspring  of  illicit  love. 

"  Edmund  O'iSiel,  the  son  of  Bryan  O'Niel,  son  of  Edmund,  son  of  Edmund 
Gar,  (the  good  and  heroic.)  son  of  Phelim  Ceact,  (the  powerful,)  prince  of  Tyrone, 
son  of  Con  Bocach,  (who  died  A.  D.  1559.)  son  of  Con,  king  of  Ulster,  who,  in 
1489,  founded  the  Franciscan  monastery  of  Ballynassagert,  in  Tyrone,  murdered 
by  the  English  in  1493  :  he  was  the  son  of  Henry,  king  of  Ulster,  died  in  1489, 
son  of  Owen,  who,  in  1432,  was  inaugurated  as  king  of  Ulster,  "  Lcde  na  High," 
(the  stone  of  kings,)  died  in  145(),  son  of  Nial  Oge,  king  of  Ulster,  died  in 
1402,  son  of  Niai  JVIore,  (the  great,)  king  of  Ulster,  died  in  1397,  son  of  Hugh, 
king  of  Ulster,  died  in  1304,  who  was  the  son  of  Donald  O'Niel,  king  of  Ulster, 
died  in  1325,  son  of  Bryan  Cathaan  Dun,  king  of  Ulster,  who  fell  at  the  battle  of 
Down,  12G0.  He  was  the  son  of  Nial  Roe,  prince  of  Tyrone,  son  of  Hugh,  the 
son  of  Murtagh,  the  son  of  Tiogc  Glinn,  the  son  of  Connor  jia.  Fcodhsra,  the 
son  of  Flaithbhiastach,  the  son  of  Donncl,  the  son  of  Hugh  Athlamh,  the  son 
of  Flathberlach,  the  son  of  Murtagh,  the  son  of  Doiial.  of  Ariiiagh.  1.5Hth  monarch 
of  Ireland,  died  in  S()4,  the  son  of  Murtagh,  the  son  of  Nial  Glandabh,  (the  black 
knee,)  monarch,  died  in  951,  son  of  Huc>li,  the  monarch,  died  825,  son  of  Nial, 
died  791.  son  of  Fenofoile,  the  son  of  Maolduine,  son  of  Nialfilngh.  son  of  Hugh, 
son  of  Donal,  son  of  Murtagh,  son  of  Murierdoch,  son  of  Owen,  son  of  Nial,  the 
great  monarch  of  the  nine  hostages,  who  was  the  eighth  descendant  from  the 
magnanimous  hero,  Con,  of  the  hundred  battles,  the  direct  successor  of  llcrcmon." 


256 

stantlyof  life.  Thus  fell  Nial  the  Grand,  in  the  twenty-seventh  year  of 
a  more  triumphant  and  splendid  reij^n,  than  any  recorded  in  our  his- 
tory. His  soul  was  the  seat  of  coura<«e,  ])atriotism,  and  magnanimity  ; 
and  if  he  was  often  swayed  hy  ambition,  it  was  that  ambition,  that 
predominated  over  the  miiid  of  the  hero,  and  led  him  on  to  deeds  of 
glorious  valour,  and  to  feats  of  gigantic  chivalry,  performed  to 
aggrandize  his  country,  and  elevate  her  military  fame  to  the  highest 
eminence  of  renown.* 

The  assassin,  after  perpetrating  the  barbarous  deed,  fled  to  the 
coast,  from  the   fury  of  Nial's  soldiers,  and   end)arked  for  Scotland. 

Prince  Dathy,  the  nephew  of  the  late  monarch,  was  promoted,  by 
the  Irish  army,  to  the  chief  conimnnd. 

This  chieftain,  aspiring  to  the  throne,  came  to  the  determination 
of  relinquishing  the  conquests  of  his  uncle  in  France,  and  of  return- 
ing to  Ireland,  with  a  gallant  army,  entirely  devoted  to  his  interest. 
Molloy  informs  us,  that  Dathy  caused  his  uncle's  body  to  be 
embalmed,  and  brought  home  to  Ireland,  where,  having  been 
lionored  with  the  highest  funeral  ceremony,  it  was  interred  in  the 
royal  mausoleum  of  Cruachan. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

Credibility  of  the  History  of  Pagan  Ireland. 

In  support  of  the  authenticity  and  credit  that  are  due  to  the  rela- 
tions of  our  early  annalists,  and  to  demonstrate  the  antiquity  of  our 
literary,  social,  and  legal  institution,  we  extract  from  Moore's  His- 
tory of  Ireland,  the  following  excellent  disquisition. 

"Before  entering  upon  the  new  epoch  of  Irish  history,  which  is 
about  to  open  upon  us  with  the  introduction  of  Christianity,  a  review 
of  the  general  features,  of  the  period  over  which  we  have  passed, 
may  be  found  not  uninteresting  or  unuseful.  With  regard  to  the 
first  and  most  material  question,  the  authenticity  of  those  records, 
on  which  the  foregoing  brief  sketch  of  Pagan  Ireland  is  founded,  it 
is  essential,  in  the  first  place,  to  distinguish  clearly,  between  what 
are  called  the  Bardic  Historians, — certain  metrical  writers,  who 
flourished  from  the  ninth  to  the  eleventh  century, — and  those  regular 
chroniclers  or  annalists,  of  whom  a  long  series  was  continued  down, 
there  is  every  reason  to  believe,  from  very  early  ages,  and  whose 
successive  records  have  been  embodied  and  transmitted  to  us  in  the 

*  "  He  had  pushed  the  glory  of  liis  subjects  liigher,  and  extended  it  further 
abroad,  than  any  king  of  Ireland  had  done  before  him.  The  posterity  of  this  king 
appropriated  the  monarchy  in  a  manner  so  much  to  themselves,  that  almost  all  the 
following  monarchs  of  Ireland,  were  descended  from  him." — Warner. 


257 

Annals  of  Tigeniacli,*  in  those  of  the  Fonr  Musters,!  of  Inisfallen, 
of  Ulster,!  '^'^^'  many  others. § 

To  the  metrical  liistorians  ahove  mentif)ned  is  to  he  attrihnted  the 
credit,  if  not  of  originally  inventing,  at  least  of  amplifying  and 
enihellisliing,  tliat  tale  of  tlie  Milesian  colonization,  which  so  many 
grave  and  respectahle  writers  have,  since  their  time,  adopted.  In 
his  zeal  for  the  credit  of  this  national  legend,  the  late  learned 
lihrarian  of  Stowe^has  endeavored  to  enlist  some  of  the  more  early 
Irish  poets  in  its  support. ||  On  his  own  showing,  however,  it  is 
manifest  that  in  no  Irish  writings  before  those  of  Maolmnra,^  who 
died  towards  the  close  of  the  ninth  century,  are  any  traces  whatever 
of  tiie  Milesian  fable  to  he  found. 

There  appears  little  doubt,  indeed,  that  to  some  metrical  writers 
of  the  ninth  century,  the  first  rudiments  of  this  wild  romance, 
respecting  the  origin  of  the  Irish  ])eopIe  are  to  be  assigned  ;  that 
succeeding  writers  took  care  to  amplify  and  embellish  the  original 
sketch  ;  and  that  in  the  hands  of  the  author  or  authors  of  the  Psalter 
of  Cashel,**  it  assumed  that  full  blown  form  of  fiction  and  cxtrava- 

*  In  tlie  Annals  of"  the  Four  Masters  for  the  year  1068,  tlie  death  of  this  annal- 
ist is  thus  recorded  : — '•  Tigernach  O'Braoin,  Comorban,  or  successor  of  Kicran 
of  Clonmacnois,  and  of  St.  Coman,  (i.  c.  Abbott  of  Clonmacnois  and  Roscom- 
mon,) a  learned  lecturer  and  historian." 

t  Compiled  in  the  seventeentli  century,  by  Michael  O'Clery,  with  the  assistance 
of  three  other  antiquaries,  and  "  chiefly  drawn,"  says  Harris,  "  from  the  aimals 
of  Clonmacnois,  Inisfall,  and  Senat,  as  well  as  from  other  approved  and  ancient 
chronicles  of  Ireland."  For  a  fuller  account  of  the  various  sources  from  whence 
these  records  were  derived,  see  Mr.  Pctrie's  Remarks  on  the  History  and  Authen- 
ticity of  the  Autograph  Original,  of  the  Annals  of  the  Four  Masters,  now  deposited 
in  the  library  of  the  R.  I.  A.  Academy. 

t  Published,  lor  the  first  time,  by  Dr.  O'Connor,  from  a  Bodleian  manuscript, 
of  the  year  1215. 

§  A  long  list  of  these  various  books  of  Annals,  may  be  found  in  Nicholson's 
Historical  Library,  chap.  2.;  also  in  tlie  preface  of  Keating"s  History,  xxi. 

II  For  the  very  slight  grounds,  or,  rather,  mere  pretence  of  grounds,  upon  which 
Dr.  O'Connor  lays  claim  to  Fiecii  and  Confealad,  Irish  poets  of  tlie  sixth  and 
seventh  centuries,  as  authorities  for  the  Milesian  story,  see,  among  other  passages, 
Ep.  Nunc,  xxxiv.,  Prol.  2.  xv.  xxvi.  Having  once  claimed  them,  thus  gratuitously, 
as  favoring  his  views  of  the  subject,  he  continues,  constantly  after,  to  refer  to 
tliem,  as  concurrent  authorities,  with  those  later  bardic  historians,  in  whom  alone 
the  true  origin  and  substance  of  the  whole  story,  is  to  be  found. 

The  Psalter-na-Rann,  attributed  to  the  Culdee,  iEngas,  which  is  another  of  the 
writinors  appealed  to  by  Dr.  O'Connor,  on  this  point,  was,  however,  not  the  work 
of  that  pious  author,  (who  wrote  solely  on  religious  subjects,)  nor  of  a  date  earlier, 
as  is  evident,  than  the  tenth  century.  See  Lanigan,  Ecclesiast.  Hist.,  chap.  xx. 
note  107. 

IT  This  writer,  who  died  m  the  year  884,  was  the  author  of  a  poem  beginning, 
"  Let  us  sing  the  origin  of  the  Gadelians:"  in  which,  deriving  the  origin  of  the 
Milesians  from  Japhet,  son  of  Noah,  he  gives  an  account  of  the  peregrinations  of 
the  ancestors  of  the  Irish,  from  the  dispersion  at  Babel,  to  the  arrival  in  Ireland. 
Contemporary  with  Maolmura,  was  Flann  Mac  Lonan,  of  whose  compositions 
there  remain,  says  Mr.  O'Reilly,  tliree  poems,  which  "  are  to  be  found  in  the 
account  of  the  spreading  branches  of  Hcber,  son  of  Milesius,  in  the  Leabhar 
Muimhneach,  or  Munster  Book." 

**  From  this  work,  whicli  was  compiled,  about  the  beginning  of  the  tenth 
century,  by  Cormac  Mac  Culinan,  bishop  of  Cashel  and  king  of  Munster,  Keating 
professes  to  have  drawn  a  great  part  of  his  History  of  Ireland.  "  Since  most," 
says  Keating,  '•  of  the  authentic  records  of  Ireland,  are  composed  in  dann,  or 
verse,  I  shall  receive  them  as  the  principal  testimonies  to  follow  in  compiling  the 
following  history  ;  for.  notwithstanding  that  some  of  the  chronicles  of  Ireland, 
33 


258 

gance,  in  which  it  has  ever  since  flourished.  It  is  wortliy  of  remark, 
too,  that  the  same  British  writer,  Neniiius,  wlio  furnished  GeotVry 
of  Monmouth,  with  his  now  exploded  fuhles  of  tlie  descent  of  the 
Britons,  from  king  Brute  and  tlie  Trojans,  was  the  first,  also,  who 
put  forth  the  tale  of  the  Scythian  ancestors  of  the  Irish,  and  of  their 
coming,  in  the  fourth  age  of  the  world,  by  the  way  of  Africa  and 
Spain,  into  Ilibernia.  Having  conversed,  as  he  himself  tells  us, 
with  the  most  learned  among  the  Scots,*  andjaeen  by  them,  it  is 
evident,  informed  of  their  early  traditions,  respecting  a  colony  from 
Spain,  he  was  tempted  to  eke  out  their  genealogy  for  them,  by 
extending  it  as  far  as  Scythia,  and  the  Red  Sea,  just  as  he  had 
provided  the  Britons  with  Trojan  progenitors,  under  the  command 
of  king  Brute,  from  Greece. 

To  our  metrical  historians,  may  be  assigned  also  the  credit  of 
inventing  that  specious  system  of  chronology,  upon  which  the  fabric 
of  their  fabled  antiquity  entirely  rest,  and  which,  though  well  cal- 
culated to  effect  the  object  of  its  inventors, — that  of  carrying  back 
to  remote  times,  the  date  of  the  Milesian  dynasty, — proves  them  not 
to  have  been  over-scrupulous  in  the  means  they  used  for  that 
purpose. t  It  is,  indeed,  as  I  have  already,  more  than  once, 
remarked,  fiir  less  in  the  events  themselves,  than  in  the  remote  date 
assigned  to  those  events,  that  much  of  the  delusion  attributed  in  gen- 
eral to  Irish  history  lies.  The  ambition  of  a  name  ancient  as  the 
world,  and  the  lax,  accommodating  chronology,  which  is  found  ever 
ready,  in  the  infiuicy  of  science,  to  support  such  pretensions,  has 
led  the  Irish,  as  it  has  led  most  other  nations,  to  antedate  tlieir  own 
existence  and  famc4 

differ  from  these  poetical  records  in  some  cases,  yet  the  testimony  of  tlie  annals 
that  were  written  in  verse,  is  not  for  that  reason  invalid." — Preface.  About  the 
middle  of  the  tenth  century,  flourislied  Eochaidli  O'Floinn,  whose  poems,  relating 
to  the  marvels  of  the  first  Irish  colonies,  the  battles  between  the  Nemetliians  and 
the  sea  rovers,  the  destruction  of  Conan's  Tower,  are  still  preserved  in  the  books 
of  Glendalougli,  Ballymote,  and  Leacan,  the  Dinn  Seanchas,  Book  of  Invasions, 
&c. 

*  "  Sic  mihi  pcritissimi  Scottorum  nuntiaverunt."  Nennius  wrote  about  the 
year  858. 

t  The  extravagant  chronology  of  the  metrical  catalogues  of  kings,  given  by 
Gilla-Cocman,  and  other  later  bards,  is  fully  acknowledged  by  Dr.  O'Connor  him- 
self:— "  Ha3C  plane  indicant  nostras,  de  Scotorum  origine,  ct  primo  in  Hiberniam 
ac  inde  in  Britannian  adventu,  traditiones  metricas  historica  esse  fide  suffultas  ; 
sed  duni  bardi  prodigiosam  antiquitatcin,  mnjoribus  adscribere  conarentur  id  tan- 
tum  fingendi  licentia  efficere  ut  quns  illustrare  debuerant  vcritates  offuscarent,  et 
dum  Hiberniam.  faliiilis  nobilitare  cupiunt  ipsi  sibi  fidcni  ita  dcrogant  ut  postea, 
cum  ad  tempora  historica  descendunt,  etsi  vera  dixerint,  nimia  severitale  redar- 
guantur." — Prol.  2.  xlvi. 

It  was  by  Coeinan,  notwithstanding,  that  the  author  of  Ogygia,  chiefly  regulated 
his  chronology ;  and  the  erudite  cfl^orts  which  he  makes  to  reconcile  his  system  to 
common  sense  show  how  laboriously,  sometimes,  the  learned  can  go  astray.  "  It 
is  no  wonder,"  says  Mr.  O'Connor  of  Balenagare,  "  that  Gilla-Coeman,  and  many 
other  of  our  old  antiquaries,  have  fallen  into  mistakes  and  anachronisms  :  to  their 
earliest  reports  Mr.  O'Flaherty  gave  too  much  credit,  and  to  their  later  accounts, 
Sir  James  Ware,  gave  too  little." — Rtjlections  on  the  History  of  Ireland,  Collcctan. 
No.  10. 

t  "  The  Danes,"  saith  Dudo  S.  Quintin,  "  derived  themselves  from  the  Danai ; 
the  Prussians  from  Prusias,  king  of  Bithynia,  who  brought  the  Greeks  along  with 
them.  Only  the  Scots  and  Irisli  had  the  wit  to  derive  themselves  from  the  Greeks 
and  Egyptians  together." — /Intiq.  of  British  Churches. 


259 

Together  witli  the  primitive  mode  of  numbering  ages  and  ascer- 
taining the  dates  of  pubHc  events,  by  the  successions  of  kings  and 
the  generations  of  men,  the  ancient  Jri^h  possessed  also  a  measure 
of  time  in  their  two  great  annual  festivals  of  Baal  and  of  Sanihin, 
the  recurrence  of  which  at  certain  fixed  periods  furnished  points,  in 
each  year,  from  whence  to  calculate.  How  far  even  History  may 
advance  to  perfection  where  no  more  regular  chronology  exists, 
appears  in  the  instance  of  Thucydides,  who  was  able  to  enrich  the 
world  with  his  "treasure  for  all  time"  before  any  era  from  whence 
to  date  had  yet  been  established  in  Greece.  It  was,  however,  in 
this  very  mode  of  computing  by  regal  successions  that  the  great 
source  of  the  false  chronology  of  the  Irish  antiquaries  lay.  From 
the  earliest  times,  the  gov(;rnment  of  that  country  consisted  of  a 
cluster  of  kingdoms,  where,  besides  the  iMonarch  of  the  whole  island 
and  the  four  provincial  Kings,  there  was  also  a  number  of  inferior 
sovereigns,  or  Dynasts,  who  each  afl'ected  the  regal  name  and  power. 
Such  a  state  of  tilings  it  was  that  both  tempted  and  enabled  the  ge- 
nealogists to  construct  that  fabric  of  fictitious  antiquity  by  which 
they  imposed  not  only  on  others,  but  on  themselves.  Having  such 
an  abundance  of  royal  blood  thus  placed  at  their  disposal,  the  means 
afforded  to  them  of  filling  up  the  genealogical  lines,  and  thereby  ex- 
tending back  the  antiquity  of  the  monarcliy,  were  far  too  tempting 
to  be  easily  resisted.  Accordingly, — as  some  of  those  most  sanguine 
in  the  cause  of  our  antiquities  have  admitted, — not  only  were  kings 
who  had  been  contemporaries  made  to  succeed  each  other,  but  even 
princes,  acknowledged  only  by  their  respective  factions,  were  pro- 
moted to  the  rank  of  legitimate  monarchs,  and  took  their  places  in 
the  same  regular  succession.*  By  no  other  expedient,  indeed,  could 
so  marvellous  a  list  of  Royalty  have  been  fabricated,  as  that  which 
bestows  upon  Ireland,  before  the  time  of  St.  Patrick,  no  less  than  a 
hundred  and  thirty-six  monarchs  of  Milesian  blood;  thereby  extend- 
ing the  date  of  the  Milesian  or  Scotic  settlement  to  so  remote  a 
period  as  more  than  a  thousand  years  before  the  birth  of  Christ. 

Between  the  metrical  historians,  or  rather  romancers,  of  the  mid- 
dle ages,  and  those  regular  annalists  who,  at  the  same  and  a  later 
])eriod,  but  added  their  own  stock  of  contemporary  records  to  that 
consecutive  series  of  annals  which  had  been  delivered  down,  in  all 
probability,  for  many  ages, — between  these  two  sources  of  evidence, 
a  wide  distinction,  as   I   have   already  inculcated,  is  to   be   drawn.t 

*  A  nearly  similar  mode  of  lengtliening  out  their  regal  lists  was  practised 
among  the  Egyptians.  "  Their  kings,"  says  Bryant,  "  liad  many  names  and 
titles;  these  titles  have  been  branched  out  into  persons,  and  inserted  in  the  lists 
of  real  monarchs ;  ....  by  which  means  the  chronology  of  Egypt  has  been 
greatly  embarrassed." 

t  Till  of  late  years  they  have  been,  by  most  writers,  both  English  and  frish, 
confounded.  Thus  the  sensible  author  of  "  An  Analysis  of  the  Antiquities  of 
Ireland,"  who,  though  taking  a  just  and  candid  view  of  his  subject,  had  no  means 
of  access  to  the  documents  which  alone  could  strengthen  and  illustrate  it,  has,  in 
the  following  passage,  mi.xed  up  together,  as  of  equal  importance,  oar  jnost  fabu- 
lous compilations  and  most  authentic  annals: — "  J^et  us  have  faithful  copies,  with 
just  versions,  of  the  hidden  records  of  Keating,  of  tlie  Psalter  of  Cashel,  of  the 
Book  of  Lecan,  of  the  Annals  of  Inisfallen,  of  those  of  the  Four  Masters,  and  of 
every  other  work  which  may  be  judged  to  be  of  importance.     The   requisition   is 


260 

It  is  true  that,  in  some  of  the  collections  of  Annals  that  have  come 
down  to  us,  the  fabulous  wonders  of  the  first  four  ages  of  the  world, 
from  Caesara  down  to  the  landinj:^  of  the  sons  of  Milesius,  have  been, 
in  all  their  absurdity,  preserved, — as  they  are,  indeed,  in  most  his- 
tories of  the  country  down  to  the  present  day.  It  is  likewise  true, 
that  by  most  of  the  annalists  the  same  deceptive  scheme  of  chrono- 
losy  has  been  adopted,  by  which  the  lists  of  the  kin<rs  precediuir  the 
Cliristian  era  are  lensjthened  out  so  preposterously  into  past  time. 
But,  admitting  to  the  full  all  such  deductions  from  the  authority  of 
these  records,  more  especially  as  regards  their  chronology  for  the 
times  preceding  our  era,  still  their  pretensions,  on  the  whole,  to  rank 
as  fair  historical  evidence,  can  hardly,  on  any  just  grounds,  be  ques- 
tioned. 

From  the  objections  that  Iiave  just  been  alleged  against  most  of 
the  other  Books  of  Annals,  that  of  Tigernach  is  almost  wholly  free; 
as,  so  far  from  placing  in  the  van  of  history  the  popular  fictions  of 
his  day,  this  chronicler  has  passed  them  over  significantly  in  silence; 
and  beginning  his  Annals  witli  a  comparatively  late  monarch,  Kim- 
boath,  pronounces  the  records  of  the  Scots,  previously  to  that  period, 
to  have  been  all  uncertain.*  The  feeling  of  confidence  which  so 
honest  a  commencement  inspires,  is  fully  justified  by  the  tone  of  ve- 
racity which  pervades  the  whole  of  his  statements  ;  and,  according 
as  he  approaclies  the  Christian  era,  and,  still  more,  as  he  advances 
into  that  period,  the  remarkable  consistency  of  his  chronology,  his 
knowledge  and  accuracy  in  synchronizing  Irish  events  with  those  of 
the  Roman  History,  and  the  uniformly  dry  matter  of  fact  which 
forms  the  staple  of  his  details,  all  bespeak  for  these  records  a  confi- 
dence of  no  ordinary  kind;  and  render  them,  corroborated  as  they 
are  by  other  Annals  of  the  same  grave  description,  a  body  of  evi- 
dence, even  as  to  the  earlier  parts  of  Irish  history,  far  more  trust- 
worthy and  chronological  than  can  be  adduced  for  some  of  the  most 
accredited  transactions  of  that  early  period  of  Grecian  story,  when, 
as  we  know,  the  accounts  of  great  events  were  kept  by  memory 
alone. t 

simple  as  it  is  reasonable.  They  have  long  amused  us  with  declamations  on  the 
inestimable  value  of  these  literary  treasures  ;  and  surely,  after  having  excited  our 
curiosity,  their  conduct  will  be  inexcusable,  if  they  do  not  in  the  end  provide  for 
its  gratification." 

*  Doctor  O'Connor,  it  is  right  to  mention,  is  of  opinion  that  Tigernach  had, 
like  all  the  other  annalists,  begun  his  records  from  the  creation  of  the  world,  and 
that  the  commencement  of  his  manuscript  has  been  lost.  But,  besides  that  the 
view  taken  by  the  annalist  as  to  the  uncertainty  of  all  earlier  monuments,  suffi- 
ciently accounts  for  liis  not  ascending  any  higher,  all  the  difforcnt  manu- 
scripts, it  appears,  of  his  Annals  agree  in  not  carrying  the  records  farther  back 
than  A.  C.  305. 

t  "  It  is  strongly  implied  by  his  (Pausanias's)  expressions,  that  tiie  written 
register  of  the  Olympian  victors  was  not  so  old  as  Chorasbus,  but  that  the  account 
of  the  first  Olympiads  had  been  kept  by  memory  alone.  Indeed,  it  appears  certain 
from  all  memorials  of  the  best  authority,  that  writing  was  not  common  in  Greece 
so  early." — Mitforil,  vol.  i.  chap.  3. 

"  When  we  consider  that  this  was  the  first  attempt  (the  Olympionics  of  Timapus 
of  Sicily)  that  we  know  of,  to  establish  an  era,  and  that  it  was  in  the  129th  Olym- 
piad, what  are  we  to  think  of  the  preceding  Gitek  chronology.'" — Wood's  En^ 
quiry  into  the  Life,  4»r.,  of  IJomcr. 


2G1 

A  learned  writer,  who,  by  the  force  of  evidence,  has  been  con- 
strained to  admit  tlie  antiquity  of  the  Hsts  of  Irish  kinj^s,  has  yet  tlie 
inconsistency  to  deny  to  this  people  the  use  of  letters  before  the 
coming  of  St.  Patrick.  It  is  to  be  recollected  that  the  regal  lists 
whicii  he  tluis  suppo?es  to  have  been  but  orally  transmitted,  and 
■which,  from  the  commencement  of  the  Christian  era,  are  shown  to 
have  been  correctly  ke|)t,  consist  of  a  long  succession  of  princes,  in 
genealogical  order,  with,  moreover,  the  descent  even  of  the  collateral 
branches  in  all  their  dilVerent  ramifications.*  Such  is  the  nature  of 
the  royal  lists  which,  according  to  this  sapient  su])position,  must 
have  been  transmitted  correctly,  from  memory  to  memory,  through 
a  lapse  of  many  centuries;  and  such  the  weakness  of  that  sort  of 
scejjticism, — not  unmixed  sometimes  with  a  lurking  spirit  of  unfair- 
ness,— which,  while  straining  at  imuginary  difiiculties  on  one  side  of 
a  question,  is  prepared  to  swallow  the  most  indigestible  absurdities 
on  the  other.  And  here  a  consideration  on  the  general  subject  of 
Irish  antiquities  presents  itself,  which,  as  it  has  had  great  weight  in 
determining  my  own  views  of  the  matter,  may,  perhaps,  not  be  with- 
out some  influence  on  the  mind  of  my  reader.  In  the  course  of  this 
cha|)ter  shall  be  laid  before  him  a  view  of  the  state  in  which  Ireland 
was  found  in  the  fifth  century, — of  the  condition  of  her  peo|)le,  their 
forms  of  polity,  institutions,  and  usages  at  that  period  when  the 
Christian  faith  first  visited  her  shores;  and  when,  by  the  light  which 
then  broke  in  upon  her  long  seclusion,  she  became,  for  the  first  time, 
in  any  degree  known  to  the  other  nations  of  Europe.  In  that  very 
state,  political  and  social,  in  which  her  people  were  then  found,  with 
the  very  same  laws,  forms  of  government,  manners  and  habits,  did 
they  remain,  without  change  or  innovation,  for  the  space  of  seven 
hundred  years;  and  though,  at  the  end  of  that  long  period,  brought 
abjectly  under  a  foreign  yoke,  yet  continued  unsubdued  in  their  at- 
tachment to  the  old  law  of  their  country,  nor  would  allow  it  to  be 
superseded  by  the  code  of  the  conqueror  for  nearly  five  hundred 
years  after. 

It  is  evident  that  to  infuse  into  any  order  of  things  so  pervading  a 

*  "  In  Ireland,  the  genealogies  which  are  preserved,  could  not  have  been  hand- 
ed down  in  such  an  extensive,  and  at  the  same  time  so  correct  a  manner,  without 
this  acquaintance  with  letters,  as  the  tables  embrace  too  great  a  compass  to  retain 
them  in  the  memory ;  and  as,  without  the  assistance  of  these  elements  of  know- 
ledge, there  would  have  been  no  sufficient  inducement  to  bestow  on  them  such 
peculiar  attention." — Webb,  Annhjsis  of  the  Antiq.  of  Ireland.  Another  well  in- 
formed writer  thus  enforces  the  same  view  : — "  The  Irish  genealogical  tables, 
which  are  still  extant,  carry  intrinsic  proofs  of  their  being  genuine  and  authentic, 
by  their  chronological  accuracy  and  consistency  with  each  other  through  all  the 
lines  collateral,  as  well  as  direct;  a  consistency  not  to  be  accounted  for  on  the 
supposition  of  their  being  fabricated  in  a  subsequent  age  of  darkness  and  igno- 
rance, but  easily  explained  if  we  admit  them  to  have  been  drawn  from  the  real 
source  of  family  records  and  truth." — Enquirij  concerning  the  original  of  the  Scots 
in  Britain,  by  Barnard,  Bishop  of  Killaloc. 

"  Foreigners  may  imagine  that  it  is  granting  too  much  to  the  Irish  to  allow  them 
lists  of  kings  more  ancient  than  those  of  any  other  country  in  modern  Europe;  but 
the  singularly  compact  and  remote  situation  of  that  island,  and  its  freedom  from 
Roman  conquest,  and  from  the  concussions  of  the  fall  of  the  Roman  empire,  may 
infer  this  allowance  not  too  much.  But  all  contended  for  is  the  list  of  kings  so 
easily  preserved  by  the  repetition  of  bards  at  high  solemnities,  and  some  grand 
events  of  history." — Pinhcrton,  Enquiry  into  the  Hist,  of  Scotland,  part  iv.  chap.  i. 


2G2 

principle  of  stahility,  iruist  have  been  the  slow  work  of  time  alone; 
nor  couitl  any  system  of  laws  and  usages  have  taken  so  strong  a  hold 
of  the  hearts  of  a  whole  people  as  those  of  the  Irish  had  evidently 
obtained  at  the  time  of  the  coming  of  St.  Patrick,  without  the  lapse 
of  many  a  foregone  century  to  enable  them  to  strike  so  deeply  their 
roots.  In  no  country,  as  we  shall  see,  was  Christianity  received 
with  so  fervid  a  welcome  ;  but  in  none  also  had  she  to  make  such 
concessions  to  old  established  superstitions,  or  to  leave  so  much  of 
those  religious  forms  and  prejudices,  which  she  found  already  sub- 
sisting, unaltered.  Nor  was  it  only  over  the  original  Irish  themselves 
that  these  prescriptive  laws  had  thus  by  long  tenure  gained  an  as- 
cendency ;  as  even  those  foreign  tribes, — for  the  most  part,  as  we 
have  seen,  Teutonic, — who  obtained  a  settlement  among  them,  had 
been  forced,  though  conquerors,  to  follow  in  the  current  of  long- 
established  customs;*  till,  as  was  said  of  the  conquering  colonists  of 
an  after  day,  they  grew,  at  length,  to  be  more  Hibernian  than  the 
Hibernians  themselves.  The  same  ancient  forms  of  religion  and  of 
government  were  still  preserved  ;  the  language  of  the  multitude  soon 
swept  away  that  of  the  mere  caste  who  ruled  them,  and  their  entire 
exemption  from  Roman  dominion  left  them  safe  from  even  a  chance 
of  change. t 

How  far  the  stern  grasp  of  Roman  authority  might  have  succeeded 
in  effacing  from  the  minds  of  the  Irish  their  old  habits  and  predilec- 
tions, it  is  needless  now  to  in([nire.  But  had  we  no  other  proof  of 
the  venerable  antiquity  of  their  nation,  this  fond  fidelity  to  the  past, 
this  retrospective  spirit,  which  is  sure  to  be  nourished  in  the  minds 
of  a  people  by  long-hallowed  institutions,  would,  in  the  absence  of 
all  other  means  of  proof,  be  fully  sutlicient  for  the  purpose.  When, 
in  addition  to  this  evidence  impressed  upon  the  very  character  of  her 
people,  we  find  Ireland  furnished  also  with  all  that  marks  an  ancient 
nation, — unnumbered  monuments  of  other  days  and  belonging  to 
unknown  creeds, — a  language  the  oldest  of  all  European  tongues 
still  spoken  by  her  people,  and  Annals  written  in  that  language  of 
earlier  date  than  those  of  any  other  northern  nation  of  Europe, | 
tracing  the  line  of  her  ancient  kings,  in  chronological  order,  up  as 
far  at  least  as  the  commencement  of  the  Christian  era, — when  we 
find  such  a  combination  of  circumstances,  all  bearing  in   the  same 

*  The  consequences  of  this  "  Oriental  inflexibility," — as  Niebhur  expresses  it, 
in  speaking  of  the  Syrians, — are  thus  described  by  Camden  : — "  The  Irish  are  so 
wedded  to  their  own  customs,  that  they  not  only  retain  them  themselves,  but  cor- 
rupt the  English  that  come  amoi>^  them." 

t  It  has  been  falsely  asserted  by  some  writers,  that  the  Romans  visited,  and 
even  conquered,  Ireland.  The  old  chronicler  Wyntown,  carries  them  to  that 
country  even  so  early  as  the  first  century  ;  and  Gueudeville,  the  wretched  com- 
piler of  the  Atlas  Historique,  has,  in  his  map  of  Ireland,  represented  the  country 
as  reduced  within  the  circle  of  the  Roman  sway.  The  pretended  monk  Richard, 
also,  who,  thanks  to  the  credulity  of  historians,  was  permitted  to  establish  a  new 
Roman  province,  Vespasiana,  to  the  north  of  Antonine's  Wall,  has,  in  like  man- 
ner, made  a  present  to  Constantino  the  Great  of  the  tributary  submission  of  Ire- 
land. "A.  M.  4307,  Constantinus,  qui  Magnus  postoa  dicitur  .  .  .  cui  se  sponte 
tributariam  ofFert  Hibernia." 

t  "  Cseterarum  cnim  gentium  Septentrionalium  antiquitates  scriptas  longe 
recentiores  esse  existimo,  si  cum  Hibernicis  comparentur." — Dr.  O'Connor,  Ep. 
J\''unc.  xix. 


263 

direction,  all  confirming-  the  impression  derived  from  the  historical 
character  of  the  p8oj)le, — it  is  surely  an  abuse  of  the  right  of  doubt- 
ing, to  reject  lightly  sucii  an  amount  of  evidence,  or  resist  the  obvi- 
ous conclusion  to  wliich  it  all  naturally  leads. 

Among  the  most  solemn  of  the  customs  observed  in  Ireland,  during 
the  times  of  paganism,  was  that  of  keeping,  in  each  of  the  provinces, 
as  well  as  at  the  seat  of  the  monarchial  government,  a  public  Psal- 
ter, or  register,  in  which  all  passing  transactions  of  any  interest  were 
noted  down.  This,  like  all  their  other  ancient  observances,  contin- 
ued to  be  retained  after  the  introduction  of  Christianity  ;  and  to  the 
great  monasteries,  all  over  the  country,  fell  the  task  of  watching 
over  and  continuing  tlicsc  records.*  That,  in  their  zeal  for  religion, 
they  should  have  destroyed  most  of  those  documents  which  referred 
to  the  dark  rites  and  superstitions  of  heathenism,  appears  highly 
credible. t  But  such  records  as  related  chiefly  to  past  political  events 
were  not  obnoxious  to  the  same  hostile  feeling ;  and  these  the  monks 
not  only,  in  most  instances,  preserved,  but  carried  on  a  continuation 
of  them,  from  age  to  age,  in  much  the  same  tone  of  veracious  dry- 
ness as  characterizes  that  similar  series  of  records,  the  Saxon  Chron- 
icle. In  like  manner,  too,  as  the  English  annalists  are  known,  in 
most  instances,  to  have  founded  their  narrations  upon  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  documents  derived  from  their  ancestors,  so  each  succeeding 
Irish  chronicler  transmitted  the  records  which  he  found  existing, 
along  with  his  own  ;  thus  giving  to  the  whole  series,  as  has  been  well 
said  of  the  Saxon  Chronicle,  the  force  of  contemporary  evidence. :|; 

The  precision  with  which  the  Irish  annalists  have  recorded,  to  the 
month,  day,  and  hour,  an  eclipse  of  the  sun,  which  took  place  in  the 
year  664,  affords  both  an  instance  of  the  exceeding  accuracy  with 
which  they  observed  and  noticed  passing  events,  and  also  an  undeni- 
able proof  that  the  annals  for  that  year,  though  long  since  lost,  must 
have  been  in  the  hands  of  those  who  have  transmitted  to  us  that  re- 
markable record.  In  calculating  the  period  of  the  same  eclipse,  the 
Venerable  Bede§ — led  astray,  it  is  plain,  by  his  ignorance  of  that 
yet  undetected  error  of  the  Dionysian  cycle,  by  which  the  equation 
of  the  motions  of  the  sun  and  moon  was  affected, — exceeded  the  true 
time  of  the  event  by  several  days.  Whereas  the  Irish  chronicler, 
wholly  ignorant  of  the  rules  of  astronomy,  and  merely  recording 
what  he  had  seen  passing  before  his  eyes, — namely,  that  the  eclipse 

*  "  Alibi  iridicavi  celebriora  Hibernire  inonasteria  amanuensemaluisse,  Scribhinn 
appellatum." — Rcr.  Hih.  Script.  Ep.  j\'unc. 

\  '•  Of  the  works  of  the  Druids,  as  we  are  informed  from  the  Lecan  Records,  by 
the  learned  Donald  Mac  Firbiss,  no  fewer  than  180  tracts  were  committed  to  the 
flames  at  the  instance  of  St.  Patrick.  Such  an  example  set  the  converted  Chris- 
tians to  work  in  all  parts,  till,  in  tlie  end,  all  the  remains  of  the  Druidic  supersti- 
tion were  utterly  destroyed." — Dissert,  on  the  Hist,  of  Irdand. 

X  "  The  annals  of  these  writers  are,  perhaps,  but  Latin  translations  of  Anglo- 
Saxon  Chronicles  ....  at  least,  the  existence  of  similar  passatjes.  yet  in  Anglo- 
Saxon,  is  one  of  the  best  proofs  we  can  obtain  of  this  curious  fact,  that  the  Latin 
narrations  of  all  our  chroniclers,  of  the  events  preceding  the  Conquest,  are  in  gen- 
eral translations  or  abridgments  from  the  Anglo-Saxon  documents  of  our  ances- 
tors. This  fact  is  curious,  because,  wherever  it  obtains,  it  gives  to  the  whole  series 
of  our  annals  the  force  of  contemporary  evidence." — Turner,  Hist,  of  Anglo- 
Saxons,  book  vi.  chap.  7. 

§  Hist.  Ecclesiast.  lib.  iii.  can.  27. 


2G4 

occurred,  about  the  tentli  hour,  on  the  3d  of  May,  in  the  year  G64, — 
has  traiistiiitted  a  date  to  i)o.sterity,  of  which  succeeding  astronomers 
have  acknowledged  the  accuracy. 

It  may  be  said,  that  this  observation  was  suppUed  and  interpolated 
by  some  later  hand  ;  but  this  would  only  rescue  us  from  one  difficulty 
to  involve  us  as  deeply  in  another;  as  it  must,  in  that  case,  be  ad- 
mitted that  among  the  Irish  of  the  middle  ages  were  to  be  found 
astronomers  sufficiently  learned  to  be  able  to  anticipate  that  advanced 
state  of  knowledge  which  led  to  the  correction  of  the  Dionysian 
period,  and  to  ascertain,  to  the  precise  liour,  a  long-past  eclipse, 
which  the  learned  Bede,  as  we  have  seen,  was  unable  to  calculate  to 
the  day.  But  how  far,  at  a  distance  nearly  two  centuries  from  the 
time  of  this  eclipse,  were  even  the  best  Irish  scholars  from  being 
capable  of  any  such  calculations  may  be  judged  from  a  letter,  still 
extant,  on  this  very  subject  of  eclipses,  which  was  addressed  to 
Charlemagne  by  an  Irish  doctor  of  the  ninth  century,  named  Dun- 
gal.*  The  letter  is  in  rej)ly  to  a  question  proposed  by  the  emperor 
to  the  most  eminent  scholars  of  that  day  in  Europe,  respecting  the 
appearance,  as  had  been  alleged,  of  two  solar  eclipses,  in  the  course 
of  the  year  810;  and  the  Irish  doctor,  though  so  far  right  as  to  ex- 
press his  doubts  that  these  two  eclipses  had  been  visible,  is  unable, 
it  is  plain,  to  assign  any  scientific  reason  for  his  opinion.  Down  to 
a  much  later  period,  indeed,  so  little  had  the  Irish  scholars  advanced 
in  this  science,  that,  as  it  appears  from  the  second  part  of  the  Annals 
of  Inisfallen,  they  had  one  yeart  experienced  much  difficulty  and 
controversy  before  they  could  succeed  even  in  fixing  Easter  Day. 

It  may  be,  therefore,  taken  for  granted,  that  it  was  not  from  any 
scientific  calculation  of  after  times,  but  from  actual  and  personal 
observation  at  the  moment  that  this  accurate  date  of  the  eclipse  in 
6G4  was  derived. I  AVith  equal  clearness  does  it  follow  that  some 
written  record  of  the  observation  must  have  reached  those  annalists, 
who,  themselves  ignorant  of  the  mode  of  calculating  such  an  event, 
have  transmitted  it  accurately  to  our  days  as  they  received  it.  There 
are  still  earlier  eclipses, — one  as  far  back  as  A.  D.  49G, — the  years 
of  whose  appearance  we  find  noted  down  by  the  chroniclers  with 
equal  correctness :  and  so  great  was  the  regularity  with  which, 
through  every  succeeding  age,  all  such  changes  in  ihe  ordinary  as- 
pect of  the  heavens  was  observed  and  registered,  that,  by  means  of 
these  records,  the  chronologist  is  enabled  to  trace  the  succession, 
not  only  of  the  monarchs  of  Ireland,  but  of  the  inferior  kings,  bish- 
ops, and  abbots,  from  the  first  introduction  of  Christianity,  down  to 
the  occupation  of  the  country  by  the  English. 

*  Epist.  Dungali  Reclusi  ad  Carol.  Macrnum  de  duplici  Soils  Eclipsi,  Ann.  810. 
This  letter  may  be  found  in  D'Achery's  Spicilejrium,  torn,  iii.,  together  with  some 
critical  remarks  upon  it  by  Ismacl  Bullialdus.  the  learned  champion  of  the  Philo- 
laic  system,  whom  D'Achery  had  consulted  on  tiie  subject. 

t  Rer.  Hibern.  Script.  Prol.  2.  c.x.x.xvi.  Dr.  O'Connor  refers,  for  the  above 
record,  to  the  year  1444  ;  but  this  is  evidently  a  tyjjographical  error,  such  as  abound, 
I  regret  to  say,  throughout  this  splendid  work, — tlie  continuation  of  the  Annals  of 
Inisfallen  having  come  down  no  further  than  the  year  1320. 

I  Annals  of  Tigcrnach.  For  the  substance  of  the  argument,  founded  upon  this 
record,  I  am  indebted  to  Dr.  O'Connor,  Prol.  2.  cxxxiv. 


265 

Having,  therefore,  in  the  accurate  date  of  the  eclipse  of  GG4,  and 
ill  its  correct  transmission  to  succeedinjj;  times,  so  strong  an  evidence 
of  the  existence  of  a  written  record  at  that  period;  and  knowin'if 
moreover,  that  of  simihir  phenomena  in  the  two  preceding  centuries, 
tlie  memory  has  also  heen  transmitted  down  to  after  ages,  it  is  not 
surely  assuming  too  much  to  take  for  granted  that  the  transmission 
was  etJected  in  a  similar  manner;  and  that  the  medium  of  written 
record,  through  which  succeecJing  annalists  were  made  acquainted 
with  tlie  day  and  hour  of  the  solar  eclii)se  of  G(34,*  conveyed  t(j  them 
also  the  following  simple  memorandum,  which  occurs  in  their  chron- 
icles for  the  year  49G. — "Death  of  Mac-Ciiilin,  hislioj)  of  T^isk. — 
An  eclipse  of  the  sun — The  poj)e  Gelasius  died." 

It  thus  appears  pretty  certain,  that,  as  far  hack  as  the  century  in 
which  Christianity  l)ccame  the  established  faith  of  Ireland,  the  prac- 
tice of  chronicling  public  events  may  be  traced;  and  I  have  already 
shown,  that  the  same  consecutive  chain  of  records  carries  the  links 
back,  with  every  appearance  of  historical  truth,  to  at  least  the  com- 
mencement of  the  Christian  era,  if  not  to  a  century  or  two  beyond 
that  jjcriod.  To  attempt  to  fix,  indeed,  the  precise  time  when  the 
confines  of  history  began  to  be  confused  with  those  of  fable,  is  a  task 
in  Irish  antiquities,  as  in  all  others,  of  mere  speculation  and  conjec- 
ture.t  It  has  been  seen  that  Tigernach,  by  far  the  best  informed 
and  most  judicious  of  our  annalists,  places  the  dawn  of  certainty  in 
Irish  history  at  so  early  a  period  as  the  reign  of  Rimbaoth,  about 
300  years  before  the  birth  of  Christ:  and  it  is  certain  that  the  build- 
ing of  the  celebrated  Palace  of  Emania,  during  that  monarch's  reign, 
by  establishing  an  era,  or  fixed  point  of  time,  from  whence  chrono- 
logy might  begin  to  calculate,  gives  to  the  dates  and  accounts  of  the 
succeeding  reigns  an  appearance  of  accuracy  not  a  little  imposing. 
This  apparent  exactness,  however,  in  the  successions  previous  to  the 
Christian  era,  will  not  stand  the  test  of  near  inquiry.     For  the  pur- 

*  The  dates  assigned  to  the  several  eclipses  are,  in  this  and  other  instances,  con- 
finned  by  their  accordance  with  tiie  catalogues  of  eclipses  composed  by  modern 
astronomers,  witii  those  in  the  learned  work  of  the  Benedictines,  and  other  such 
competent  authorities.  There  is  even  an  eclipse,  it  appears,  noticed  in  the  Annals 
of  Ulster,  ad.  ami.  G74,  which  has  been  omitted  in  U i^rt  de  verifier  les  Dates. — Ep. 
Nunc.  xciv. 

t  According  to  Mr.  O'Connor  of  Balenacgare,  in  his  later  and  more  moderate 
stage  of  antiquarianism,  "  it  is  from  the  succession  of  Feredach  the  Just,  and  the 
great  revolution  soon  after,  under  Tuathal  the  Acceptable,  that  we  can  date  exact- 
ness in  our  Heathen  History." — li'firtions  on  the  Hist,  of  Irchind.  The  period 
here  assigned  commences  about  A.  D.  S5.  A  Right  Reverend  writer,  however, 
in  the  Transactions  of  the  Royal  Irish  Academy,  carries  his  faith  in  Irish  chrono- 
logy mucii  further.  "A  general  agreement,"  says  Bishop  Barnard,  "  appears  in 
the  names  and  lineage  of  tliat  long  series  of  princes  that  succeeded  and  descended 
from  the  first  conqueror  down  to  the  fifth  century  ;  and  the  descent  of  the  collateral 
branches  is  traced  up  to  tlie  royal  stem  with  such  precision  and  consistency,  as 
shows  it  to  have  been  once  a  matter  of  public  concern.  The  later  bards  and  seana- 
chies  could  not  have  fabricated  tables  that  should  have  stood  the  test  of  critical  ex- 
amination as  these  will  do;  from  whence  I  infer,  that  they  have  been  a  true  tran- 
script from  ancient  records  then  extant,  but  since  destroyed.  I  am  ready  to  admit, 
however,  that  the  transactions  of  those  times  are  mixed  with  the  fictions  of  later 
ages  ....  it  is,  therefore,  neither  to  be  received  nor  rejected  in  the  gross,  but  to  be 
read  with  a  sceptical  caution." — Eiirjuirij  concerning  the  Original, k^c.jIij  Barnard, 
Bishop  of  Killaloc. 

34 


266 

pose  of  making  out  a  long  line  of  kings  before  that  period,  a  decep- 
tive scheme  of  chronology  has  been  adopted ;  and  all  the  etlbrts  made 
by  O'Flaherty  and  others  to  connect  the  traditions  of  those  times 
into  a  series  of  regular  history,  but  serve  to  prove  how  hopeless,  or, 
at  least,  wholly  uncertain,  is  the  task. 

As  we  descend  towards  the  first  age  of  Christianity,  events  stand 
out  from  the  ground  of  tradition  more  prominently,  and  begin  to 
take  upon  them  more  of  the  substance  of  historical  truth.  The  re- 
storation, under  Eochy  Feyloch,  of  the  ancient  Pentarchy,  which 
had  been  abolished  by  the  monarch  Ilugony, — the  important  ad- 
vance made  in  civilization  during  the  reign  of  Conquovar  Mac  Ness, 
by  committing  the  laws  of  the  country  to  writing, — these  and  other 
signal  events,  almost  coeval  with  the  commencement  of  Christianity, 
border  so  closely  upon  that  period  to  which,  it  has  been  shown, 
written  records  most  probably  extended,  as  to  be  themselves  all  but 
historical. 

In  corroboration  of  the  view  here  taken  of  the  authenticity  of  the 
Irish  Annals,  and  of  the  degree  of  value  and  confidence  which  is  due 
to  them,  I  need  but  refer  to  an  authority  which,  on  such  subjects, 
ranks  among  the  highest.  "The  chronicles  of  Ireland,"  says  Sir 
James  Mackintosh,  "  written  in  the  Irish  language,  from  the  second 
century  to  the  landing  of  Henry  Plantagenet,  have  been  recently 
published,  with  the  fullest  evidence  of  their  genuineness  and  exact- 
ness. The  Irish  nation,  though  they  are  robbed  of  many  of  their 
legends  by  this  authentic  publication,  are  yet  by  it  enabled  to  boast 
that  they  possess  srenuine  history  several  centuries  more  ancient  than 
any  other  Euro{)e!in  nation  possesses,  in  its  present  spoken  lan- 
guage ; — they  have  exchanged  their  legendary  antiquity  for  historical 
fame.  Indeed,  no  other  nation  possesses  any  monument  of  its  lite- 
rature, in  its  present  spoken  language,  which  goes  back  within  sev- 
eral centuries  of  the  beginning  of  these  chronicles."* 

With  the  exception  of  the  mistake  into  which  Sir  James  Mackin- 
tosh has  here,  rather  unaccountably,  been  led,  in  supposing  that, 
among  the  written  Irish  chronicles  which  have  come  down  to  us, 
there  are  any  so  early  as  the  second  century,  the  tribute  paid  by  him 
to  the  authenticity  and    historical    importance  of  these  documentst 

*  Hist,  of  Eng.,  vol.  i.  chap.  2.  A  writer  in  the  Edin.  Rev.  No.  xcii..  (Sir  James 
Mackintosh.)  in  speaking  of  Dr.  O'Connor's  work,  thus,  in  a  similar  manner,  ex- 
presses himself : — ■'  We  have  here  the  works  of  the  ancient  Irish  historians,  divested 
of  modern  fable  and  romance  ;  and  whatever  opinion  may  be  formed  of  the  early 
traditions  thej'  record,  satisfactory  evidence  is  afforded  that  many  facts  they  relate, 
long  anterior  to  our  earliest  chroniclers,  rest  on  contemporary  authority  .  .  .  Some  of 
Dr.  O'Connor's  readers  may  hesitate  to  admit  the  degree  of  culture  and  prosperity 
he  claims  for  his  countrymen  ;  but  no  one,  we  think,  can  deny,  after  perusing  his 
proofs,  that  the  Irish  were  a  lettered  people,  while  the  Saxons  were  still  immersed 
in  darkness  and  ignorance."  I  shall  add  one  other  tribute  to  the  merit  of  Dr.  O'Con- 
nor's work,  coming  from  a  source  which  highly  enhances  the  value  of  the  praise:  — 
"  A  work,"  says  Sir  F.  Palgrave,  '•  which,  whether  we  consider  the  learning  of  the 
editor,  the  value  of  the  materials,  or  the  princely  munificence  of  the  Duke  of  Buck- 
ingham, at  whose  expense  it  was  produced,  is  without  a  parallel  in  modern  litera- 
ture."— Rise  of  the  EnffUsh  Coinmoniccalth. 

t  How  liitle,  till  lately,  those  Annals  were  known,  even  to  some  who  have  writ- 
ten most  confidently  respecting  Ireland,  may  be  seen  by  reference  to  a  letter  ad- 
dressed by  Mr.  O'Connor  to  General  'Vallancey,  acknowledging  his  perusal  then, 


2G7 

appears  to  me,  in  the  highest  dogree,  deserved;  and  comes  with  the 
more  autlioritv,  from  a  writer  wliose  command  over  the  wide  domain 
of  history  enabled  iiim  fully  to  appreciate  the  value  of  any  genuine 
addition  to  it. 

It  has  been  thus  clearly,  as  I  conceive,  demonstrated  that  our 
Irish  Annals  are  no  forgery  of  modern  times;  no  invention,  as  has 
been  so  often  alleged,  by  modern  monks  and  versifiers  :  but,  for  the 
most  part,  a  series  of  old  authentic  records,  of  which  the  transcripts 
have  from  age  to  age  been  delivered  down  to  our  own  times.  Though 
confounded  ordinarily  with  the  fabulous  tales  of  the  Irish  Bards, 
these  narrations  bear  on  the  face  of  them  a  character  the  very  re- 
verse of  poetical,  and  such  as,  in  itself  alone,  is  a  sufficient  guarantee 
of  their  truth.  It  has  been  shown,  moreover,  that  the  lists  preserved 
of  the  ancient  Irish  kings  (more  ancient  than  those  of  any  other 
country  in  modern  Europe)  are  regulated  by  a  system  of  chronology 
which,  however  in  many  respects  imperfect,  computes  its  dates  in 
the  ancient  mode,  by  generations  and  successions  ;  and  was  founded 
upon  the  same  measures  of  time — the  lunar  year,  and  the  regular 
recurrence  of  certain  periodical  festivals — by  which  the  Greeks,  the 
Romans,  and  other  great  nations  of  antiquity,  all  computed  the  ear- 
lier stages  of  their  respective  careers. 


CHAPTER   XXXVII. 


Jlceession  of  Dathij  to  the  throne. —  The  mission  of  St.  Palladius  to  Ireland. — He 
builds  two  churches  in  Drogheda,  and  one  in  Slanc,  in  the  County  of  Meath. — 
Dathy  conquers  a  great  part  of  England. — He  invades  France,  and  carries  the 
terror  of  his  arms  to  the  foot  of  the  .jips,  where  he  is  killed  by  lightning,  A.  D. 
427. 

Dathy,  being  zealously  supported  by  the  army,  was  raised  to  the 
throne  without  opposition.  He  summoned,  immediately  after  his 
accession,  the  national  representatives  to  Tara,  and  announced  to 
them  his  resolution  of  following  up  the  plans  of  conquest  which  had 
been  formed  by  his  uncle  Nial,  against  Britain  and  France.  At  this 
juncture,  the  internal  anarchy  and  dissension  that  prevailed  in  Rome 
compelled  the  government  to  withdraw  the  greater  part  of  their  le- 
gions from  Britian  and  Gaul ;  so  that  the  Irish  monarch  reasonably 
calculated  on  subjugating  with  ease  the  entire  of  the  former,  and  a 
great  portion  of  the  latter  country,  to  li^s  dominion. 

After  refitting  his  fleet  and  recruiting  his  army,  he  sailed  for 
Scotland,  from  whence  he  purposed  to  penetrate  into  Britain.     By 

for  the  first  time,  of  the  Annals  of  Tigernach  and  oi'  Inisfallen,  which  his  venera- 
ble friend  had  lately  lent  \\\m..— Reflect,  on  Hist,  of  Ireland,  Collect.  No.  10.  The 
ignorance  of  Mr.  Beauford,  too,  a  professed  Irish  antiquary,  respecting  the  valua- 
ble work  of  Tigernach,  is  shown  by  the  statement  in  his  Druidisni  Revived,  (Col- 
lectan.  Hib.  No.  vii.)  that  the  records  of  this  annalist  commence  only  at  the  fifth 
century,  "  without  making  the  least  mention  of  the  pagan  state  of  the  Irish." 


268 

a  preconcerted  plan,  the  forces  of  the  Dal  Riadn,  and  a  large  hody 
of  the  Anglo  Saxons  joined  him,  on  his  landing  on  the  Caledonian 
shore.  At  the  head  of  tliis  condjined  army,  he  hruke  down  the  wall 
which  the  Romans  liad  rebuilt  during  Nial's  absence  in  Ganl,*  cap- 
tured the  fortresses  of  the  enemy  on  the  frontiers,  and  entered  Car- 
lisle as  a  conqueror. 

It  is  admitted  that  Dathy,  in  carrying  fire  and  sword  into  Britain, 
evinced  very  little  greatness  or  generosity;  for  the  English  annalists 
say,  that  he  allowed  his  soldiers  to  plunder,  and  commit  other  vio- 
lent excesses.  The  Britons,  thus  driven  to  desperation  by  the  licen- 
tious enormities  of  the  Irish,  sent  messengers  to  Rome  to  claim 
assistance  and  j)rotection.  In  conseqence  of  this  application,  a 
Roman  legion  landed  in  Britain,  and,  joining  with  the  inhabitants, 
they  attacked  the  Irish,  who  were  dispersed  over  the  country,  and 
before  they  had  time  to  concentrate,  defeated  them  in  several  skir- 
mishes. Dathy,  by  these  disasters,  which  were  the  result  of  the  ex- 
cesses in  which  he  had  allowed  his  army  to  indulge,  retreated  to 
Caledonia,  where  he  soon  filled  up  the  chasms  in  his  lanks  by  levies 
of  trof)ps  made  in  his  own  kingdom,  as  well  as  among  his  tributaries, 
the  Dal  Riada.  While  he  was  thus  augmenting  his  arniy,  Constan- 
tine,  a  general  of  the  Roman  legion  in  Britain,  was  proclaimed  em- 
peror by  his  soldiers,  and,  in  consequence,  tiiat  chieftain  abandoned 
Britain,  and  repaired  to  the  "Eternal  city,"  where,  soon  after  his 
arrival,  he  met  his  fate. 

Dathy,  on  hearing  of  the  departure  of  ihe  Romans,  prepared  for 
another  incursion  into  Britain,  the  inhabitants  of  which,  far  from 
opposing  bis  progress,  fled  in  confusion  and  terror  before  him. 
"  And  now  it  was,"  says  Dr.  O'llalloran,  "that  the  poor  Britons  ex- 
periened  all  the  shocking  crnelties  of  lawless  victory,  which  Gildas  and 
Bede  so  pathetically  deplure.  So  great  was  the  rapacity  of  the  Irish 
army,  and  so  frequent  their  depredations,  that  the  country  was  re- 
duced to  the  utmost  misery  ;  and  the  want  of  necessaries,  as  well  as 
the  apprehension  of  catching  the  epidemic  disorders  incident  to  cold 
and  famine,  obliged  Dathy  to  quit  the  country,  but  with  the  firm 
resolution  of  returning  to  it  at  a  more  proper  season." 

Britain  no  longer  affording  any  fruits  for  conquest,  Dathy  pre- 
pared another  expedition  to  Gaul,  where  he  expected  to  profit  largely 

*  "  This  wall,  which  was  originally  built  by  the  Emperor  Adrian,  A.  D.  134,  and 
so  ofton  thrown  down  by  the  Irish  kings,  Bede  informs  us,  was  sixty  miles  in 
length,  twelve  feet  high,  and  eight  in  thickness  When  Nial  set  out  on  his  expe- 
dition to  France,  the  Ilomans  forced  the  Britons  to  repair  the  wall ;  but  Bede  further 
asserts,  in  his  ecclcsiastii'al  histor}',  (])age  12,  chapter  i.  vol.  i.)  that  the  Britons, 
not  having  amongst  them  any  one  skilled  in  stone  work,  they  had  to  raise  up  the 
fortification,  in  the  b(\st  manner  they  could,  with  earth.  But  this  wall,  though 
strong,  was  not  sufficient  tii  retard  the  march  of  the  young  Irish  king,  at  the  head 
of  a  gallant  army.  Dathy  led  on  the  Dalgtis  to  the  assault;  the  opposition  of  the 
Romans,  though  brave,  had  to  yield  ;  the  slingers,  or  the  Cran  Tiihal,  assisted  by 
the  archers,  put  the  Romans  to  flight.  British  writers,  and  among  them  the  ven- 
erable Bede,  charge  the  Irish  monarch  with  committing  the  most  cruel  excesses, 
on  his  march  through  Britain.  The  laws  of  nations  justified  Dathy,  in  some  mea- 
sure, m  this  conduct ;  for  the  Britons  were  beholden  to  him  and  his  uncle  for  freeing 
them  from  the  Roman  yoke,  and  he  knew  that  they  were  now  a  barbarous  people, 
lost  to  every  sense  of  liberty,  and  the  avowed  slaves  of  Rome." — .4  Chart  of  Irish 
History,  page  79,  vol.  ii. 


269 

by  his  victories.  He  therefore  embarked  in  a  Caledonian  port,  with 
a  tbrniidablc  army,  lor  France,  and  after  a  proj;perons  voyaj>e  of 
three  days,  landed  on  the  coast  of  Normandy,  without  op[)i)siti(»n. 
At  this  jjcriod,  A.  D.  42(5,  tiie  Ilonian  power  was  <!:radually  ap- 
proaching a  declension.  The  Emperor  Theodosius  11.,  to  make 
head  against  the  Persians,  who  then  invaded  the  Roman  territory, 
was  constrained  to  withdraw  all  his  forces  from  Gaul ;  so  that  the 
Irish  monarch  did  not  meet  any  resistance  in  liis  march  over  France. 
"In  the  two  last  reigns,"  writes  O'Halloran,  "the  Irish  arms  pre- 
vailed only  on  the  maritime  coasts  of  Gaul,  in  Britany  and  jXorman- 
dy  ;  but  in  the  present  we  see  them,  under  a  gallant  king,  unite  with 
their  allies,  and  carry  terror  and  ruin  to  the  very  acclivities  of  the 
Alps." 

Here  Dathy  concentrated  his  army,  with  the  view  of  penetrating 
into  the  fertile  provinces  of  Italy,  where  he  promised  his  soldiers 
that  spoils  and  trophies  should  reward  their  valour  and  perseverance. 
But  death  prevented  the  prediction  from  being  verified;  for,  as 
Dathy  and  some  of  his  officers  were  amusing  themselves  in  ascend- 
ing to  an  Alpine  summit,  the  king  was  struck  by  lightning,  which 
terminated  iiis  life  and  his  gh>ry,  in  the  twenty-third  year  of  a  reign 
distinguished  for  brilliant  achievements  abroad,  and  for  peace  and 
prosperity  at  home.      A.  D.  427. 

Wiien  the  Christians  at  Rome  heard  of  the  death  of  the  Irish 
monarch,  in  the  manner  we  have  narrated,  they  declared  that  the 
thunderbcdt  was  directed  by  t!ie  hand  of  Omnipotence,  to  annihilate 
a  Pagan  prince,  who  meditated  the  destruction  of  the  Roman  em- 
pire.* 

The  cause  of  the  king's  death  exerted  a  strong  influence  on  the 
minds  of  the  Irish  army,  and  they,  while  yielding  to  tlieir  su|jersti- 
tious  fears,  caUed  urgently  on  Prince  Laoghaire,  the  son  of  Nial  the 
Great,  who  succeeded  to  the  chief  command,  to  return  home  to  Ire- 
land. This  prince,  aspiring  to  the  throne  of  his  father,  complied 
with  their  request,  and  retraced  his  steps  to  the  coast  of  France, 
bringing  with  him,  in  a  superb  funeral  car,  the  embalmed  body  of 
his  ujicle.  Ring  Dathy.  When  the  prince  and  his  army  reached  the 
shores  of  Ireland,  he  was  met,  immediately  after  his  landing,  by  the 
Druids,  representatives  of  the  people,  and  the  provincial  chiefs,  to 
salute  him  monarch,  and  to  join  in  the  funeral  procession  of  the  de- 
ceased king,  to  '■'■  Rolig  na  Riogli,'"  or  the  cemetery  of  kings,  in  the 
county  of  Roscommon.  • 

The  fame  of  the  Irish  arms  in  Gaul  extended  to  Rome,  where  it 
created  alarm  and  admiration.  Pope  Celestine,  wisliing  to  rescue  a 
people  so  valiant  as  the  Irish  had  proved  themselves  to  be,  by  their 

*  •'  The  alliances  of  the  Irish  and  Anglo  Saxons  are  clearly  attested  by  Bedo  and 
Camden.  Whitaker  and  Pinkerton  prove  sufiiciently  fhe  conquest  of  Britain  by 
tlie  Irish  and  Dalriada,  under  Nial  and  Dathy.  The  Irish  assisted  the  Arnioricans 
to  throw  off  the  3'oke  of  the  Romans.  Zozimus,  in  his  history  of  the  Roman  em- 
pire, strengthens  the  credit  of  the  Irish  historians  by  his  statements,  in  part  of 
which  he  says,  "  The  maritime  and  other  provinces  of  Gaul,  intending  to  free  them- 
selves from  the  Roman  yoke,  expelled  their  governors  and  garrisons."  The  time 
that  the  Armoricans  (i.  e.  the  people  of  Flanders  and  Normandy)  united  in  the 
grand  confederacy  against  Rome,  must  have  happened  in  the  reign  of  the  great 
Nial  of  the  nine  hostajres." — O'Flaherty. 


270 

exploits,  sent  Saint  Pallatlius  as  a  missionary  to  Ireland.  Tlie  holy 
man  landed  at  Dror^hcda,  with  a  few  disciples,  where  he  built  two 
churches.  After  having  finished  these  edifices,  he  proceeded  to 
Slane,*  a  distance  of  six  miles  north  of  Drogheda,  where  he  began 
to  build  another ;  but  before  the  structure  was  completed,  he  was 
arrested  by  the  Pagan  king  of  Meath,  and  thrown  by  order  of  the 
Druids,  into  a  dungeon.  When  the  saint  was  summoned  before  the 
prince  and  a  convocation  of  Druids,  he  defended  his  creed  and  pur- 
pose with  such  moving  eloquence,  that  the  Queen  of  Meath  enlisted 
her  sympathies  in  his  behalf,  and  persuaded  the  prince,  lier  husband, 
in  contravention  of  the  decision  of  the  Druids,  to  spare  his  life,  and 
permit  him  to  depart  from  the  country.  "There  is  no  doubt,"  ob- 
serves Dr.  Warner,  "  that  several  of  the  learned  Irish  had  received 
the  Christian  faith,  even  before  the  mission  of  St.  Palladius,  as  tliere 
were  four  bishops  in  Ireland  who  preaclied  the  gospel,  and  made 
many  converts  to  Christ.  These  are  canonized  by  their  biographers 
under  the  names  of  St.  Albe,  Declan,  Iber,  and  Kieran,  the  bishop 
of  Duleek,  in  the  county  of  Meath."  That  we  had  a  knowledge  of 
the  pure  and  revivifying  religion  of  Christ  before  the  time  of  St. 
Palladius  had  been  proved  by  Bishop  Usher ;  and,  if  his  authority 
were  not  sutlicient,  we  might  adduce,  in  corroboration,  the  evidence 
of  Prosper,  who  says,  "  Palladius  was  sent  to  the  Irish  believing  in 
Christ." 

The  Scottish  writers,  and  theirs  were  surely  the  "unkindest  stab 
of  all,"  a  parricidal  attack  on  the  reputation  of  the  venerable  mother 
of  Albany,  have  endeavored  to  prove,  that  we  were  as  sunk  in 
heathen  barbarism,  on  the  arrival  of  St.  Patrick,  as  our  St.  Columba 
found  themselves,  in  the  sixth  centui'y,  when,  to  use  the  emphatic 
language  of  the  great  "colossus  of  literature,"  they  were  "roving 
bands  and  fierce  barbarians."  But  this  assertion  is  no  longer  main- 
tained;  as  the  Macphersonian  bubble  of  imposition  has  been  bursted 
by  the  Scottish  breath  of  historical  candour  and  impartiality.  In 
the  biography  of  St.  Patrick,  which  will  occupy  our  next  chapter, 
we  shall,  we  hope,  demonstrate,  that  he  brought  us,  from  Rome, 
(for  the  Caledonians  have  no  more  claim  to  the  honor  of  giving  him 
birth,  than  they  have  to  the  arrogant  assumption  of  Ossian  being 
their  countryman,)  neither  literature  nor  science. 

Dr.  Warner,  who  was  a  fair  and  liberal  historian,  except  where 
religious  bigotry  perverted  his  judgment,  in  relation  to  the  mission 
of  St.  Palladiust  observes,  "he  was  the  first  bishop  sent  from  Rome 

*  The  town  of  Slane,  beautifully  situated  on  the  banks  of  the  river  Boyne,at  the 
distance  of  thirty-eight  English  miles  from  Dublin,  is  rich  in  antiquities,  and  famed 
in  Irish  history.  St.  Patrick  finished  the  church  which  Palladius  had  begun, 
and  consecrated  St.  Eric,  wlio  died  in  514,  the  first  bisliop  of  Slane.  From  this 
era,  until  1 153,  there  were  six  bishop's  sees  in  Meath,  namely,  Duleek,  Kells,  Trim, 
Ardbrackan,  Dunshaughlin,  and  Slane.  But  it  is  in  our  topography  of  Meath  we 
shall  give  a  succinct  account  of  these  sees.  The  Baron  of  Slane,  Christopher 
Fiemming,  built  a  magnificent  abbey  on  the  site  of  St.  Eric's  Church,  A.  D.  1512. 
The  present  Marquis  of  Conyngham  occupies  a  magnificent  castle  here,  on  the 
banks  of  the  Boyne,  which  was  visited  by  George  IV.,  in  1822. 

t  "  After  Palladius  had  left  Ireland,  he  arrived  among  the  Jllhanian  Scots.  He 
preached  there  with  great  zeal,  and  formed  a  considerable  church.  Palladius  was 
the  first  bishop  in  that  country,  as  the  Irish  royal  saint  Columba  was  the  first  apostle 


271 

to  Ireland  ;  but  the  Irish  annalists  assert,  that  they  had  their  own 
bish<t|)s  and  njiiii^^ters,  elected  by  the  sutlVages  of  the  people,  before 
his  coniinii;."  The  fait  is,  that  the  en!ii>htened  tnind  of  king  Cormac 
kindled  that  s|)ark  of  Christianity  in  Ireland,  whicli  St.  Patrick  sub- 
sequently fannetl  into  a  meridian  blaze,  that  dispelled  the  darkness 
of  Druidical  superstition. 

From  the  reign  of  Coimac  O'Con,  down  to  the  epoch  of  which 
we  are  writing,  the  Druids  progressively  lost  ground  in  the  estimation 
of  the  people,  who,  no  longer  looking  u|)on  them  as  the  delegated 
ministers  of  heaven,  began  now  to  free  their  minds  from  the  tram- 
mels of  superstition,  and  to  regard  these  rehgions  dictators  with 
feelings  of  sovereign  contempt.  On  the  arrival  of  St.  Patrick,  the 
spell  which  they  had  so  long  exercised  over  the  Irish  mind  was  dis- 
solved, and  their  ascendency  became  so  impotent,  that  they  were 
but  the  mere  relics  of  their  pristine  power,  and  at  once  incapable 
of  inspiring  fear  or  impressing  reverence. 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 


The  state  of  Religion,  Literature,  and  the  Jrts  in  Ireland  at  the  accession  of  Laoghaire^ 
A.  D.  426. — A  Biographical  Sketch  of  Saint  Patrick. 

The  introduction  of  Christianity  into  Ireland,  and  the  extinction 
of  the  sublime,  though  superstitions  system  of  the  Druids,  constitute 
a  signal  epoch  in  our  history.  This  memorable  reformation  in  the 
religion  of  Ireland,  or  rather  the  emission  of  the  Irish  mind  from  the 
darkness  of  error  to  the  light  of  truth,  gave  birth  to  impulsive  conse- 
quences that  deeply  affected  the  morals,  character,  and  politics  of 
succeeding  ages. 

"  The  period  of  Irish  history,"  writes  Moore,  "  on  which  we  are 
now  about  to  enter,  and  of  which  the  mission  of  St.  Patrick  forms 
the  principal  feature,  will  be  found  to  exhibit,  perhaps,  as  singular 
and  striking  a  moral  spectacle  as  any  the  course  of  human  affairs 
ever  yet  presented.  A  community  of  fierce  and  proud  tribes,  for 
ever  warring  among  themselves,  and  wholly  secluded  from  all  the 
rest  of  the  world,  with  an  ancient  hierarchy  entrenched  in  its  own 
venerable  superstitions,  and  safe  from  the  weakening  infusion  of  the 
creeds  of  Greece  or  Rome,  woidd  seem  to  present  as  dark  and  in- 
tractal)le  materials  for   the  formation  of  a   Christian   people  as  any 

who  converted  till  the  Caledonians  to  the  creed  of  Christ.  St.  Palladlns  died  A. 
D.  4(5:^,  at  Fordun,  a  little  town  within  fifteen  miles  of  Aberdeen." — Molloy's  Irish 
Miscellanies. 

"  His  relics  were  preserved  with  religious  respect,  in  the  monastery  of  Fordun, 
as  Hector  Boetius  and  Camden  testify.  In  the  year  1409,  William  Sccne.s,  Arch- 
bishop of  St  Andrew's,  and  Primate  of  all  Scotland,  enclosed  them  in  a  nevv  shrine, 
enriched  with  ofold  and  precions  stones.  lie  was  a  Roman  of  noble  birth,  and  a 
bosom  friend  of  Pope  Celestine,  who  sent  him  to  Ireland.  His  festival  is  marked 
on  the  sixth  of  July,  in  the  breviary  of  Aberdeen." — Butler's  Saints. 


that  could  be  conceived.  The  result  proves,  however,  the  uncer- 
tainty of  such  calculations  upon  national  character,  while  it  afl'ords 
an  exam|)!e  of  that  ready  pliancy,  that  facility  in  yieldin*;;  to  new 
impulses  and  influences,  which,  in  the  Irish  character,  is  found  so 
remarkahly  couihined  with  a  fond  adhcrance  to  old  usages  and  cus- 
toms, and  will)  that  sort  of  retrospective  imagination  which  for  ever 
yearns  after  the  past. 

"  While,  in  all  oilier  countries,  the  introduction  of  Christianity  has 
been  the  slow  work  of  time,  has  been  resisted  by  either  jrovernment 
or  people,  and  seldom  aftected  without  a  lavish  effusion  of  blood,  in 
Ireland,  on  the  contrary,  by  the  influence  of  one  humble  but  zealous 
missionary,  and  with  but  little  previous  preparation  of  the  soil  by 
other  hands,  Christianity  burst  forth,  at  the  first  ray  of  apostolic 
light,  and,  with  the  sudden  ripeness  of  a  northern  summer,  at  once 
covered  the  whole  land.  Kinj^s  and  princes,  when  not  themselves 
among  the  ranks  of  the  converted,  saw  their  sons  and  daughters 
joiiiing  in  the  train  without  a  murmur.  Chiefs,  at  variance  in  all 
else,  agreed  in  meeting  beneath  the  Christian  banner;  and  the  proud 
Druid  and  Bard  laid  their  superstitions  meekly  at  the  foot  of  the 
cross;  nor,  by  a  singular  blessing  of  Providence — unexampled,  in- 
deed, in  the  whole  history  of  the  church — was  there  a  single  drop  of 
blood  shed,  on  account  of  religion,  through  the  entire  course  of  this 
mild  Christian  revolution,  by  which,  in  the  space  of  a  few  years,  all 
Ireland  was  brought  tranquilly  under  the  dominion  of  the  Gospel.* 

"  By  no  methods  less  gentle  and  skilful  than  those  which  her  great 
Apostle  employed,  could  a  triumph  so  honorable,  as  well  to  himself 
as  to  his  nation  of  willing  converts,  have  been  acconi|)lished.  Land- 
ing alone,  or  with  but  a  few  humble  followers,  on  their  shores,  the 
circumstances  attending  his  first  appearance  (of  which  a  detailed 
account  shall  presently  be  given)  were  of  a  nature  strongly  to  afiect 
the  minds  of  a  people  of  lively  and  religious  imaginations;  and  the 
flame,  once  caught,  found  fuel  in  the  very  superstitions  and  abuses 
which  it  came  to  consume.  Had  any  attempt  been  made  to  assail, 
or  rudely  alter,  the  ancient  ceremonies  and  symbols  of  their  faith, 
all  that  prejudice  in  favour  of  old  institutions,  which  is  so  inherent 
in  the  nation,  would  at  once  have  rallied  around  their  primitive 
creed;  and  the  result  would,  of  course,  have  been  wholly  diflcrent. 
But  the  same  policy  by  which  Christianity  did  not  disdain  to  win 
her  way  in  more  polished  countries,  was  adopted  by  the  first  mis- 
sionaries in  Ireland;  and  the  outward  forms  of  past  error  became 
the  vehicle   through   which   new   and   vital   truths   were  conveyed.t 

*  Giraldus  C.inibrensis  has  been  guilty  of  either  tlie  bigotry  or  the  stupidity  of 
addacinw  this  bloodless  triumph  of  Christianity  anionfr  the  Irish,  as  a  charge  against 
that  people; — "  Pro  Christi  ecclesia  corona  inart3'ri  nulla.  Non  ioiiur  inventus 
est  in  partibus  istis,  qui  ecclesite  surgentis  fundanienta  sano-uinis  cfl'usione  cemen- 
taret:  non  fuit  qui  facerit  hoc  bonuni ;  non  fiiit  useque  ad  ununi." — Topog.  Hib. 
dist.  iii.  cap.  21>. 

t  The  very  same  policj'  vras  recommended  by  Pope  Gregory  to  Augustine  and 
his  fellow-labourers  in  England.  See  his  letter  to  the  Abbot  Mellitus,  in  Bede, 
(lib.  i.  c.  30.)  where  he  suggests  that  the  temples  of  the  idols  in  that  nation  ought 
not  to  be  destroyed.  "  Let  the  idols  that  are  in  them,"  lie  says,  "  be  destroyed; 
let  holy  water  be  made,  and  sprinkled  in  the  said  temples;  let  altars  be  erected, 
and  relics  placed.     For  if  those  temples  are  well  built,  it  is  requisite  that  they  be 


273 

The  days  devoted,  from  old  times,  to  Pagan  festivals,  were  now 
transferred  to  tlie  service  of  the  Christian  cause.  The  feast  of  Sam- 
hiii,  which  had  heeu  held  annually  at  the  time  of  the  vernal  equinox, 
was  found  opportunely  to  coincide  witii  the  celehration  of  Easter; 
and  the  fires  ligiited  uj)  hy  the  Pagan  Irish,  to  welcome  the  summer 
solstice,  were  continued  afterwards,  and  even  down  to  the  present 
day,  in  honour  of  the  eve  of  St.  John. 

"At  every  step,  indeed,  the  transition  to  a  new  futh  was  smoothed 
by  such  coincidences  or  adoptions.  The  convert  saw  in  the  baptis- 
mal font,  wliere  he  was  immersed,  the  sacred  well  at  which  his 
fathers  had  worshipped.  The  Druidical  stone  on  the  "high  ])laces" 
bore,  rudely  graved  upon  it,  the  name  of  the  Redeemer;  and  it  was 
in  general  hy  the  side  of  those  ancient  pillar  towers — whose  origin 
was  even  then,  perhaps,  a  mystery — that,  in  order  to  share  in  the 
solemn  feelings  whicii  they  inspired,  the  Christian  temples  arose. 
With  the  same  view,  the  Sacred  Grove  was  anew  consecrated  to 
religion,  and  the  word  Dair,  or  oak,  so  often  combined  witli  the 
names  of  cimrches  in  Ireland,  sufficiently  marks  the  favourite  haunts 
of  the  idolatry  wiiich  they  superseded.*  In  some  instances,  the  ac- 
customed objects  of  former  worship  were  associated,  even  more  in- 
timately, with  the  new  faith  ;  and  the  order  of  Druidesses,  as  well 
as  tlie  idolatry  which  they  jiractised,  seemed  to  be  revived,  or  rather 
continued,  by  the  Nuns  of  St.  Bridget,  in  their  inextinguishable  fire 
and  miraculous  oak  at  Kildare.t 

"To  what  extent  Christianity  had  spread,  in  Ireland,  before  the 

converted  from  the  worship  of  devils  to  the  service  of  the  true  God ;  that  the  na- 
tion, not  seeing-  those  temples  destroyed,  may  remove  error  from  their  hearts,  and 
knowing  and  adoring  the  true  God,  ma}'  more  willingly  resort  to  the  same  places 
they  were  wont  ....  For  there  is  no  doubt  but  that  it  is  impossible  to  retrench  all 
at  once  from  obdurate  minds,  because  he  who  endeavours  to  ascend  the  highest 
place,  rises  by  degrees  or  steps,  and  not  by  leaps."  See  Hume's  remarks  on  this 
policy  of  the  first  missionaries,  vol.  i.  chap.  1. 

With  similar  views,  the  early  ('hristians  selected,  in  general,  for  the  festivals 
of  their  church,  such  days  as  had  become  hallowed  to  the  Pagans  by  the  celebra- 
tion of  some  of  tlieir  religious  solemnities. 

*  Thus  Dairmagh,  now  called  Durrogh,  in  tlie  King's  county,  once  the  site  of  a 
celebrated  monastery,  signifies  the  Oak  Grove  of  the  Plain,  or  the  Plain  of  the 
Oaks.  The  name  of  the  ancient  monastery,  Doire-Calgaich,  from  whence  the 
city  of  Derry  was  designated,  recalls  the  memory  of  the  Hill  of  Oaks,  on  which  it 
was  originally  erected  ;  and  the  chosen  seat  of  St.  Bridget,  Kildare,  was  but  the 
Druid's  Cell  of  Oaks  converted  into  a  Christian  temple. 

t  See  Giraldns,  Topog.  Hibern.  dist.  ii.  cap.  34,  35,  30.  48.  The  Tales  of  Giral- 
dus,  on  tliis  subject,  are  thus  rendered  by  a  learned  but  fanciful\vriter,  the  author 
of  Ninirod  : — "  St.  Bridget  is  certainly  no  other  than  Vesta,  or  the  deity  of  the  fire- 
worshippers  in  a  female  form.  The  fire  of  St.  Bridget  was  originally  in  the  keep- 
ing of  nine  virgins  ;  but  in  the  time  of  Giraldus  Cambrensis  there  were  twenty,  who 
used  to  watch  alternate  nights ;  but  on  tiie  twentieth  night,  the  man  whose  turn  it 
was  merely  to  throw  on  the  wood,  crying,  "  Bridget,  watch  thine  own  fire!" — in 
the  morning  the  wood  was  found  consumed,  but  the  fire  unextinguished.  Nor, 
indeed,  (saith  Giraldus)  hath  it  ever  been  extinguished  duiing  so  many  ages  since 
that  virgin's  time  ;  nor,  with  such  piles  of  fuel  as  have  been  there  consumed,  did 
it  ever  leave  ashes.  The  fire  was  surrounded  by  a  fence,  of  form  circular,  like 
Vesta's  temple — '  Virgeo  orbiculari  sepe.' — which  no  male  creature  could  enter, 
and  escape  divine  vengeance.  An  archer  of  the  household  of  Count  Richard 
jumped  over  St.  Bridget's  fence,  and  went  mad ;  and  he  would  blow  in  the  face  of 
whoever  he  met,  saying,  '  Thus  did  I  blow  St.  Bridget's  fire!'  Another  man  put 
his  leg  through  a  gap  in  the  fence,  and  was  withered  up." — Vol.  ii. 

35 


274 

mission  of  St.  Patrick,  there  are  no  very  accurate  means  of  judging. 
The  boast  of  TertuUian,  that,  in  his  time,  a  knowledge  of  the  Chris- 
tian faith  had  reached  those  parts  of  the  British  isles  yet  unap- 
proached  by  the  Romans,  is  supposed  to  imply  as  well  Ireland  as 
the  northern  regions  of  Britain;*  nor  are  there  wanting  writers, 
who,  placing  reliance  on  the  assertion  of  Eusebius,  that  some  of  the 
apostles  preached  the  Gospel  in  the  British  isles,  suppose  St.  James 
the  elder  to  have  been  the  promulgator  of  the  faith  among  the  Irish,t 
— just  as  St.  Paul,  on  the  same  hypothesis,  is  said  to  have  communi- 
cated it  to  the  Britons. 

"But  though  unfurnished  with  any  direct  evidence  as  to  the  reli- 
gious state  of  the  Irish  in  their  own  country,  we  have  a  proof  how- 
early  they  began  to  distinguish  themselves,  on  the  continent,  as 
Christian  scholars  and  writers,  in  the  persons  of  Pelagius,  the  emi- 
nent heresiarch,  and  his  able  disciple  Celestius.  That  the  latter 
was  a  Scot,  or  native  of  Ireland,  is  almost  universally  admitted  ;  but 
of  Pelagius  it  is,  in  general,  asserted  that  he  was  a  Briton,  and  a 
monk  of  Bangor  in  Wales.  There  appears  little  doubt,  however, 
that  this  statement  is  erroneous,  and  that  the  monastery  to  which  he 
belonged  was  that  of  Bangor,  or  rather  Banchor,  near  Carrickfergus. 
Two  of  the  most  learned,  indeed,  of  all  the  writers  respecting  the 
heresy  which  bears  his  name,  admit  Pelagius,  no  less  than  his  dis- 
ciple, to  have  been  a  native  of  Ireland. | 

"By  few  of  the  early  Christian  heresiarchs  was  so  deep  an  impres- 
sion made  on  their  own  times,  or  such  abundant  fuel  for  controversy 
bequeathed  to  the  future,  as  by  this  remarkable  man,  Pelagius,  whose 
opinions  had  armed  against  him  all  the  most  powerful  theologians 
of  his  day,  and  who  yet  extorted,  even  from  his  adversaries,  the 
praise  of  integrity  and  talent.  The  very  bitterness  with  which  St. 
Jerome  attacks  him,  but  shows  how  deeply  he  felt  his  power  ;§  while 
the  eulogies  so  honourably  bestowed  upon  him  by  his  great  oppo- 
nent, St.  Augustine,  will  always  be  referred  to  by  the  lovers  of  tole- 
rance, as  a  rare  instance  of  that  spirit  of  fairness  and  liberality  by 
which  the  warfare  of  religious  controversy  may  be  softened. |1 

*  Britannorura  inaccessa  Romanis  loca,  Christo  vero  subdita. — Lib.  adv.  Judaos, 
cap.  7. 

t  See  the  authorities  collected  on  this  point  by  Usher,  Eccles.  Priniord.  chap.  i. 
xvi.  Vincent  de  Beauvais  thus  asserts  it: — "  Nutu  Dei  Jacobus  HiberniEB  oris 
appulsus  verbum  Dei  prsedicavit  intrepidus,  ubi  septem  discipulos  eligisse  fertur." 
— Speculum  Hlstoria! c ,  lib.  viii.  c.  7.  It  lias  been  well  conjectured  bj'  Usher  that 
this  story  has  arisen  from  a  confusion  of  Hibernia  with  Hiberia;  the  latter  being 
one  of  the  names  of  Spain,  which  country  St.  James  is  said  to  have  visited. 

X  Garnier,  in  his  Dissert,  upon  Pelagianism,  and  Vossius,  in  his  Ilistor.  Pelag. 
The  latter  says  : — "  Pelagius  professione  monachus,  natione  non  Gallus  Brito,  ut 
Danffius  putavit ;  nee  Anglo-Britannus,  ut  scripsit  Balseus,  sed  Scotus." — Lib.  i. 
cap.  3. 

§  Among  other  reflections  on  the  country  of  Pelagius,  St.  Jerome  throws  in  his 
teeth  the  Irish  flummery  : — "  Nee  recordatur  stolidissimus  et  Scotorum  pultibus 
prsEgravatus." — In  Hicrcm.  Pr  af a  t.  Vih.  i.  Upon  this,  Vossius  remarks  : — "Nam 
per  Scotorum  pultibus  prccgravatum,  non  alium  intelligit  quam  Pelagium  natione 
Scotum." — Lib.  i.  cap.  3. 

II  The  following  are  a  few  of  the  passages,  in  which  this  praise,  so  creditable  to 
both  parties,  is  conveyed  : — "  Pelagii,  viri,  ut  audio,  sanctit  et  non  parvo  profectu 
Chrisliani." -^De  Peccat.meritis  ac  remiss,  lib.  iii.  cap.  1. — "  Eum  qui  noverunt 


275 

"The  rank  of  Celestius,  in  public  repute,  though  subordinate,  of 
course,  to  that  of  his  master,  was  not,  in  its  way,  less  distinguished. 
So  high  was  the  popular  estimate  of  his  talents,  that  most  of  the 
writings  circulated  under  the  name  of  Pelagius,  were  supposed  to 
have  been  in  reality  the  production  of  his  disciple's  pen.  We  are 
told  by  St.  Augustine,  indeed,  that  many  of  the  followers  of  the 
heresy  chose  to  style  themselves,  of  the  latter,  Celestians;  and  St. 
Jerome,  in  one  of  his  paroxysms  of  vituperation,  goes  so  far  as  to 
call  him  "the  leader  of  the  whole  Pelagian  army."* 

"  "While  yet  a  youth,  and  before  he  had  adopted  the  Pelagian  doc- 
trines, Celestius  had  passed  some  time  in  a  monastery  on  the  conti- 
nent, supposed  to  have  been  that  of  St.  Martin  of  Tours,  and  from 
thence  (A.  D.  3G9)  addressed  to  his  parents,  in  Ireland,  three  letters, 
"in  the  form,"  as  we  are  told,  "of  little  books,"  and  full  of  such 
piety,  "as  to  make  them  necessary  to  all  who  love  God."  Among 
his  extant  works  there  is  mentioned  an  epistle  "On  the  Knowledge 
of  Divine  Law;"  which,  by  some,  is  conjectured  to  have  been  one 
of  those  letters  addressed  by  him  to  his  parents. t  But  Vossius  has 
shown,  from  internal  evidence,  that  this  could  not  have  been  the 
case;  the  epistle  in  question  being,  as  he  says,  manifestly  tinged 
with  Pelagianism,  and  tliereforc  to  be  referred  to  a  later  date.  The 
fact  of  Celestius  thus  sending  letters  to  Ireland,  with  an  implied 
persuasion,  of  course,  that  they  would  be  read,  affords  one  of  those 
incidental  proofs  of  the  art  of  writing  being  then  known  to  the  Irish, 
which,  combining  with  other  evidence  more  direct,  can  leave  but 
little  doubt  upon  the  subject.  A  country  that  could  produce,  indeed, 
before  the  middle  of  the  fourth  century,  two  such  able  and  distin- 
guished men  as  Pelagius  and  Celestius,  could  hardly  have  been  a 
novice,  at  that  time,  in  civilization,  however  secluded  from  the  rest 
of  Europe  she  had  hitherto  remained. 

"  From  some  phrases  of  St.  Jerome,  in  one  of  his  abusive  attacks 
on  Pelagius,  importing  that  the  heresy  professed  by  the  latter  was 
common  to  others  of  his  countrymen,  it  has  been  fairly  concluded 
that  the  opinions  in  question  were  not  confined  to  these  two  Irish- 
men ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  had  even  spread  to  some  extent  among 
that  people.  It  is,  indeed,  probable,  that  whatever  Christians  Ireland 
could  boast  at  this  period,  were  mostly  followers  of  the  peculiar 
tenets  of  their  two  celebrated  countrymen  ;  and  the  fact  that  Pela- 
gianism had,  at  some  early  period,  found  its  way  into  this  country,  is 
proved  by  a  letter  from  the  Roman  clergy  to  those  of  Ireland,  in  the 

loquuntur  bonum  ac  praedicandum  virum." — lb.  cap.  3.     And  again,  "  Virille  tarn 
egregie  Chrislianus." 

*  "  Pelagii  licet  discipulum  tamen  magistrum  et  ductorcm  exercitus." — Epist. 
ad  Ctesiphont. 

t  "  Ca;lestius  antequara  dogma  Pclagianum  incurrerct,  imo  adhuc  adolescens 
scripsit  ad  parentos  suos  de  monasterio  epistolas  in  iiiodum  libellorum  tres,  omni 
Deum  desidcranti  ncccssarias." — Gcnnadius,  Calal.  lUiisl.  fir.  By  Dr.  O'Connor,  _ 
this  passage  of  Gcnnadius  has  been  rather  unaccountably  brought  forward,  in  proof 
of  the  early  introduction  of  monastic  institutions  into  Ireland.  '•  Monachorum 
instituta  loto  fere  stpculo  ante  S.  Patricii  adventuni,  invecta  fuisse  in  IJiberniam 
patet  ex  supra  allatis  de  C.flestio,  qui  ab  ipsa  adolesecntia  monasterio  se  dicavit, 
ut  scribit  Genadius."  But  the  mere  fact  of  the  Irishman  Celestius  having  been  in 
a  monastery  on  the  continent,  is  assuredly  no  ])roof  of  the  introduction  of  monastic 
establishments  into  Ireland." — Sec  Prol.  i.  Ixxviii. 


270 

year  640,  wherein,  adverting  to  some  indications  of  a  growth  of 
heresy,  at  that  time,  they  pronounce  it  to  be  a  revival  of  the  old 
Pelagian  virus."* 

With  the  progressive  establishment  of  the  religion  of  peace,  we 
behold  a  nation  of  warriors  who  considered  heroism  the  most  enno- 
bling virtue,  the  distinguishing  attribute  of  high  Milesian  birth,  illu- 
minated by  the  light  of  divine  revelation,  and  softened  and  refined 
by  the  spirit  of  Christian  mildness  and  forbearance,  become  a  nation 
of  sanctity,  their  country  the  asylum  of  saintly  sages  and  hermits. 
In  future  we  shall  behold  the  proud  and  chivalrous  knights  of  the 
red-branch  throwing  aside  their  coats  of  mail,  and  assuming  the 
more  inpenetrable  armour  of  Christian  fortitude.  The  forthcoming 
chapters  of  this  history,  if  God  shall  spare  us  life  to  write  tliem,  will 
present  the  tumultuous  spirit  of  military  ardour,  chastened  by  the 
pure  flame  of  religion,  subside  into  the  meek  effusions  of  universal 
charity  and  affable  amenity.  The  religion  of  our  Pagan  ancestors 
seemed  to  be  formed  to  raise  the  mind  to  the  loftiest  pinnacle  of 
warlike  enthusiasm  ;  and,  therefore,  to  be  more  hostile  to  that  spirit 
of  humility  so  strongly  inculcated  by  the  benign  ])recepts  of  the  gos- 
pel. Such  of  our  readers  as  have  attentively  read  the  preceding 
chapters  of  this  history,  must  have  observed,  that  pride  of  ancestry 
was  the  ruling  and  predominating  passion  of  the  Milesian  race. 
This  pride,  which  gave  a  tone  to  their  feelings  and  a  bias  to  their 
prejudices,  may  be  justly  considered  the  political  hinge  on  which 
their  entire  system  of  civil  polity  turned:  it  influenced  the  general 
councils  of  the  state,  it  roused  to  arms  the  slumbering  martial  chiefs, 
and  their  devoted  vassals,  and  insidiously  whispered  to  each,  that 
the  monarchy  of  Ireland  was  to  crown  the  success  of  his  military 
achievements;  nor  could  it  be  wrested  from  them  by  the  iron  grasp 
of  foreign  dominion,  nor  by  the  withering  influence  of  political  sla- 
very. It  attended  them  through  every  period  of  their  history  ;  it 
clings  still  tenaciously  to  their  feelings,  and  it  glows  in  the  bosom 
of  the  poorest  peasant  in  our  country  at  the  present  day,  with  as 
much  warmth,  and  with  as  ardent  an  enthusiasm  as  it  did  before  the 
English  treacherously  trammelled  us  in  the  harness  of  despotism, 
and  broke  the  sceptre  of  our  ancient  kings.  The  Irish  have  ever 
proved  themselves  the  champions  of  liberty,  and  in  every  foreign 
battle-field  where  democratic  freedom  was  the  prize  of  victory,  their 
valour  has  shone  in  the  full  refulgence  of  heroism  ;  but  that  they 
could  submit  to  a  republican  form  of  government,  in  their  own  coun- 
try, beside  the  tombs  of  their  ancestors  and  the  ruined  palaces  of 
their  princes,  even  if  Daniel  O'Connell  were  its  head,  is  a  chimer- 
ical supposition  that  no  one  acquainted  with  their  history,  habits, 
and  notions,  can  for  a  moment  entertain.  There  is  no  people  in 
Europe  so  proud  of  exalted  ancestry  and  the  chivalrous  exploits  of 
their  Milesian  forefathers  as  the  Irish. 

All  our  historians  assert,  that  at  the  period  of  Laoghaire's  succes- 
sion to  the  throne  of  Ireland,  literature  and  the  arts  were  carried  to 
the  acme  of  cultivation.     The  Irish  Druids  were  such  proficients  in 

*  Et  hoc  quoque  cognovimus,  quod  virus  Pelagianas  lifcreseos  apud  vos  denuo 
reviviscit. 


277 

poetry,  philosophy,  and  theology,  that  the  Britons  and  Alhanians,  as 
Toland,  Whitaker,  and  Llhuyd  assert,  became  their  pupils.*  We 
had  giimtneriiigs  of  religion  too  before  tiie  mission  of  St.  Patrick; 
for  St.  Dima  founded  a  Cliristian  church  at  Adair,  in  the  county  of 
Limerick,  A.  D.  42:3,  and  about  the  same  era  his  contemporaries. 
Saints  Rieran,  Declan,  Reenan,  and  Albe,  erected  churches  at 
Emely,  Duleek,  and  Begeri.t  "Prior,"  says  Colgan,  "to  tiie  death 
of  Dathy,  in  Italy,  the  learned  Ibarus  founded  an  academy  at  Wex- 
ford, where  he  instructed  great  numbers  of  the  natives,  as  well  as 
foreigners,  in  sacred  and  polite  letters." 

We  can,  moreover,  adduce  many  respectable  authorities  to  sup- 
port us  in  the  opinion,  that  the  gospel  of  Christ  was  preached  at  a 
very  early  period  in  our  country.  Bishop  Usher  and  the  learned 
Brudinus  inform  us,  that  Man  Suctus,  the  first  bishop  and  patron  of 
Toul,  wlio  was  canonized  by  Leo  IX.  was  an  Irishman.  In  the 
reign  of  Con,  in  the  second  century,  St.  Cathaldas,  an  Irishman, 
preached  the  faith  in  Italy,  and  was  bishop  and  patron  of  Tarentum, 
and  we  have  already  related,  that  in  the  succeeding  age,  the  renown- 
ed Ring  Corniac  O'Con  became  a  convert  to  the  Christian  dispen- 
sation. O'Flaherty  states,  that  the  poet  laureate  of  Nial  the  great, 
Turna  Eigis,  who  is  so  celebrated  in  our  annals  for  poetic  jiowers 
and  knowledge  of  languages,  became  a  devoted  proselyte  to  the 
creed  of  Christ,  in  consecpience  of  his  having  read  the  Greek  homilies 
of  St.  Ambrose,  Bishop  of  Milan. 

But  whatever  progress  Christianity  had  made,  previous  to  the 
landing  of  our  great  apostle,  the  conversion  of  the  entire  kingdom 
was  the  glorious  labour  that  must  ever  immortalize  his  name  in  the 
reverence  of  Irishmen. 

It  might  be  said  of  him,  that,  likeJIomer,  seven  cities  contended 
for  the  honour  of  having  given  him  birth,  and  only  two  of  his  nume- 
rous biographers  (Colgan  and  the  late  erudite  Dr.  Lanagan,  the 
profound  author  of  the  Ecclesiastical  History  of  Ireland)  have 
agreed  in  deciding  on  the  place  of  his  nativity.  Some  of  these  wri- 
ters maintain  that  he  was  a  native  of  Ireland,  others  argue,  very 
learnedly,  that  it  was  in  Scotland,  that  saint  and  poet-claiming  na- 
tion, the  apostle  of  Ireland  first  respired  the  mountain  air,  while 
more  antiquarians,  among  whom  were  Jocelyn,  Bishop  Usher,  Bede, 
and  St.  Gildas,  have  endeavored  "to  give  a  local  habitation  and  a 
name"  to  the  place  of  his  birth,  by  fixing  on  St.  David's,  in  Wales. 

*At  this  era  the  Irish  were  the  most  enlightened  cultivators  of  letters  in  Europe, 
and  so  great  was  the  respect  in  which  their  learning  was  held  by  the  Saxons  and 
north  Britons,  that  the  Druids  of  these  countries,  for  ages,  were  initiated  by  the 
Irish  Druids.  "Vide.  TolaniVs  Hist,  of  the  British  Druids.  "  St.  Patrick  found  the 
Irish  Druids  who  contended  with  him  at  Tara  eminently  versed  in  Grecian  litera- 
ture and  astronomy." — Camues.  "  In  the  reign  of  the  celebrated  monarch  Nial, 
the  arch-Druid  of  Ireland  was  acknowledged  the  sovereign  pontiff  of  the  order, 
by  the  Druids  of  Gaul,  Britain,  and  Scotland." — Whitaker.  "  Saint  Patrick  cer- 
tainly brouglit  no  accession  of  literature  to  the  Irish,  as  their  Druids  were  then  the 
most  learned  body  of  men  in  Europe,  and  stood  unrivalled  in  the  cultivation  of 
letters." — Bishop  Snir.iNGFi.EET. 

+  Begeri  is  a  pretty  little  island,  situated  near  the  coast  of  Wexford,  where  St. 
Ibarus,  in  A.  D.  42,  founded  a  monastery  and  school.  The  Saint  died  on  the  23d 
April,  in  the  year  500. 


278 

But  we  tliink  that  Dr.  Lanagan  has  settled  the  question,  and  proved 
to  a  conviction,  which  has  stajrgered  incredulity,  that  our  apostle 
was  horn  in  the  city  of  Tours,  in  France,  whence  he  and  his  sisters 
were  carried  cajitives  to  jlreland,  as  we  have  already  narrated,  by 
kincr  Nial,  of  the  nine  hostages.  His  father's  name  was  Calphurn, 
and  his  mother,  who  was  the  sister  of  St.  Martin,  bishop  of  Turin, 
and  a  woman  of  sinj^ular  beauty,  was  called  Conchcssa. 

"The  famous  anti(juarian  O'Sullivan,  in  his  biography  of  St.  Pat- 
rick," observes  the  acute  and  classical  Lanagan,  quotes  a  line  from 
the  elegy  written  by  St.  Fiech,  the  bishop  of  Sletty,  on  his  patron 
St.  Patrick,  which  declares  that  the  Irish  missionary  ^^  was  a  native 
of  holy  Tours.''''  The  year  in  which  he  was  born  is  as  much  dispu- 
ted as  the  place  of  his  birth.  "NVilliam  of  Malmesbury,  Stanihurst, 
and  Cambrensis  place  it  in  3C7  of  the  Christian  era.  "But  Colgan 
and  O'Sullivan  brought  strong  chronological  evidence  and  cogent 
arguments  to  prove  that  St.  Patrick,  whose  baptismal  name  was 
Succath,  was  born  in  the  year  of  372." 

We  have  before,  when  narrating  the  events  of  Nial's  glorious 
reign,  stated  that  St.  Patrick  and  his  two  sisters  were  among  the 
captives  which  that  monarch  carried  oft'  from  France.  It  is  sup- 
posed that  liis  father  and  his  mother,  who  were  warm  adherents  of 
the  Roman  party  in  Tours,  perished  under  the  swords  of  Nial's  sol- 
diers. The  otficer,  to  whose  share  of  captives  St.  Patrick,  on  his 
arrival  in  Ireland,  fell,  sold  him  to  Milcho  Huanan,  the  chieftain  of 
the  northern  part  of  the  Dol  Riada,  the  present  county  of  Antrim, 
who  employed  him  in  tending  his  swine,  and  in  other  menial  oflices, 
for  seven  years,  at  the  end  of  which  period,  anxious  to  return  to 
Tours,  to  his  relations,  he  demanded  his  liberty,  according  to  the 
custom  of  the  country  ;  but  his  master,  not  wishing  to  dispense  with 
his  services,  refused  to  conform  to  the  law  of  the  land,  and  thus 
spurned  his  request. 

With  a  sad  and  sorrowful  heart,  he  had  to  resume  the  servile  oc- 
cupation of  herding  hogs,  on  Slieve-miss,  in  the  county  of  Antrim. 
As  he  was  one  day,  says  Colgan,  "  bewailing  his  irksome  condition, 
and  shedding  an  abundance  of  tears,  he  fell  into  a  gentle  slumber, 
when  the  angel  Victor  appeared  to  him,  and  bid  him  raise  his  spirits, 
for  that  God  intended  him  for  great  purposes,  and  then  requested  of 
him  to  return  to  his  native  country  with  speed,  where  he  should 
again  manifest  himself,  in  another  vision,  and  announce  to  him  the 
services  which  the  Most  High  should  require  him  to  perform.  As 
soon  as  the  saint  awoke  he  observed  one  of  the  hogs  rooting  up  a 
massy  bar  of  gold,  which  he  seized  on  with  joy,  as  sufficient  means 
to  pay  his  hard-hearted  master  the  amount  of  his  ransom.  This 
treasure  satisfied  his  task-master,  who  permitted  him  to  depart  from 
his  territory.  He  hastened  with  all  possible  expedition  to  the  sea- 
coast,  where  he  found  a  ship  about  to  sail  for  France,  in  which,  after 
some  difficulty,  he  was  so  fortunate  as  to  procure  a  passage  to  his 
native  land.  The  voyage  is  represented  as  very  long  and  danger- 
ous; but,  at  length,  after  being  tempest-tossed  for  seventy-three 
days,  the  ship  gained  a  French  port.  His  uncles  and  aunts,  accord- 
ing to  the  Abbe   M'Geoghegan,  were  overjoyed  at  his  return  from 


279 

exile  and  slavery.  Several  writers  of  his  life  attribute  many  mira- 
cles to  liiin  in  his  youth  ;  but,  as  St.  Fiech,  his  contemporary,  who 
had  better  opportunities  of  knowing  every  thing  of  importance  con- 
nected witli  liis  life,  is  entirely  silent  respecting  them,  and  as  one  of 
the  ablest  divines  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  the  late  Dr.  Mil- 
NER,  in  his  refutation  of  Ledwich's  Hypothesis  regarding  St.  Patrick, 
disclaims  the  puerile  stories  of  Jocelyn,  the  alleged  miracles  were, 
we  opine,  but  the  creation  of  pious  fiction.  "  Let  it  be  remembered," 
writes  Dr.  Lanagan,  "  that  the  saint  himself,  in  his  confession,  attri- 
butes his  captivity  to  his  ignorance  of  the  true  God,  and  his  disobe- 
dience to  his  laws." 

We  are  not,  it  is  true,  very  learned  in  theology ;  but  we  found  our 
opinion  on  the  judgment  of  Dr.  Milner  and  the  dictates  of  reason, 
and  declare  that  it  would  appear  agreeable  to  the  strictest  principles 
of  Christian  })hilosophy  to  suppose,  that  conferring  the  power  of 
performing  miracles  on  a  child  is  not  consistent  with  the  equal  and 
impartial  distribution  of  God's  favours;  if,  as  it  is  generally  conclu- 
ded, a  miracle  be  a  gift  bestowed  only  on  extraordinary  sanctity. 
For  we  believe  it  will  be  conceded,  that  there  can  be  no  sanctity 
without  judgment,  because  no  act  can  be  good  but  so  far  as  we  know 
it  to  be  so.  But  if  sanctity  or  merit  be  founded  on  knowledge  and 
intention,  how  can  we  suppose  a  child  possessed  of  either?  To  sup- 
pose him  endowed  with  those  powers  of  moral  perception,  is  to  sup- 
pose him  an  intellectual  phenomenon,  a  being  deriving  its  intelligence 
from  a  source  inaccessible  to  the  rest  of  men.  A  child,  it  will  be 
admitted,  never  appears  more  engaging  than  while  be  appears  robed 
in  the  white  garb  of  baptismal  innocence,  for  what  is  he  without  that 
simplicity  which  is  the  most  amiable  concomitant  of  infancy,  but 
a  gaudy  flower  without  fragrance. 

Every  offensive  deed  in  a  state  of  invincible  ignorance  is  an  inno- 
cent crime.  This  position  may  appear  to  many  as  a  paradox,  yet  it 
is  certain  that  it  is  only  when  we  are  made  acquainted  with  the  na- 
ture of  a  good  act  that  we  are  capable  of  committing  an  evil  one; 
for  had  our  first  parents  never  tasted  of  the  forbidden  fruit  of  the 
tree  of  knowledge,  they  would  otherwise  have  been  always  innocent. 
But  let  us  resume  the  narrative  of  our  immediate  subject. 

During  St.  Patrick's  residence  amongst  his  friends,  at  Tours,  he 
prepared  himself  for  the  church,  with  an  assiduity  of  application 
worthy  of  the  great  task  which  he  was  destined  to  accomplish. 

Having  now  finished  his  studies,  and  reached  the  twenty-third 
year  of  his  age,  he  received  from  the  hands  of  his  venerable  uncle, 
St.  Martin,  the  clerical  tonsure  and  the  monastic  habit.  Shortly 
after  being  priested,  we  are  informed,  he  saw  in  a  vision  a  venerable 
looking  man  approaching  him,  holding  in  liis  hand,  for  presentation 
to  the  saint  a  letter,  on  which  was  emblazoned  in  letters  of  light, 
the  words  "  Vox  Ilibcrni^cnsium,"  or  the  voice  of  the  Hibernians; 
and  he  thought,  that  while  he  was  opening  it,  he  heard  the  natives 
of  Ireland  invoking  his  mission  to  their  country,  in  the  most  suppli- 
cating language.  Should  this  story  excite  the  cold  smile  of  incredu- 
lity in  the  countenance  of  the  religious  sceptic,  who  shrewdly  rejects 
all  supernatural  agency,  we  shall,  for  his  satisfaction,  endeavour  to 


280 

sliow  its  natural  probability  witbout  imputing  it  to  tbe  intervention 
of  a  miracle. 

Tbere  is  a  certain  power  in  tbe  buman  mind  by  wbicb  it  suffers 
itself  to  be  irresistibly  drawn  to  tbe  exclusive  contemplation  of  some 
interesting',  or  some  endearing  object,  not  only  in  tbe  visive  bour  of 
nigbt,  but  even  wbcn  tbe  sun  dispenses  bis  meridian  beams;  for  tbe 
tbougbts,  influenced  by  feeling,  flow  directly  into  tbe  engrossing 
sensation,  carrying  witli  tbem  all  tbe  affections  wbicb  tbat  sensation 
is  calculated  to  excite.  In  sucb  an  bour  of  mental  abstraction,  rea- 
son pays  bomage  to  tbe  eagerness  of  desire,  and  tbe  imagination 
strongly  paints  tbe  object  of  its  endearment,  and  calls  into  existence 
new  images,  wbicb  render  it  more  vivid  and  impressive.  Can  we, 
tbeii,  be  surprised  if  St.  Patrick,  who  s-eems  to  bave  indulged  an 
ardent  desire  for  tbe  conversion  of  tbe  Irisb  nation,  sbould  be  so 
strongly  affected  by  the  impulse  of  religious  feelings  as  to  fancy,  in 
bis  dreams,  tbe  inhabitants  of  Ireland  calling  upon  him  to  irradiate 
their  minds  with  the  luminous  rays  of  truth?  From  tbe  moment  of 
bis  vision  tbe  Irisb  apostle  felt  impelled  by  a  zealous  wish  of  labour- 
ing for  the  Irish  nation.  He  therefore  resolved,  contrary  to  the 
wishes  of  his  relatives,  to  travel  through  foreign  countries  in  order 
to  enrich  and  enlarge  his  mind,  so  as  to  qualify  it  to  accomplish  his 
great  ultimate  design — the  propagation  of  the  gospel  in  Ireland. 
He  entered  the  monastery  of  Marmoutiei-s,  near  Tours,  where  he 
devoted  three  years  to  prayer  and  penance.  On  the  death  of  bis 
uncle,  St.  Martin,  an  event  which  took  place  in  tbat  monastery,  A. 
D.  402,  be  set  out  for  Rome,  where  he  joined  the  canons  regular  of 
St.  John  of  Lateran.  In  tbe  house  of  these  ecclesiastics  he  practiced 
the  most  austere  religious  duties,  and  also  sedulously  applied  himself 
to  an  extensive  course  of  studies,  in  Greek  and  Roman  literature, 
as  well  as  in  the  dogmas  of  theology. 

From  Rome,  he  made  a  tour  through  the  Mediterranean  isles,  in 
several  of  tbe  abbeys  of  which  be  sojourned,  where  bis  preaching 
and  piety  acquired  great  fame.  In  418,  St.  Germain,  a  friend  and 
fellow-student  of  our  apostle,  being  presented  by  the  Pope  with  the 
Bishopric  of  Auxerre,  he  invited  St.  Patrick  to  assist  him  in  the  sa- 
cred duties  of  his  see.  With  this  prelate,  he  remained  several  years, 
endowing  his  mind  with  all  the  virtues  of  an  apostle,  preparatory  to 
the  great  ministry  to  which  be  so  devoutly  aspired.  When  the  news 
of  tbe  death  of  St.  Palladius  reached  tbe  good  bishop  of  Auxerre, 
he  despatched  St.  Patrick  to  Rome,  with  recommendatory  letters,  so- 
liciting Pope  Celestine  to  appoint  Patrick  tbe  successor  of  tbat  pious 
missionary.  The  sovereign  pontiff,  in  consequence,  received  our 
apostle  with  testimonies  of  the  warmest  esteem,  and,  having  invested 
him  with  apostolic  authority,  sent  him  forth  to  preach  the  gospel  to 
that  nation,  whose  conversion  had  been  for  many  years  the  only 
subject  of  all  his  anxieties  and  pastoral  solicitude. 


CHAPTER   XXXIX. 

Arrivul  of  St.  Patrick  in  Ireland. —  His  dispatntion  with  the  Druids. —  T/ic  success 
of  his  lYiission. — He  converts  the  Queen  of  Ireland,  and  huilds  several  churches. — 
Singular  occurrence  at  the  baptism  of  the  king  of  Munster. 

The  saint  having  received  plenary  authority  from  the  sovereign 
Pontitt'of  the  Christian  cluirch,  embarked  for  Ireland.  He  was  ac- 
companied by  twenty  monks, — "divines,"  says  Bishop  Usher,  "  dis- 
tinguished for  their  learning  and  piety."  By  stress  of  weather,  the 
ship  in  which  the  missionary  and  his  disciples  sailed,  was  driven  into 
a  port  in  Cornwall,  where  she  had  to  remain  for  some  weeks  to  be 
refitted.  During  the  time  occupied  in  repairing  the  vessel,  we  are 
told  by  Probus,  that  our  saint  made  a  journey  into  Wales,  where 
by  his  elo(|uent  preaching,  he  succeeded  in  converting  many  of  the 
natives  to  the  religion  of  Christ.  As  soon  as  the  ship  was  ready  for 
sea,  he  and  his  attendants  again  embarked  and  set  sail  for  Ireland. 
After  a  prosperous  vo^'age,  the  saint  and  his  disciples  landed  at 
Wicklow  ;  but  no  sooner  did  the  Druids  of  that  place  learn  the  ob- 
ject of  St.  Patrick,  than  they  ])ersuaded  the  natives  to  drive  back 
the  pious  adventurers  to  their  ship.  To  avoid  the  danger  that  men- 
aced them,  they  again  went  on  board,  and  sailed  along  the  eastern 
coast  of  Ireland,  until  they  arrived  opposite  Skerries,  a  fishing  port, 
twenty  miles  north  of  Dublin. 

Here,  on  a  rocky  promontory,  called  still,  in  commemoration  of 
the  event,  ^'^  Holm  Patrick,''^  or  the  haven  of  Patrick,  our  missiona- 
ries were  suffered  to  land  without  opposition,  A.  D.  432.  They  had 
not  been  long,  however,  in  Skerries,  before  they  were  apprehended 
by  the  orders  of  Dichu,  the  chieftain  of  Fingal,  and  borne  in  chains 
to  his  ])alace. 

When  our  apostle  was  brought  before  this  chief,  and  the  Druids 
of  the  district,  he  defended  the  principles  of  his  creed,  and  the  integ- 
rity of  his  motive  in  visiting  Ireland,  in  a  Grecian  oration,*  with 
such  commanding  eloquence  as  not  only  procured  his  acquittal,  as 
well  as  that  of  his  followers,  but  made  converts  of  the  chieftain,  his 
lady,  and  several  of  his  vassals. 

From  Skerries  he  proceeded  to  Saul,  in  the  County  of  Down, 
where  he  built  a  church,  and  a  monastery.  Having  made  converts 
of  the  inhabitants  of  the  county  of  Down,  he  repaired  to  the  county 
of  Antrim,  with  a  pious  view  of  rescuing  his  old  master,  MilcJio, 
from  the  delusion  of  paganism.  But  the  hoary  chief,  on  seeing  his 
former  servant  arrayed  in  episcopal  robes,  and  bearing  in  his  hand 
a  golden  crosier,  indijinantly  exclaimed — "  Why,  thou  hog-herd  !  art 
thou  so  silly  as  to  think,  that  with  thy  gaudy  staff  and  white  book, 
thou  canst  estrange  me  from  the  faith  of  my  noble  fathers?  Away 
vassal  !  and  for  thy  insolence,  go  take  again  my  hogs  in  charge." 
The  saint  listened  meekly  to  this  ebullition  of  angry  scorn,  and  then 

*  "  The  Greek  language  was  fluently  spoken  by  all  the  Irish  of  rank  at  this  era ; 
but  the  Latin  language,  being  that  of  their  enemies,  the  Romans,  excepting  the 
Druids,  no  person  in  the  country  spoke  it." — Vallancey. 
36 


282 

bejjan  to  remonstrate  with  Milchn,  on  tlie  warmth  of  his  lanjjiiaore 
anJ  the  filooiii  of  iiis  error,  which  he  did  with  a  power  of  reasoiiin<j 
and  eloquence,  that  won  over  to  the  fiospel  Gitassat,  the  son,  and 
two  of  tiie  daughters  of  tiie  inflexihie  chieftain.  Their  exantph;  was 
followed  by  the  greater  part  of  the  cliieftains  of  Antrim.  It  is  re- 
lated by  Jocelyn,  that  Milcho  was  so  enraged  at  his  son  and  daugii- 
ter's  secession  from  the  ancient  faith  of  tlieir  ancestors,  that  lie  col- 
lected all  his  valuable  eftects  in  one  of  his  apartments,  and,  after  he 
had  set  fire  to  his  palace,  with  desperate  indignation,  jjlunged  him- 
self into  tlie  middle  of  the  devouring  blaze.  We  should,  however, 
mention,  that  Dr.  Lanagan  discredits  the  traditionary  story  of'  this 
alleged  immolation  of  the  chief  of  Antrim,  on  such  a  funeral  pile. 
Giiassat  afterwards  was  consecrated  bishop  of  Trjfin,  that  district 
of  country  now  com])rehended  in  tlie  counties  of  Westmeath  and 
Longford.  His  two  sisters  received  the  veil  from  the  hands  of  St. 
Patrick.  These  ladies  then  rejjaired  to  Granard,  the  then  capital 
of  their  brother's  see,  where  they  erected  a  convent,  of  which  they 
became  the  abbesses.  To  enumerate  all  the  churches  and  abbeys 
which  St.  Patrick  erected,  during  three  years  in  Leinster  and 
Ulster,  would  require  the  limits  of  a  volume. 

He  proceeded  from  Antrim  to  Drogheda,  where  he  repaired  the 
churches  built  by  Palladius,  and  made  many  converts.  Leaving  one 
of  his  disciples  to  attend  to  the  faithfid  in  Drogheda,  he  set  out  to 
pay  a  visit  to  the  school  of  the  learned  Ibarus  at  Wexford.  On  his 
first  introduction  to  that  renowned  philosopher,  he  found  that  fame 
had  not  misrepresented  the  depth  or  variety  of  his  erudition. 
Though  he  was  the  ablest  champion  of  Druidism,  our  apostle,  by 
his  inspired  arguments,  and  his  mild  and  condescending  deportment, 
succeeded  in  winning  him  over  as  a  proselyte  to  the  religion  of  the 
Gospel.* 

Hearing  at  this  juncture,  A.  D.  435,  that  the  national  estates 
were  to  meet  at  Tara,  he  formed  the  resolution  of  repairing  there, 
in  f)rder  to  gain,  if  possible,  some  converts  among  the  Irish  princes, 
well  aware  that  the  example  of  the  great  had  then  a  strong  influ- 
ence over  the  minds  of  the  people.  We  have  fully  related,  in  the 
former  chapters  of  this  history,  the  religious  ceremonies  with  w  hich 
the  festival  of  Bel,  was  celebrated,  on  every  May  day.  On  the  eve 
of  Bel,  all  culinary  fires  were  religiously  extinguished,  in  all  parts 
of  the  kingdom,  in  order  that  the  Druids  might  supply  every  hearth 
from  the  consecrated  fire,  which  ever  burned  in  the  temple  of 
Uisncnch.  To  light  a  fire  on  the  day  dedicated  to  the  deity  of  the 
PiJgan  Irish,  was  counted  the  most  inexpiable  act  of  impiety.  Our 
saint  resolved  to  dissolve  the  delusion  of  that  superstitious  observ- 
ance of  the  Druids.  In  pursuance  of  this  daring  restdution,  the 
saint  kindled  a  large  fire  on  a  hill,  adjf)ining  Tara,  whose  vivid  glare 
soon  brightened  the  spires  of  the  Diuidical  temple.  The  sight  of 
such  a  blaze  of  unholv  fire  horrified  the  superstitious,  while  it  filled 

*  "  St.  Patrick  was  amazed  at  the  profundity  of  learningf  and  the  force  of  logic, 
which  that  celebrated  philosopher  brought  to  bear  upon  the  arguments  advanced 
by  the  holy  missionary.  The  conversion  of  Ibarus  paved  the  way  for  Christianity 
in  Ireland." — Bishop  Hutchinsoiis  Defence  of  Irish  History. 


283 

the  Druids  with  alarm  and  consternation.  The  arch-Druid  hastened 
to  tlie  kin<?,  and  told  him,  that  if  the  impious  man  who  had  tiie  critn- 
inai  boldness  of  li<;liting  tliat  fire,  was  not  instantly  put  to  death,  lie 
and  iiis  successors  should  rule  forever  in  Ireland.  This,  indeed, 
was  a  measure  on  the  part  of  the  saint,  that  nothing  less  than  a 
confidence  in  the  divine  assistance,  which  can  scarcely  be  termed 
human,  could  justify ;  and  the  event  proved  that  he  was  directed  by 
higher  counsels  than  those  which  result  from  human  sagacity. 

At  the  instance  of  the  Druids,  Laoghaire,  the  monarch,  sent  a 
guard  to  arrest  Patrick  and  his  disciples,  and  to  bring  them  in  fet- 
ters before  him.  When  the  saint  was  arraigned  at  the  tribunal  of 
justice  for  impiety,  he  evinced  such  fortitude  and  firmness,  as  im- 
pressed the  whole  assembly,  save  the  envious  Druids,  with  a  high 
idea  of  his  character.  In  his  disputation  with  the  Pagan  Priests, 
he  displayed  rhetorical  talents  of  an  exalted  order.  Nothing  could 
intimidate  or  confiise  him,  for  he  s[)oke  as  if  inspiration  prompted 
his  tongue.  The  saint,  fired  with  divine  zeal  to  accomplij-ii  the  will 
of  his  master,  and  to  manifest  his  doctrine,  at  the  perd  of  his  life, 
openly  confessed  the  word  of  life,  and  vehemently  denounced  the 
fallacy  of  the  doctrines,  by  which  the  Druids  had  so  long  imposed 
upon  mankind. 

The  disputation  continued  in  a  Druidical  grove,  contiguous  to  the 
palace  of  Tara,  for  three  days,  engrossing  the  attention  not  only  of 
the  monarch  and  princes,  but  of  the  national  representatives.  The 
Druids  asked  the  saint  if  he  would  consent  to  prove  the  divine  inspi- 
ration of  his  ^''lokite  book''''  by  the  trial  of  the  ordeal,  to  which  he 
readily  assented.  They  said  that  the  book  of  their  sacred  mysteries, 
which  was  composed  of  tanned  oak  bark,  and  bound  in  a  cover  of 
plated  gold,  ornamented  with  precious  stones,  should  be  flung  into 
a  cistern  of  water,  at  the  same  instant  that  the  saint  should  likewise 
throw  in  his  white  volume,  and  that  whichever  hook  floated,  should 
be  regarded  as  the  book  of  truth.  The  metallic  volume,  of  course, 
sunk,  while  the  white  book  floated  on  the  surface  of  the  water. 

Tlie  Druids,  with  all  their  learning,  not  perceiving  the  natural 
cause  of  the  sinking  of  their  book,  admitted  that  a  miracle  had  been 
wrought  in  favour  of  the  Bible  of  our  apostle.  When  in  the  course 
of  his  oration,  he  came  to  speak  of  the  holy  Trinity,  the  Druids 
boldly  asserted  that  nothing  could  be  more  erroneous  or  absurd, 
than  the  doctrine  he  broached  on  that  subject,  for  it  was  founded  in 
moral  and  physical  impossibility,  as,  said  they,  "three  could  not 
exist  in  one."  "  To  prove  the  reality  and  possibility  of  the  existence 
of  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,"  rejoined  Saint  Patrick,  "I 
have  only  to  pluck  up  this  humble  plant,  on  wifich  we  have  trodden," 
(as  he  held  up  triumphantly  the  shamrock  to  their  view)  "and  con- 
vince you  that  truth  can  be  attested  by  the  simplest  symbol  of  illustra- 
tion." Tlie  Druids  felt  confounded  at  the  facility  with  which  he  de- 
feated an  objection  that  they  had  deemed  impregnable  and  insuperable. 
This  was  the  origin  of  the  shamrock's  becoming  one  of  the  national 
emblems  of  our  country.  As  the  mysteries  of  Druidism  could  neither 
be  supported  by  reason,  nor  sanctioned  by  a  divine  commission,  we 
may  easily  conclude  that  its  priests  could  have  little  success  in  op- 


284 

posing  a  doctrine  that  was  founded  on  the  immutable  principles  of 
eternal  truth.  Accordingly,  we  find  the  Irish  Queen  becoming  an 
immediate  convert  to  the  Christian  creed.  The  conversion  of  the 
queen  led  to  that  of  almost  all  tlie  ladies  of  the  court ;  ami  the  Druids 
themselves  either  became  the  proselytes  of  truth,  or  endeavoured  to 
screen  from  public  scrutiny  a  doctrine  which  they  could  not  defend, 
by  avoiding  a  conference  with  the  apostle,  who  was  guided  by  the 
beacon  of  heavenly  inspiration.  At  the  great  annual  exhibition  of 
the  Tailtean  games,*  to  witness  which,  all  the  beauty,  grandeur, 
and  chivalry  of  Ireland  congregated,  St.  Patrick  made  a  host  of 
proselytes,  as  the  queen  submitted  to  a  public  baptism  before  the 
assembled  multitude. 

As  yet  our  apostle  confined  himself  to  the  northern  parts  of  the 
kingdom;  but  Aongus,  king  of  Muuster,  hearing  of  his  fame,  and 
being  himself  desirous  of  embracing  the  new  religion,  sent  two  of 
his  principal  poets  to  Tara,  to  invite  the  Siiint  to  his  court.  He 
speedily  availed  himself  of  the  invitation,  and  set  out  on  his  journey 
to  Cashel. 

Oa  the  saint's  arrival  at  Cashel,  he  was  escorted  to  the  palace  by 
the  king  and  the  principal  nobility  of  Munster,  who  had  gone  out 
into  the  suburbs  of  the  city  to  bid  him  welcome.  As  soon  as  the 
first  courtesies  of  his  reception  were  over,  the  Druids  challenged 
him  to  a  disputation,  in  which  his  inspired  eloquence  gained  for  him 
another  signal  triumph.  The  king  was  so  convinced  of  "  the  truths 
divine  which  came  mended  from  his  tongue,"  that  he  solemnly  ab- 
jured Druidism,  and  in  the  fervour  of  his  enthusiasm,  solicited  the 
saint  to  administer  to  him  on  the  instant  the  sacrament  of  baptism. 
This  ceremony  was  attended  with  an  incident  which  has  been  im- 
mortalized by  the  graphic  pencil  of  the  Irish  Apelles,  James  Barry. 
The  saint  was  so  overjoyed  at  the  conversion  of  the  king,  that  in 
precipitately  attempting  to  fasten  the  javelin  pointed  end  of  his 
crosier  in  the  floor,  he  unconsciously  transfixed  the  regal  foot.  The 
prince,  convinced  that  this  was  part  of  the  holy  rite,  bore  the  pain 
with  heroic  fortitude  ;  nor  did  St.  Patrick  observe  his  error,  until  the 
apartment  was  deluged  with  blood.  Barry's  famous  painting  of  this 
memorable  occurrence  was  pronounced  a  master-piece  by  Burke. 

Though  it  is  a  matter  of  some  doubt  whether  Laoghaire,  the 
monarch,  was  converted  to  the  religion  of  the  Redeemer  of  the 
world,  we  may  yet  conclude,  that  he  was  not  hostile  to  the  interests 
of  that  creed,  which  his  wife  and  daughters  had  adopted.  The 
saint  had  not,  therefore,  to  contend  with  royal  opposition  ;  as  we 
learn  from  history,  that  he  assisted  with  the  monarch's  permission, 
at  a  public  examination  of  the  national  records. 

While  the  holy  man  remained  at  Cashel,  he  was  visited  by  the 
saints  Albe  and  Declan,  the  first  of  whom  he  consecrated  Archbishop 
of  Munster,  and   the   latter   Bishop  of  the   Deasies,  or   Waterford. 

*  The  Tailtean  Games,  which  were  held  at  Kells,  in  the  county  of  Meath,  for 
several  ages,  were  celebrated  by  feats  of  cliivalty,  athletic  strength,  and  of  other 
contending  powers.  By  referring  to  the  second  chapter  of  our  history,  the  reader 
will  find  the  origin  of  these  Olympic  games  in  Ireland.  They  were  held  every 
year,  for  fifteen  days  before,  and  fifteen  days  after,  the  first  of  August. 


285 

"After  this,"  says  llanmer's  Clironicle,  "  they  blessed  tlie  kiiij^,  and 
giving  the  kiss  ot"  peace,  each  saint  returned  to  his  particidar  charge." 
St.  Patrick  having  now  firmly  established  his  authority  over  the  Irish 
ecclesiastics,  and  succeed(,'d  in  cojuerling  the  greater  part  of  the 
jiation  from  the  darkness  of  Paganism  to  the  divine  light  of  revela- 
tion, uas  generally  consulted  on  every  matter  of  moment,  by  the 
princes  of  Ireland. 

Prior  to  his  leaving  Cashcl,  he  superintended  the  building  of  the 
Catliedral  of  that  city.  On  his  return  to  Tara,  he  visited  the  city 
of  Dublin,  but  the  inhabitants,  so  far  from  hearkening  to  his  preach- 
ing, assailed  him  with  contumely,  and  compelled  him  to  abandon 
the  capital  precipitately.  As  he  journeyed  to  Tara,  he  met  two  of 
the  Irish  monarch's  brothers,  Connell  and  Carbre,  to  whom  he 
preached  the  gospel  of  peace  ;  the  former  believed  and  was  baptized, 
but  the  latter  insolently  refused  to  listen  to  the  expostulation  of  our 
apostle.  During  the  years  434  and  436,  the  pious  missionary  em- 
ployed himself  in  building  churches  and  abbeys  in  Meath  and  Louth. 
On  his  second  visit  to  Tara,  the  two  princesses  royal,  Ethe  and 
Ftddinc,  followed  the  example  of  the  Queen,  their  mother,  by  con- 
forming to  the  injunctions  of  Christianity.  These  princesses  after- 
wards took  the  veil,  and  one  became  an  abbess  in  the  monastery  of 
Trim,  and  the  other  in  the  nunnery  of  Drogheda.  Colgan  has 
written  their  lives. 


CHAPTER   XL. 


The  Biography  of  St.  Patrick,  continued. 


It  will  be  recollected  by  the  readers  of  this  history,  tiiai  from  the 
days  of  the  monarch  Ollamh  Foclhla,  it  was  customary,  during  the 
session  of  the  national  estates,  for  three  Druids,  assisted  by  the  most 
eminent  class  of  the  Irish  literati,  to  inspect  and  revise  the  national 
records.  On  the  present  occasion,  the  literary  committee  consisted 
of  Dubhtagh,  the  royal  laureate,  Feargus,  the  antiquary,  Roso,  the 
genealogist,  and  St.  Patrick.  The  monarch  and  the  king  of  Ulster 
were  present  at  the  sittings  of  the  committee.  The  apostle  posses- 
sing great  influence  over  the  mind  of  the  laureate,  whom  he  had  con- 
verted, prevailed  upon  him  to  concur  in  any  resolution  he  might 
propose,  to  dispel  the  mists  of  druidical  superstition  from  the  under- 
standing of  our  progenitors.  He,  therefore,  to  give  a  salutary  effect 
and  dissemination  to  the  precejjts  of  the  gospel,  and  to  impress  the 
Lish  people  with  a  reverence  for,  and  a  conviction  of,  the  truth  of 
the  divine  counsels  of  heaven,  in  the  warmth  of  his  zeal,  persuaded 
the  committee  to  commit  near  four  hundred  volumes  of  poetry,  his- 
tory, and  antiquity  to  the  flames.  Among  the  books  thus  destroyed 
were  the  autographs  of  Ossian.  By  this  sacrifice,  which  was  judged 
by  the  apostle  necessary  for  the  firm  and  permanent  establishment 


280 

of  the  Christian  dispensation,  our  ancient  literature,  rich,  varied, 
and  peculiar,  was  almost  anniliilated.  The  saint  was  no  donht  led 
to  this  determination  of  burninj^  the  hooks  by  tlie  apprehension,  that 
if  he  sutiered  any  trace  or  relic  of  the  heathen  superstition  to  re- 
main, the  people  mrc;ht  relapse  into  their  former  errors.  "  Indeed," 
says  the  learned  O'Flanagan,  "if  the  fact  of  St.  Patrick  having  de- 
stroyed all  the  hooks  in  the  archives  of  Tara,  that  reji^arded  heathen 
worship,  were  not,  as  it  is,  supported  by  the  concurrreiit  testimony 
of  all  our  historical  writers,  I  should  reject  it  altogether.  But  our 
ajjostle  deemed  the  expedient,  which  the  lovers  of  Irish  literature 
must  ever  deplore,  as  absolutely  necessary,  to  make  way  for  tlie  sa- 
cred truths  of  revelation." 

It  is  also  on  record  that  St.  Patrick,  having  observed  our  history 
deduced  only  from  Phocnius,  and  wishing  to  associate  it  with  that  of 
the  Jews,  made,  by  the  consent  of  the  national  council,  Phoenius  tlie 
son  of  Baath,  the  son  of  Magog,  the  son  of  Japeth.  We  must,  in- 
deed, concede  that  it  is  true,  that  this  might  have  been  the  means  of 
reconciling  the  old  Irish  to  a  religion  virtually  the  same  with  that 
])ractised  by  their  primogenial  ancestors  in  Egypt;  but  whether  our 
apostle  would  have  recourse  to  any  artifice,  such  as  might  even  be 
denominated  a  pious  fraud,  in  order  to  establish  the  doctrine  of  his 
divine  master,  is  a  circumstance  much,  in  our  opinion,  to  be  doubted. 
It  is  to  be  hoped  that  he  had  too  great  a  respect  for  the  purity  and 
character  of  his  religion — a  religion  whose  essence  is  truth  and  jus- 
tice, and  too  reverential  and  strong  a  confidence  in  the  divine  as- 
sistance, to  have  thus  resorted  to  deception.  But  this  is  a  question 
for  the  inquiry  of  theological  casuists.  The  apostle  having  so  far 
succeeded  at  Tara,  made  preparations  for  a  journey  into  Connaught. 
"In  the  course  of  this  journey,"  says  Moore,  "he  turned  aside  a 
little  from  the  direct  road,  to  visit  that  frightful  haunt  of  cruelty  and 
superstition,  the  Plain  of  Slaughter,  in  the  county  of  Leitrim,  where, 
from  time  immemorial,  had  stood  the  Druidical  idol  Crom-Cruach, 
called  sometimes  also  Cean  Groith,  or  Head  of  the  Sun.  This 
image,  to  which,  as  to  Moloch  of  old,  young  children  were  offered 
up  in  sacrifice,  had  been  an  object  of  worship,  we  are  told,  with 
every  successive  colony  by  which  the  island  had  been  conquered. 
For  St.  Patrick,  however,  was  reserved  the  glory  of  destroying  both 
idol  and  worship;  and  a  large  church  was  now  erected  by  him  in 
the  place  where  these  monstrous  rites  had  been  so  long  solemnized."* 
He  travelled  through  the  counties  of  Roscommon,  Galway,  and 
Mayo,  and  in  the  course  of  this  peregrination,  built  many  churches, 
and  made  numerous  converts.  At  this  period,  elated  with  the  suc- 
cess of  his  mission,  and  inspired  with  gratitude  to  God  for  the  mi- 
raculous powers  delegated  to  him,  he  retired,  during  the  season  of 
Lent,  to  a  lofty  mountain,  in  the  county  of  Mayo,  called  Cnihan- 
Achnil,  or  the  Eagle  mountain,  for  the  purpose  of  employing  so  holy  a 

*  "  When  we  hear  of  Churches  erected  by  St.  Patrick,  very  many  of  which  were 
certainly  of  much  later  foundation,  we  are  not  to  understand  such  edifices  as  are 
so  called  in  our  days,  but  humble  buildings  made  of  hurdles  or  wattles,  clay  and 
thatch,  according  to  the  ancient  fashion  of  Ireland,  and  which  could  be  put  together 
in  a  very  short  time." — Lanagan,  chap.  v.  note  74. 


287 

period  in  prayer  and  penance.  According  to  the  traditionary  story, 
related  hv  Jocelyn,  it  was  from  this  mountain  St.  Patrick  drove  all 
tlie  venomous  creatures  into  the  sea.  Bat  Col<ran  gives  up  tiiis  pop- 
uh\r  legend,  for  it  is  well  known,  that  tliere  wore  no  poisonous  rep- 
tiles in  Ireland  since  the  arrival  of  the  JMilesians.*  "While  thus 
occupied,"  says  iVFoore,  "the  various  seafowl  and  hirds  of  prev  that 
woidd  naturally  he  attraoteil  to  the  spot,  by  the  siijht  of  a  living 
creature  in  so  solitary  a  place, t  were  transformed,  by  the  fancy  of 
the  superstitious,  into  flocks  of  demons  which  came  to  tempt  and 
distnrl)  the  h.)ly  man  from  his  devotions.  After  this  interval  of  se- 
clusion, he  proceeded  northwards  to  the  country  then  ciilled  Tira- 
nial<;aidh,  the  modern  harony  of  Tyrawley. 

He  was  now  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  wood  of  Foclut,  near  the 
Ocean,  from  whence  the  voices  of  the  Irish  liad  called  to  him  in  his 
dream  ;  and,  whether  good  fortune  alone  was  concerned  in  eftecting 
the  accomplishment  of  the  omen,  or,  as  is  most  hkely,  the  thought 
that  he  was  specially  appointed  to  this  place  gave  fresh  impulse  to 
his  zeal,  the  signal  success  which  actually  attended  his  mission  in 
this  district  sufficiently  justified  any  reliance  he  might  have  [ilaced 
upon  the  dream.  Arriving  soon  after  the  death  of  the  king  of  that 
territory,  and  at  the  nioment  when  his  seven  sons,  havtuir  just  termi- 
nated a  dispute  concerning  the  succession,  were,  toi^ether  with  a 
great  multitude  of  people,  collected  on  the  occasion,  St.  Patrick  re- 

*  "  Solinus,  who  wrote  some  hundred  years  before  the  coming  of  St.  Patrick  to 
Ireland,  lauds  the  country  for  being  free  from  pestiferous  reptiles.  The  fact  is, 
that  never  has  there  been  a  serpent  seen  in  Ireland  since  the  arrival  of  the  Mile- 
sians. The  very  clay  of  the  country  has  been  known  to  kill  snakes,  some  faw 
years  ago  in  Rome." — Lynch. 

"St.  Donat,  an  Irishman,  who  was  bishop  of  Ferula,  near  Florence,  in  the  tenth 
century,  in  describing  his  country,  says — 

"  Far  westward  lies  an  Isle  of  ancient  fame, 

By  nature  blessed,  and  Scotia  is  her  name  : 

Enroli'd  in  books,  cxhaustless  in  her  store, 

Of  veiny  silver,  and  of  golden  ore. 

Her  fruitful  soil  forever  teems  with  wealth, 

Willi  gems  iier  waters — and  her  air  with  health  ; 

Her  verdant  fields  with  milk  and  honey  flow, 

Her  W00II3'  fleeces  vie  with  virgin  snow; 

Her  waving  furrows  float  with  bearded  corn, 

And  arms  and  arts  her  envied  sons  adorn. 

No  savage  bear  with  lawless  fury  roves. 

Nor  rav'nous  lion  through  the  peaceful  groves; 

No  poison  there  infects,  nor  scaly  snake 

Creeps  through  the  grass,  nor  frogs  annoy  the  lake  : 

An  Island  worthy  of  her  pious  race. 

In  war  triumphant,  and  unmatched  in  peace." 

Flemming's  Miscellanies. 

t  "  Multitudo  avium  venit  circa  ilium,  ita  ut  non  posset  videre  faciem  coeli  et 
terras  ac  maris  propter  aves. 

"  Jocelyn  is  the  only  biographer  of  St.  Patrick  that  has  spoken  of  the  c.xpulsiorn 
by  him  of  serpents  and  otiier  venomous  creatures  from  Ireland.  From  his  book 
this  story  made  its  way  into  other  tracts,  and  even  into  some  breviaries.  Had  such 
a  wonderful  circumstance  really  occurred,  it  would  have  been  recorded  in  our  An- 
nals and  other  works,  long  before  Jocelyn's  time." — Lanagan,  Ecclcsiust.  Hist. 
chap.  V.  note  108.  The  learned  Colgan,  in  exposing  the  weakness  of  this  story, 
alleges,  that  in  the  most  ancient  documents  of  Irish  history,  there  is  not  the  least 
allusion  to  venomous  animals  having  ever  been  found  in  this  country. 


288 

paired  to  the  assembly,  and,  by  his  jjreaching,  brought  over  to  the 
faith  of  Christ  not  only  the  seven  princes,  including  the  new  king, 
but  also  twelve  thousand  persons  more,  all  of  whom  he  soon  after 
baptized.  It  is  supposed  that  to  these  western  regions  of  Ireland 
the  Saint  alludes,  in  his  Confession,  where  he  stated  that  he  had 
visited  remote  districts  where  no  missionary  had  been  before  ; — an 
assertion  important,  as  plainly  implying  that,  in  the  more  accessible 
parts  of  the  country,  Christianity  had,  before  his  time,  been  preached 
and  practised."  Jocelyn  further  tells  us,  that  while  on  the  retreat 
on  the  summit  of  this  mountain,  he  was  enabled  "by  the  power  of 
God,  to  live,  like  Christ,  Moses,  and  Elias,  for  the  space  of  forty 
days,  without  any  sustenance  but  water." 

But  Dr.  Lanagan  treats  this  relation  as  a  fiction.  It  might  be  ob- 
served, that  although  the  ancient  writers  were  scrupulous  in  adhe- 
ring to  facts,  they  still  felt  no  hesitation  in  embellishing  the  narra- 
tives of  these  facts  with  the  colourings  of  fancy.  The  most  distin- 
guished Roman  Catholic  divines  have  censured  Jocelyn  for  falsifying 
the  conduct  and  ministry  of  St.  Patrick.  That  our  apostle  per- 
formed miracles,  though  not  all  that  has  been  related  of  him,  will 
not  be  doidjted,  except,  indeed,  by  those  who  believe  that  the  conver- 
sion of  a  great  nation  from  a  popidar  creed,  associated  with  the  most 
glorious  eras  in  Irish  history,  to  Christianity,  was  a  matter  of  perfect 
indifference  to  God  ;  and  that  he  looks  with  equal  eyes  on  the  Chris- 
tian and  the  infidel.  Our  creed  was  established  by  miracles — they 
are  the  very  basis  of  the  Christian  church  ;  or,  in  spite  of  the  specious 
sophistry  of  Hume,  it  must  be  admitted  by  every  believer,  that  the 
power  of  performing  miracles  is  the  only  means  which  can  possibly 
be  conceived  of  confirming  a  divine  commission;  and  when  this 
con^mission  is  given  for  a  singularly  momentous  and  important  pur- 
pose, it  is  worse  than  scepticism  to  deny  that  God  would  stamp  it 
with  the  sacred  seal,  by  which  alone  it  can  be  recognized.  On  the 
approach  of  Easter,  after  he  had  finished  his  devotions  on  the  moun- 
tain, he,  with  his  disciples,  repaired  to  the  court  of  Hy  Malia,  or 
O'Maily,  on  the  banks  of  Lough  Corb,  in  the  county  of  Mayo,  the 
chief  of  the  territory,  where  he  was  cordially  received.  Here,  if  we 
can  credit  some  of  the  writers  of  his  life,  he  not  only  baptized  the 
chief,  his  lady,  and  seven  children,  but  twelve  thousand  people,  who 
were  "attracted  there,"  says  Colgan,  "by  the  fame  of  his  piety  and 
miracles."  At  this  place  he  erected  a  church  and  an  abbey.  Were 
we  to  give  a  detail  of  all  the  churches  and  monasteries  he  built,  we 
could  fill  two  quarto  volumes  with  the  biography  of  St.  Patrick. 
To  such  of  our  readers  as  wish  to  have  a  comprehensive,  circum- 
stantial, and  authentic  life  of  the  apostle  of  Ireland,  we  would  beg 
to  recommend  the  Ecclesiastical  History  of  Ireland,  written  by  the 
late  Dr.  Lanagan,  an  eminent  Irish  divine,  and  an  historian,  whose 
work  exhibits  the  learning  of  the  scholar,  the  acuteness  of  the  phi- 
losopher, and  the  research  of  the  antiquarian. 

The  biography  given,  in  the  Lives  of  the.  Saints,  of  our  apostle, 
by  the  Rev.  Alban  Butler,  is  a  mere  compilation  from  the  silly  and 
puerile  fictions  of  .Tocelyn.  We  might  observe  here,  that  the  num- 
ber of  histories  written  of  the  life  of  St.  Patrick  Ijave  only  served  to 


289 

confuse  each  other,  and  to  render  doubtful  what  would  have  been 
otherwise  evident.  Bishop  Usher,  guided  by  historic  documents, 
placed  in  the  collej^c  of  Oxford  and  Cambridrre,  enumerates  sixty- 
six  autliors  who  have  iionoured  tlie  memory  of  our  patron  saint  with 
biogra|)hies.  Those,  iiowever,  that  are  chiefly  worthy  of  notice,  are 
his  Confessions ;  liis  letter,  preserved  by  Colgan,  to  Carotic,  and 
some  of  the  lives  written  by  his  immediate  disciples.  The  Confes- 
sions of  St.  Patrick  were  written  by  himself.  He  commences  his 
narrative  of  his  own  failings  and  faults,  with  the  words  "  Ego  Patri- 
cins  pecato!','"  I,  Patrick,  a  sinner.  The  modesty,  and  humility,  and 
mildness  that  recommend  this  detail,  prove  lliat  our  apostle  emulated 
the  virtues  of  his  heavenly  master.  In  that  relation  of  the  private 
thoughts  of  his  heart,  and  of  the  venial  errors  of  his  life,  he  speaks 
f)f  few  miracles,  but  of  many  visions,  in  which  God  pointed  out  to 
him  the  path  he  was  to  pursue,  and  illun)iiiate  with  the  rays  of  the 
gospel.  It  is  not  unworthy  of  notice,  and  perhaps  no  small  proof  of 
tlieir  authenticity,  that  in  the  account  of  these  visions  there  is  noth- 
ing to  be  met  with,  either  vain,  puerile,  improbable,  or  unbecoming 
the  dignity  and  sacredness  of  the  great  work  which  he  was  called 
upon  to  accomplish,  or  of  the  majesty  and  mightiness  of  the  celestial 
Being,  by  whom  he  was  inspired  with  the  resolution  of  undertaking 
so  ariluous  and  difficult  a  task  as  the  conversion  of  Ireland.  The 
subject  of  his  letter  to  Carotic,  the  tyrant  chieftain  of  east  Urial,  in 
the  county  of  Armagh,  was  a  cruel  and  barbarous  action  committed 
by  this  sanguinary  oppressor,  who,  though  a  pretended  Cliristian, 
slew  and  massacred  a  large  number  of  converts  to  Christianity, 
while  the  saint  was  in  the  virtual  act  of  administering  to  them  the 
holy  elements  of  the  blessed  eucharist ;  and  bore  off  others,  who 
escaped  the  edge  of  the  sword,  as  captives,  and  sold  them  to  the 
Picts. 

Our  apostle,  trusting  in  omnipotent  protection,  represented  to  the 
barbarous  and  ruthless  slaughterer,  in  this  letter,  the  diabolical 
enormity  of  his  crime,  and  demanded  back  the  prisoners;  but  the 
despot  contemning  the  holy  man's  expostulations,  and  regarding 
theni  with  derision,  he  now  promulgated  a  pastoral  charge,  address- 
ed to  the  Irish  people,  in  which  he  loudly  denounced  the  cruelty  and 
injustice  of  the  tyrant,  and  declared  that  the  wrath  of  divine  ven- 
geance would  annihilate  him,  unless  he  made  adequate  penance,  to 
appease  offended  heaven,  and  ample  reparation  to  the  friends  of  his 
victims,  as  well  as  the  redemption  of  the  captives  whom  he  sold 
to  the  Picts.  This  letter  rendered  Carotic  detestable  even  among 
his  own  followers,  and  its  threats  so  terrified  him,  that  in  order  to 
escape  the  horrors  of  his  mind,  he  destroyed  his  life,  by  precipitating 
himself  from  the  summit  of  a  high  rock  into  tiie  sea. 

The  Confession  of  St.  Patrick,  and  his  letter  to  Carotic,  are 
quoted  by  Usher,  Ware,  Colgan,  Bolandus,  and  other  writers,  with 
glowing  encomiums. 

"St.   Patrick's   Confession,"   says   the   Abbe    M'Geoghegan,  "  is 
marked  with  such  characteristics  of  truth,  that,  as  a  composition,  it 
would  stand  by  itself,  though  it  had  been  quoted  by  no  writer  what- 
37 


290 

ever,  and  at  the  same  time  nothing  can  be  discovered  in  it  that  can 
excite  suspicion." 

Tlie  last  church  which  our  apostle  built  in  Connaught  was  that  of 
Sligo,  then  called  Slegcach,  or  the  bay  of  shells,  over  which  he  placed 
one  of  his  disciples,  Bron,  as  bishop.  From  thence  he  proceeded 
to  the  county  of  Donegal,  where  he  caused  several  churches  and 
abbeys  to  be  built.  He  visited  the  counties  of  Derry  and  Tyrone, 
where  he  preached  the  gospel  with  great  success,  and  built  the  ca- 
thedrals of  Derry  and  Cloglier.  Leaving  bishops  in  cliarge  of  these 
sees,  he  journeyed  eastward,  passed  the  river  Bann,  at  Cuilrothcn, 
now  Coleraine.  After  having  erected  a  church  and  abbey  in  Cole- 
raine,  he  directed  his  steps  southward,  and  continued  his  course 
until  he  arrived  at  Armagh,  when  he  became  so  enamoured  of  the 
beauty  of  the  spot,  and  the  charming  scenery  that  encircles  it,  that 
he  resolved  to  erect  here  a  cathedral,  which  in  magnitude  of  space 
and  size,  as  well  as  majesty  of  architecture,  should  exceed  all  the 
other  churches  which  he  had  founded  in  Ireland.  In  our  account 
of  the  ancient  architecture  of  Ireland,  in  the  first  volume  of  this 
work,  we  have  already  given  a  description  of  the  cathedral  and 
abbey  of  Armagh,  so  that  we  must  decline  treading  over  the  same 
grounds  again.  St.  Patrick  began  to  build,  according  to  Bishop 
Usher,  the  metropolitan  cathedral  of  Ireland,  A.  D.  445. 

In  addition  to  the  immense  number  of  churches  which  he  caused 
to  be  built,  he  likewise  founded  the  monasteries  of  Slane,  Trion, 
and  Douduiach-Phaedraig,  in  Meath ;  Finglas,  near  Dublin  ;  Kille, 
(church,)  Auxelle,  near  Kildare ;  Achad-Abla,  in  the  county  of 
Wexford;  Galen,  in  the  county  of  Carlow;  Ardagh,  in  the  county 
of  Longford, — Inisbo-Fion  and  Inis-Cloghran,  in  the  same  county; 
Lough  and  Drumisken,  in  the  county  of  Louth;  St.  Peter  and  St. 
Paul  s  abbey,  in  Armagh  ;  Saul  and  Nendrim  Abbey,  in  the  county 
of  Down  ;  Rath-Muighe,  in  the  county  of  Antrim  ;  Coleraine  abbey, 
in  the  county  of  Derry;  Lough-Derg,  in  the  county  of  Donegal; 
Cloober,  in  the  county  of  Tyrone ;  Inis-Muigh-Samh,  in  the  county 
of  Fermanagi) ;  Cluan-Feis,  Tuam,  and  Kille  Chonall,  in  the  county 
of  Galway  ;  Inis-More,  in  the  county  of  Roscommon;  and  Druim- 
Lias,  in  the  county  of  Sligo.  He  also  founded  the  monasteries  of 
Cluan-Bronach  and  Druimches,  in  the  county  of  Longford ;  the 
abbey  of  Linnear  Carrick-Fergus  ;  of  Ross-Ben-Choir,  in  the  county 
of  Clare;  of  Temple-Bride,  and  Temple-na-Feacta,  in  the  county 
of  Armagh;  of  Cluain-Dubhain,  in  the  county  of  Tyrone;  of  Ross- 
Oirther,  in  the  county  of  Fermanagh  ;  and  of  Killaracht,  in  the 
county  of  Roscommon. 

After  finishing  the  cathedral  church  of  Armagh,  he  repaired  to 
the  city  of  Dublin,  in  the  hope  of  being  more  successful  now  in  res- 
cuing the  inhabitants  from  the  dominion  of  paganism  than  he  had 
been  during  his  last  visit.  At  the  period  of  his  arrival,  an  occur- 
rence took  place  which  not  only  afforded  him  an  opportunity  of  dis- 
playing his  miraculous  faculty,  but  a  facility  of  converting  Alphin, 
the  chieftain  of  Dublin,  his  family,  and  all  his  people,  to  the  true 
faith.  On  the  evening  of  the  saint's  arrival,  as  we  are  informed  by 
Colgan,  the   infant   son  of  the   prince  fell   into  the   Liffey  and  was 


291 

drowned.  The  grief  of  Alpliin  and  his  lady,  in  consequence,  was 
sad  and  inconsolable.  The  fame  of  the  miracles  wrought  by  our 
apostle  preceded  him  to  Dubhn  ;  and  some  of  the  females  of  the 
court  being  Christians,  tiiey  humbly  suggested  to  the  princess  to  ap- 
ply to  Saint  Patrick,  and  beseech  him  to  restore  the  child.  She, 
eager  to  listen  to  any  suggestion  that  related  in  the  remotest  degree 
to  the  recovery  of  the  life'of  her  beloved  son,  flew  to  the  lodgings  of 
the  saint,  and  with  streaming  eyes  threw  herself  on  her  knees  before 
him,  and  in  that  posture,  in  the  most  moving  terms  implored  him  to 
restore  her  child  to  life.  He,  touched  with  her  anguisii  and  wail- 
ings,  accompanied  her  to  the  palace,  where  the  body  of  the  child, 
just  after  being  taken  out  of  the  water,  lay.  The  moment  he  was 
conducted  to  Uie  corpse,  he  fell  on  his  knees,  prayed  fervently  for 
some  time,  and  then,  touching  the  ciiild  with  the  stajf'  of  Jesus,  (as 
his  crosier  was  called,)  it  instantly  arose,  and  rushed  into  the  arms 
of  its  transported  mother.  This  miracle  sufficiently  demonstrated 
that  St.  Patrick  was  a  divine  minister,  clothed  in  the  authority  of 
heaven  ;  and,  in  consequence,  the  chief,  his  family  and  people,  pro- 
fessed themselves  Christians,  and  submitted  to  the  sacrament  of 
baptism. 

The  chieftain,  as  a  token  of  his  gratitude,  made  him  a  present  of 
the  present  site  of  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral,  and  the  portions  of  land 
adjoining  it.  Here,  A.  D.  445,  our  apostle  erected  St.  Patrick's 
Cathedral. 

"  Notwithstanding,"  writes  Moore,  "  however,  the  docile  and  de- 
votional spirit  which  he  found  everywhere,  among  the  lower  classes, 
and  the  singular  forbearance  with  which,  among  the  highest,  even 
the  rejecters  of  his  doctrine  tolerated  his  preaching  it,  yet  that  his 
life  was  sometimes  in  danger  appears  from  his  own  statements ;  and 
an  instance  or  two  are  mentioned  by  his  biographers,  where  the 
peril  must  have  been  imminent.*  On  one  of  these  occasions  he  was 
indebted  for  his  life  to  the  generosity  of  his  charioteer,  Odran  ;  who, 
hearing  of  the  intention  of  a  desperate  chieftain,  named  Failge,  to 
attack  the  Saint  when  on  his  way  through  the  King's  County,  con- 
trived, under  the  pretence  of  being  fatigued,  to  induce  his  master  to 
take  the  driver's  seat,  and  so,  being  mistaken  for  St.  Patrick,  re- 
ceived the  lance  of  the  assassin  in  his  stead. t  The  death  of  this 
charioteer  is  made  more  memorable  by  the  remarkable  circum- 
stance, that  he  is  the  only  martyr   on    record    who,  in  the  course  of 

*  In  his  Confession,  tlie  Saint  makes  mention  of  the  sufferings  of  liimself  and 
followers,  and  of  "  the  precautions  he  took  against  giving  occasion  to  a  general 
persecution,  using,  among  other  means,  that  of  making  presents  to  the  unconverted 
kinors,  some  of  whom,  however,  while  obstinate  themselves,  allowed  their  sons  to 
follow  him  : — "  Interim  prajmia,"  he  says,  "  dabam  regibus  proter  quod  dabam 
mercedem  filliis  ipsorum  qui  mecum  ambulant,  et  nihil  comprehenderunt  mc  cum 
comitibus  meis." 

t  Among  the  specimens  of  Irish  manuscripts  given  by  Astle,  there  is  one  from 
a  tract  relating  to  this  event : — "  This  specimen,"  says  the  writer,  "  is  taken  from 
an  ancient  manuscript  of  two  tracts,  relating  to  the  old  municipal  laws  of  Ireland. 
The  first  contains  the  trial  of  Enna,  brother  of  Laogarius,  cliief  king  of  Ireland, 
for  the  murder  of  Oraine,  (Odran)  chariot-driver  of  St.  Palrick,  before  Dumpthac, 
(Dubtach)  the  king's  chief  bard,  and  the  sentence  passed  thereon,  about  the  year 
430." 


292 

this  peaceful  crusade  in  Ireland,  fell  a  victim  by  the  hands  of  an 
Irishman.  On  another  occasion,  wiiile  visiting  Lecale,  the  scene  of 
his  earliest  labours,  a  design  was  formed  against  his  life  iiy  the  cap- 
tain of  a  band  of  robbers,  which  he  not  only  baffled  by  his  intrepidity 
and  presence  of  mind,  but  succeeded  in  converting  the  repentant 
bandit  into  a  believer.  Full  of  compunction,  this  man,  whose  name 
was  Maccaldus,  demanded  (jf  St.  Patrick  what  form  of  penance  he 
ought  to  undergo  for  his  crimes;  and  the  nature  of  the  task  which 
the  Saint  imposed  upon  him  is  highly  characteristic  of  the  enter- 
prising cast  of  his  own  mind.  The  penitent  was  to  depart  from  Ire- 
land immediately  ;  to  trust  himself,  alone,  to  the  waves,  in  a  leathern 
boat,  and  taking  with  him  nothing  but  a  coarse  garment,  land  on 
the  first  shore  to  which  the  wind  might  bear  him,  and  there  devote 
himself  to  the  service  of  God.  This  command  was  obeyed;  and  it 
is  adiled  that,  wafted  by  the  wind  to  the  Isle  of  Man,  Maccaldus 
found  there  two  holy  bishops,  by  whom  he  was  most  kindly  received, 
and  who  directed  him  in  his  penitential  works  with  so  much  spiritual 
advantage,  that  he  succeeded  them  in  the  bishopric  of  the  island, 
and  became  renowned  for  his  sanctity. 

"The  most  active  foes  St.  Patrick  had  to  encounter  were  to  be 
found  naturally  among  those  Magi  or  Druids,  who  saw  in  the  system 
he  was  introducing  the  downfall  of  their  own  religion  and  power. 
An  attempt  made  against  his  life,  shortly  before  his  grand  work  of 
conversion  in  Tyrawley,  is  said  to  have  originated  among  that 
priestliood,  and  to  have  been  averted  only  by  the  interference  of  one 
of  the  convert  princes.  Among  the  civil  class  of  the  Literati,  how- 
ever, his  holy  cause  found  some  devoted  allies.  It  has  been  already 
seen  that  the  arch-poet  Dubtacth  became  very  early  a  convert;  and 
we  find  the  Saint,  in  the  course  of  a  journey  through  Leinster,  pay- 
ing a  visit  to  this  hard's  residence,  in  Hy-Kinsellagh,  and  consulting 
with  him  upon  matters  relating  to  the  faith.  The  arch-poet's  disci- 
ple, too,  Fiecl),  was  here  admitted  to  holy  orders  by  St.  Patrick, 
and,  hecoming  afterwards  bisho])  of  Sletty,  left  behind  him  a  name 
as  distinguished  for  piety  as  for  learning. 

"The  event,  in  consequence  of  which  the  Saint  addressed  his  in- 
dignant letter  to  Coroticus,  the  only  authentic  writing,  besides  the 
Confession,  we  have  from  his  hand,  is  supposed  to  have  taken  place 
during  his  stay  on  the  Munster  coast,  about  the  year  450.*  A  Brit- 
ish prince,  named  Coroticus,  who,  though  professing  to  be  a  Cliris- 
tian,  was  not  the  less,  as  appears  from  his  conduct,  a  pirate  and 
persecutor,  had  landed  with  a  party  of  armed  followers,  while  St. 
Patrick  was  on  the  const,  and  set  about  plundering  a  large  district 
in  which,  on  the  very  day  before,  the  Saint  had  baptized  and  con- 
firmed   a   vast  number  of  converts. t     Having   murdered   several  of 

*  In  the  clironology  of  the  events  of  St.  Patrick's  life,  I  Ijave  throughout  fol- 
lowed Dr.  Lanigan,  than  whom,  in  all  respects,  there  cannot  be  a  more  industrious 
or  trustworthy  guide. 

1  "  Dc  sanguine  innocentium  Christianorum,  quos  ego  innumcros  Deo  genui, 
atque  in  Christo  confirinavi,  postera,  die  qua  chrisma  neophyti  in  veste  Candida 
flagrabat  in  fronte  ipsorum." — Cunfess. 

"  We  have  here,  in  a  fe-w  words,"  says  Dr.  Lanigan,  "  an  exact  description  of 
the  ancient  discipline,  according  to  which  the  sacrament  of  confirmation  or  chrism 


293 

these  persons,  the  pirates  carried  off  a  considerable  mimber  of  cap- 
tives, ;ind  then  sold  them  as  slaves  to  the  Picts  and  Scots,  who  were 
at  tliat  time  enija<red  iu  their  last  joint  excursion  into  Britain.  A 
letfer  despatched  by  the  saint  to  tiie  marauders,  requestinj"-  tiieni  to 
restore  tiie  ba|)ti7,ed  captives,  and  part  of  the  booty,  liaving  been 
treated  by  them  with  contnmely,  he  i'ound  himself  under  the  neces- 
sity of  forthwith  issuing  tiie  solemn  epistle  wiiich  has  come  down  to 
us,  in  whicii,  denouncing  Coroticus  and  his  followers  as  robbers  and 
murderers,  he,  in  his  capacity  of  "  Bishop  established  in  Ireland," 
declares  them  to  be  excommunicated." 

For  fourteen  years  after  this  period,  he  continued  to  travel  through, 
and  build  churches,  in  all  parts  of  the  kingdom,  so  that  in  4G0,  a 
year  prior  to  his  going  to  Rome,  the  religion  of  the  gos[)el  was  dis- 
seminated in  every  corner  of  the  country.  "Thus,"  writes  O'llal- 
loran,  "by  the  prudence,  moderation  and  good  sense  of  the  apostle 
of  Ireland,  was  the  whole  nation  brought  to  acknowledge  the  holy 
religion  of  Christ;  and  this  wonderful  reform  was  conducted  with  so 
much  wisdom,  that  it  produced  not  the  least  disturbance  or  confusion. 
The  Druids  and  their  votaries  were  unmolested  ;  and  Christian  bish- 
ops were  appointed  to  succeed  the  arcIi-Flamcus  by  those  families 
only  who,  being  converted,  had  a  right  to  such  nomination." 

Our  saint,  now  that  the  entire  people  of  Ireland  had  conformed 
to  his  creed,  resolved  to  repair  to  the  court  of  the  supreme  head  of 
the  Christian  church,  to  render  an  account  of  the  hap|)y  success  of 
his  mission  in  Ireland.  After  sailing  from  Dublin,  he  touched  at 
the  Isle  of  Man,  then  an  Irish  colony,  with  a  view  of  converting  the 
people,  who  were  at  that  time  immersed  in  the  ignorance  of  hea- 
thenism. 


CHAPTER  XLI. 

Tha  Biograplnj  of  St.  Patrick  continued.     The  cavils  of  Dr.  Ledtcicli  ansiccred. 

Leaving  St.  German,  one  of  bis  monks,  in  charge  of  the  Christian 
community  in  the  Isle  of  Man,  he  took  his  departure  for  Rome. 
On  his  arrival  at  the  Po|)e's  ])alace,  he  was  honoured  by  the  n^ost 
distinguished  notice  from  his  Ilcjlincss,  and  the  college  of  cardinals. 

Until  now  he  bore  the  appellation  of  Sucrath  Mogonias,  but  the 
sovereign  pontiff,  for  the  purpose  of  testifying  his  satisfaction  and 
approbation  of  the  saint's  success  in  Ireland,  conferred  on  him  the 
Patrician  order.  Patricius,  therefore,  was  only  his  title,  though  it 
afterwards  became  his  name. 

The  Pope,  not  content  with  honouring  our  apostle  thus,  gave  him 
also  a  pall,  investing  him  with  full  powers  to  act  not  only  as  Legate, 

used  to  be  administered  immediately  after  baptism  by  the  bishop,  in  case  he  vi^ere 
the  baptizer  or  present  on  the  occasion.  We  see  also  the  white  garment  of  the 
newly  baptized." 


294 

but  as  Archbishop  of  Armagh,  and  primate  of  all  Ireland.  He  re- 
turned to  his  see  of  Armajfh  in  the  bcffiiining-  of  the  year  448,  where, 
in  conjunction  with  Auxelius  and  Isernius,  he  summoned  ail  the 
Irish  clergy  to  a  iiational  council.  Here,  it  is  stated  by  Jcjcelyn,  he 
nominated  thirty  bisho|)S,  in  virtue  of  his  legantine  authority.  The 
canons  of  this  memorable  synod  are,  it  is  said  by  Taafte,  still  extant 
in  the  archives  of  the  Vatican.  "In  the  eighth  canon,"  writes  Col- 
gan,  "  are  the  rules  and  regulations  of  the  ancient  combat  for  the 
trial  of  truth,  which  provided — 'that  if  a  clerk  become  surety  for  a 
heathen,  and  be  deceived,  he  shall  pay  the  debt;  but  if  he  enters 
into  the  lists  with  him,  he  shall  be  put  out  of  the  pale  of  the  holy 
Roman  Catholic  church.'  " 

At  the  synod  of  Armagh  he  established  the  authority  of  the  church 
on  a  solid  foundation.  He  divided  the  kingdom  into  sees,  deaneries, 
rectories,  and  parishes,  over  which  he  placed  eminent  ecclesiastics 
of  learning  and  piety. 

The  church  government  which  he  now  combined,  organized,  and 
consolidated,  was  in  its  form  and  details  assimilated  to  that  practised 
in  the  papal  territories.  It  is  a  remarkable  fact,  that  the  sees  which 
he  then  established,  notwithstanding  the  change  of  religion,  are 
continued  within  the  limits  which  he  defined,  down  to  the  present 
day.  In  this  convocation,  the  see  of  Emly  was  given  to  St.  Ailbe, 
Ardmore  to  St.  Declan,  and  that  of  Aghavoe,  now  Ossory,  to  St. 
Kieran.* 

^  "  St.  Patrick  and  his  companions  liaving  rested  and  refreshed  themselves  some 
time  at  Liverpool,  where  they  preached  the  gospel,  and  converted  many  hundreds 
of  the  inhabitants.  On  the  spot  where  he  performed  those  miracles  which  wrought 
the  conversion,  the  inhabitants  erected  a  cross  in  honour  and  memory  thereof,  and 
called  it  by  his  name,  which  to  this  very  day  it  bears.  From  thence  the  saint  and 
his  disciples  went  to  the  Isle  of  Man,  where  he  placed  St.  Gorman,  a  canon  of  the 
Lateran  church,  as  bishop." — Seacome's  History  of  the  Isle  of  Man,  Liverpool  edi- 
tion, A.  D.  1741. 

It  may  be  interesting  to  some  of  the  readers  of  this  history,  to  be  furnished  with 
the  names  of  the  Bishops  which  our  saint  appointed  at  this  synod,  to  the  different 
sees  in  Ireland.     A.  D.  455. 

He  resigned  the  arch  prelacy  of  Armagh  to  his  beloved  scholar,  St.  Benignus. 
The  see  of  Clonard,  now  Meath,  which  then,  and  down  to  the  year  1153,  compre- 
hended the  bishoprics  of  Duleek,  Kells,  Trim,  Ardbracken,  Slane,  Dunshaughlin, 
was  confided  to  St.  Finian,  the  famous  poet,  philosopher,  and  divine.  To  the  see 
of  Clogher  he  appointed  M'Cartin,  the  son  of  a  powerful  chieltain  of  the  county 
of  Tyrone.     The  cathedral  of  Clogher  was  built  by  St.  Patrick  some  years  before. 

"  Clogher,"  says  Ware,  "  seated  on  the  Blackwater,  has  its  name  from  a  golden 
stone,  where,  during  the  time  of  paganism,  the  devil,  like  the  oracle  of  Apollo, 
gave  out  deluding  answers,  as  the  register  preserved  in  the  cathedral  lias  it."  The 
first  Bishop  of  Clogher,  who  was  sainted  for  his  virtues,  died  the  24th  of  May,  506. 
Although  St.  Patrick  built  the  church  of  Down,  A.  D.  450,  we  do  not  find  that  he 
deputed  a  bishop  to  preside  over  it  at  this  synod.  The  first  bishop  of  the  sees  of 
Down  and  Connor  was  St.  Cailan,  who  died,  A.  D.  518.  The  see  of  Raphoe  was 
not  founded  until  the  days  of  St.  Columb  Kille.  Kilniore  is  a  see  of  comparatively 
recent  erection.  Andrew  M'Brady  was  appointed  by  bull  of  Pope  Nicholas  V.  its 
first  bishop,  A.  D.  3453.  The  Bishopric  of  Ardagh,  (the  lofty  hill,)  in  the  county 
of  Longford,  he  presented  to  his  nephew  St.  Mela.  The  cathedral  church  was 
founded  by  St.  Patrick.  St.  Mela  died,  A.  D.  488.  Derry  was  erected  into  an 
episcopal  see  by  St.  Lugene,  A.  D.  545,  who  was  its  first  bishop.  The  see  of 
Dromore,  in  the  county  of  Down,  owes  its  origin  to  St.  Coleman,  who  died  in 
576.  Dublin  was  not  an  archiepiscopal  see  until  1038,  when  Donagh,  a  Dane, 
was  consecrated  its  first  bishop.     Kildare,  of  this  see  St.  Coulain  was  the  first 


295 

When  he  liad  completed  these  ecclesiastical  arranffetnents,  he 
retired  to  the  Ishind,  in  Lough  Derg,  (the  red  lake,)  in  the  county 
of  Donegal,  for  the  purpose  of  mortifying  himself  hy  abstinence, 
penance,  and  otiier  ascetic  privations.  But  in  his  retirement  he  did 
not  entirely  abstract  his  soHcitude  from  the  Irish  church.  Devotion, 
and  the  advancement  of  the  holy  faith  in  the  enthusiasm  of  the  peo- 
ple, now  engrossed  his  whole  attention.  He  presided  at  different 
synods  in  various  parts  of  Ireland,  where  the  most  salutary  canons 
were  enacted  for  the  security  of  religion  and  morals.  To  dissemi- 
nate Roman  literature  through  the  country,  we  are  told  by  Nennius, 
that  he  wrote,  with  his  own  hand,  three  hundred  alphabets  in  the 
Roman  character. 

Prior  to  this  period,  the  Irish  clergy  celebrated  the  feast  of  Eas- 
ter, and  adopted  the  time  according  to  the  calculation  of  the  eastern 

bishop.  He  died  on  the  3d  of  May,  510.  St.  Eden,  of  the  royal  family  of  Lein- 
ster,  was  the  first  bishop  of  Ferns  :  he  died  in  January,  G32.  The  first  bishop  of 
Leiffhlin,  was  St.  Lascerian,  who  died  in  May,  603. 

The  late  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Doyle,  a  gentleman  who,  in  depth  of  education, 
strength  of  genius,  and  force  of  eloquence,  has  left  no  living  superior  on  the  epis- 
copal throne,  and  was  the  late  Roman  Catholic  prelate  of  Kiklare  and  Leio-hlin. 
We  have  before  mentioned,  in  the  te.xt,  that  St.  Ailbe,  the  contemporary  of  St. 
Patrick,  was  the  first  bishop  of  Cashel  and  Einley.  The  bishopric  of  Limerick 
was  founded  in  the  tenth  century,  by  St.  Munchin.  Donald  O'Brien,  kino-  of 
Munster,  built  the  cathedral.  Waterford  was  not  a  bishopric  until  10i)4,  when 
Malchus  was  the  first  prelate.  Lismore,  (or  the  great  fort,)  was  united  to  the  see 
of  Waterford  by  a  bull  of  Pope  Urban  V.,  A.  D.  1358.  St.  Carthas  was  its  first 
bishop  :  he  died  14th  May,  038.  It  was  this  saint  who  built  the  cathedral  of  Lis- 
more. Cork  became  a  bishopric  under  St.  Bar,  or  Finbar,  who  flourished  in  the 
middle  of  the  seventli  centurj'.  He  built  the  catiiedral  of  Cork.  Cloyne  was 
united  to  Cork  under  the  prelacy  of  Jordan,  bishop  of  both  sees,  in  1430,  by  virtue 
of  a  bull  from  Pope  Martin  V.  The  cathedral  of  Cloyne  was  erected  by  St.  Cole- 
man, a  pupil  of  St.  Finbar,  a  prelate  of  high  birth  and  extensive  education.  He 
died  in  November,  G04.  Ross,  formerly  a  separate  bishopric,  founded  by  St.  Fa- 
cheran.  "  a  wise  and  amiable  man,"  writes  Ware,  in  the  commencement  of  the 
si.xth  century-,  is  now  an  appendage  of  Cloyne  and  Cork.  The  saint  built  a  cathe- 
dral there,  the  choir  of  which  yet  remains.  The  bishopric  of  Killaloe,  in  the 
county  of  Clare,  was  founded  by  St.  Flenan,  in  G39.  He  was  the  son  of  the  king 
of  Munster.  This  princely  prelate  erected  a  fine  cathedral  here.  Ardfcrt,  or  the 
summit  of  miracles,  was  made  an  episcopal  see  by  Art,  the  son  of  a  chieftain  of 
Kerry.  The  cathedral  of  Ardfert  was  originally  founded  by  St.  Bundan  in  the 
seventh  century.  Finabore,  in  the  county  of  Clare,  was  a  bishopric.  Our  annal- 
ists are  not  agreed  as  to  who  built  the  catiiedral,  which  is  now  a  pile  of  ruins.  It 
was  dedicated  to  St.  Faehnan. 

The  Arch-bishopric  of  Tuam,  in  the  county  of  Galway,  was  founded  by  St. 
Jarlath,  the  son  of  Loga  O'Connor,  king  of  Connaught.  Sir  James  Ware,  in  his 
lives  of  the  Irish  Bishops,  lauds  the  learning  and  piety  of  St.  Jarlath.  He  studied 
in  the  famous  school  of  Clonard.  St.  Brendan  was  his  coadjutor  bishop.  It  was 
this  j)relate  who  built  the  cathedral  of  St.  Mary,  in  Tuam,  in  the  year  G02.  In 
the  eleventh  century  his  remains  were  found  entire  in  his  tomb.  Elphin,  in  the 
county  of  Roscommon,  was  established  as  a  Bishop's  see  by  St.  Patrick.  The 
cathedral  was  erected  by  our  apostle  in  the  middle  of  the  fifth  century.  The  first 
bishop  was  St.  Asicus,  a  disciple  of  St.  Patrick,  who  died,  A.  D.  540.  Under  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  Bishop  of  Elphin  are  seventy-nine  parishes.  The  see  of  Clon- 
fert  owes  its  origin  to  St.  Brendan.  It  was  this  .saint  erected  the  cathedral.  He 
died  on  the  Gtli  of  May  577,  and  was  buried  under  the  great  altar. 

St  Patrick  founded  the  see  of  Killala,  in  the  county  of  Mayo,  over  which  he 
placed  St.  Murdach.  The  festival  of  this  saint  is  still  celebrated  on  the  12th  of 
August.  In  our  topography  of  the  difl^erent  counties  in  which  the  sees  and  cathe- 
drals are  situated,  we  shall  be  more  circumstantial  and  comprehensive  in  our  de- 
tails. 


296 

churches.  The  Jews,  we  perceive  by  ll)eir  best  authenticated  his- 
tory, commemorated  their  passover  on  the  fourteenth  day  of  the 
moon,  and  tiieir  having-  put  Christ  to  death,  whilst  tliey  were  cele- 
brating the  feast  of  the  pasclial  lamb;  which  induced  the  Christians 
to  fix  on  thi'ir  Easter  festival.  "St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul,"  says  an 
able  Catiiohc  Divine,  O'Leary,  "after  quitting  Palestine,  judged 
that  the  keeping  the  feast  of  Easter  on  the  fourteentii  day  of  the 
first  moon  was  rather  adopting  the  Jewish,  than  forming  a  new  fes- 
tival ;  thev,  therefore,  transferred  it  to  the  Sunday  after,  unless  that 
Sunday  fell  on  the  fourteenth.  But  St.  John,  and  the  cinirchcs  of 
Asia  and  Africa,  adhered  to  the  first  institution,  and  tlie  Irish  bish- 
ops followed  tliese  observances  until  the  latter  years  of  the  prelacy 
of  St.  Patrick." 

What  St.  Patrick's  opinion  was,  on  this  mere  matter  of  discipline 
in  the  church,  does  not  appear.  "We  do  not,"  writes  O'llalloran, 
"find  any  mention  of  it  during  his  mission;  and  yet  it  is  most  cer- 
tain, that  the  Irish  did  then  observe  the  Easter  celebration  after  the 
Asiatic  manner.  From  the  remarkable  attachment  of  the  Irish  to 
this  custoiT),  we  have  striking  proofs  of  the  foresigiit  and  wisdom  of 
our  apostle.  He  probably  endeavoured  to  reconcile  the  Irish  clergy 
to  the  practice  of  the  universal  church;  and  very  likely  lalioured, 
also,  to  make  them  acknowledge  the  supremacy  of  Rome.  Indeed, 
the  Irish  ecclesiastics  were  the  last  to  submit  to  the  Roman  calcula- 
tion of  Easter  day. 

Our  apostle,  in  the  one  hundred  and  eighteenth  year  of  his  age, 
took  up  liis  abode  in  Saul  Abliey,  in  the  county  of  Down,  where, 
after  a  residence  of  two  years,  devoted  to  prayer  and  |)iety,  he  died 
in  the  fifteenth  year  of  the  reign  of  Lugha.  493,  at  the  venerable 
and  [)atriarchal  age  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-one.  He  was  in- 
terred in  the  abbey  of  Down,  which  had  been  founded  by  himself. 
St.  Bridsret  and  St.  Columba  were  afterwards  buried  in  the  same 
sepulchre,  as  appears  from  the  Latin  inscription  on  the  tomb,  uhich 
Catnbrensis,  in  his  topograj)hy  of  Ireland,  tells  us  was  quite  legible 
in  his  day — 

"  Hi  tres  dinio,  tumiilo  fumuJantur,  in  uno, 
Brigitia,  Patricius,  atque  Columba  Pius. — " 
"  In  Down  three  saints  one  grave  do  fill, 
Bridget.  Patrick,  and  Colunib  Kille." 

The  saintly  sepulchre  of  Down,  in  all  its  architectural  and  sculp- 
tural magnificence,  its  splendid  shrine,  adorned  with  the  richest  do- 
nations of  piety,  existed  until  Lord  Deputy  Grey  demolished  the 
one,  and  despoiled  the  other,  in  the  true  Gothic  spirit  that  actuated 
the  tasteless  underlings  of  the  tyrannic  Henry  VIII.  and  his  licentious 
daugliter,  the  murderous  Elizabeth.  Bu-t  as  we  shall  have  occasion 
to  speak  of  Lord  Deputy  Grey's  administration  in  Ireland,  in  a  fu- 
ture chapter,  we  will  not  expatiate  on  the  subject  here.  We  must 
not,  however,  omit  to  notice  and  reprehend  the  falsehoods  which 
the  national  apostate,  the  late  Dr.  Ledwich,  propagated  respecting 
our  national  apostle.  But  it  was  with  the  hope  of  encircling  his 
brows  with  a  mitre  that  perverted  the  principles,  and  warped  the 
Irish  sympathies  of  Ledwich.     This  ambition,  and  the  expectation 


297 

of  his  episcopal  dignity,  persuaded  him  to  diverge  from  the  fair 
course  ol"  truth,  and  honour,  and  justice,  heyond  the  sacred  precincts 
whicli  reason  has  marked  hy  an  inviohihle  line  of  deinai  cation. 
His  false  assertions  having  passed  thus  irrevocahly  tiie  houndariis 
of  candour,  the  arguments  of  Mahme,  M'Dermolt,  and  the  erudite 
Dr.  Mihier,  Iiave  atiixed  tiie  mark  of  baseness  upr)n  them  ;  and  they 
now  necessarily  stand  exposed  and  self-convicted  hy  their  own  in- 
cautious temerity.  The  verity  of  our  annals  has  been  strengthened 
by  the>e  writers,  who  have  sustained  them  by  new  bunres>es  of  log- 
ical deduction,  so  that  they  must  now  oppose  an  adamantine  pano- 
j)ly  against  the  futile  mendacity  of  such  recreants  as  Ledwich. 

There  is  not  in  our  (.'hristian  records  any  fact  better  suhstiintiatod 
than  the  existence  of  St.  Patrick;  and  we  might  assert,  with  a  per- 
fect regard  to  truth,  that  there  is  no  saint  on  the  calendar  \\  ho.»e  life 
has  been  written  hy  so  many  hands,  as  well  natives  as  foreigners. 
It  is  loudly  proclaimed  by  the  universal  tradition  of  the  country  ;  by 
the  very  names  of  the  churches  which  he  built,  the  numerous  sites 
of  his  pious  erections  ; — all  might  have  convinced  any  one,  except 
the  coadjutors  of  Macpherson,  of  the  idendity  and  real  existence  of 
our  patron  saint.  But  wliy  should  we  wonder  at  any  fool-iiardy 
assertion  of  Ledwich,  who  wrote  with  all  his  might  to  sid)vert  the 
credit  of  the  entire  body  of  our  history,  and  to  prove  to  Europe  that 
our  records  were  bottomed  on  the  qua<rmire  of  poetic  fiction? 

Dr.  Ledwich  opens  the  campaign  of  his  national  infidelity  by  ob- 
serving— "The  existence  of  this  saint,"  says  he,  "and  his  conver- 
sion of  the  Irish,  are  points  not  only  firmly  believed  by  the  Lish, 
but  referred  to,  as  undeniable  historic  facts,  by  every  writer  who  has 
treated  of  the  civil  and  ecclesiastical  history  of  the  country.  But 
about  the  year  1618,  Dr.  Ryves  one  of  the  masters  in  chancery  in 
Dublin,  and  judge  of  the  facidties,  and  prerogative  court,  to  answer 
a  calumnious  and  inflammatory  libel,  was  obliged  to  consider  mi- 
nutely the  history  of  the  established  church." 

From  the  tenor  of  this  delusive  and  deceiving:  passage,  with  which 
he  endeavoured  to  throw  a  veil  of  fiction  over  the  fact  of  our  saint's 
existence,  the  impressicm  might  gain  an  ascendency  in  shalhnv 
minds  that  the  apostle  of  Ireland  was  only  an  imaginary  [lersnnage. 
For  who  can  read  the  passage,  without  being  led  to  suppose  that 
Dr.  Ryves,  a  prejudiced  Englishman,  totally  unacquainted  with  our 
language,  discovered  from  being  obliged  to  consider  viinvtdy  the 
history  of  the  established  church,  (Seldon's,  we  presume,)  that  our 
saint  was  only  the  creature  (tf  fancy;  yet  no  such  thing  appears. 
He,  it  is  true,  has  his  doid)ts,  like  the  inglorious  and  unnational 
Ledwich,  hut  he  could  not  prove  them  well  founded. 

The  authority  of  Ryves,  however,  rather  militated  against  the 
Utopian  system  of  Dr.  Ledwich,  and  it  is  only  surprising  that  so 
cunning,  sophistical,  and  plausible  a  disputant  as  Ledwich  should 
have  introduced  it. 

We  shall,  however,  without  treading  in  the  footsteps  of  Dr.  Mil- 

ner,  follow  Dr.  Ledwich    in    his   history  of  Dr.  Ryves's  silly  doubts 

relative  to  the  existence  of  St.  Patrick.      "  Doubts,"  says  tiiis  unfilial 

son  of  Erin,  "arose  in  his  mind  as  to  the  reality  of  our  apostle,  and 

38 


298 

of  the  age  in  which  he  is  supposed  to  have  flourished."  However, 
before  Dr.  Ryves  had  seriously  applied  to  an  invesli<ration  of  these 
matters,  he  thought  it  proper  and  becoming  to  consult  Camden  and 
Usher,*  the  two  great  luminaries  of  British  and  Irish  antiquities. 
To  the  latter  he  opens  his  objections; — and  first  he  observes,  the 
wonderful  miracles  recorded  of  St.  Patrick  were  neither  common 
nor  believed  in  the  age  in  which  he  lived  ;  and  this  he  proves  from 
St.  Augustin,  who  was  contemporary  with  our  apostle.  Secondly, 
he  argues  from  the  silence  of  Platinus,  who,  though  in  his  life  of 
Pope  Celestine  mentions  the  sending  of  St.  Germanius  into  England, 
and  Palladius  into  Scotland,  takes  no  notice  of  his  appointing  Pat- 
rick to  Ireland,  and  therefore  concludes  he  must  have  lived  later 
than  was  generally  supposed.  Unacquainted  with  Camden,  yet  de- 
sirous of  his  opinion,  Ryves  prevailed  on  Usher  to  lay  his  letter  be- 
fore him,  which  he  did.  Usher  seems  not  to  have  acted  friendly,  im- 
partiallij,  or  candidly  on  this  occasion;  for,  in  his  letter  to  Camden, 
enclosing  that  of  Ryves's,  he  endeavours  to  prepossess  him  in  fa- 
vour of  St.  Patrick,  and  even  to  point  out  what  answer  he  should 
give.  lie,  indeed,  remarks,  that  "the  ridiculous  miracles  fastened 
upon  our  saint  were  the  work  of  later  writers;"  and  in  tiiis  Camden 
agrees.  Dr.  Ryves,  thus  discountenanced  by  the  oracular  decisions 
of  these  eminent  men,  and  overborne  solely  by  authority,  no  further 
pursued  this  curious  subject,  a  few  hints  excepted,  although  his 
learning  enabled  him  to  bring  it  to  a  fair  conclusion.  On  what 
weak,  but  specious,  grounds  of  logic  has  the  humble  squire  of 
Macpherson  built  up  his  system  of  historical  imposition  ! 

Such  is  Dr.  Ledwich's  history  of  a  transaction  which  served,  in- 
stead of  contributing  to  his  purposes,  materially  to  strengthen  the 
authority  of  our  annalists,  and  to  impress  the  relations  of  St.  Patrick 
with  the  seal  of  veritable  fact.  If  ever  a  man  used  arguments  to 
defeat,  nullify,  and  depreciate  a  fanciful  theory,  and  impede  its  pro- 
gress in  general  opinion,  that  man  was  the  late  Dr.  Ledwich.  His 
reasoning  and  deductions  are  lame  and  impotent  in  the  extreme ; 
and  were  brought,  as  a  dernier  reserve,  into  action  by  the  unpatri- 
otic writer,  to  prop  up  his  visionary  hypothesis.  What  stronger 
proof,  we  would  ask,  could  Dr.  Ledwich  have  brought  forward,  if 
he  wished  to  remove  any  doubts  that  might  have  been  entertained 
of  our  saint's  existence,  than  to  represent  an  old,  casuistical,  incred- 
ulous lawyer,  doubting  of  it,  and  in  order  to  satisfy  his  doubts,  ap- 
plying to  the  "  itoo  greatest  luminaries  of  British  and  Irish  antiquities^' 
— Camden  and  Usher,  who  both  unceremoniously  confirmed  the  ex- 
istence of  the  apostle  of  Ireland.  "But,"  says  the  learned  Doctor, 
"  Usher  Seems  not  to  have  acted  friendly,  impartially,  or  candidly, 
on  this  occasion  ;  for,  in  his  letter  to  Camden,  he  endeavours  to  pre- 
possess him  in  favour  of  St.  Patrick."     The  impartial  and  intelligent 

*  Archbisliop  Usher,  vvliose  fame  shines  as  a  primary  luminary  in  our  history 
and  her  literature,  and  wliom  Dr.  Johnson  declared  the  most  learned  man  in  Eu- 
rope in  his  acre,  was  born  in  Dublin,  in  tlie  year  1.580.  He  received  his  education 
in  Trinity  College,  Dublin,  where  he  distincruished  himself  by  his  extensive  eru- 
dition and  classical  eloquence.  In  1621  he  was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Meath.  At 
tbe  special  request  of  James  1.  lie  was  translated,  in  162-4,  to  the  arciiiepiscopal 
see  of  Armagh.     He  died  in  1655. 


299 

reader  must  immediately  perceive  that  this  is  a  most  unwarrantable 
and  flagrant  attack  upon  the  honour  and  reputation  of  the  immortal 
Bishop  Usher.  That  erudite,  profound,  and  virtuous  prelate  has 
been  accused  by  an  unprincijiled  detamer  of  his  native  land,  of  j)ar- 
tiahty  and  want  of  candour,  because,  forsooth,  in  his  letter  to  Cam- 
den, he  oflers  any  opinion  on  a  subject  with  which  he  was  so  pecu- 
liarly and  intimately  acquainted,  if  we  were  to  confirm  Dr.  Led- 
wich's  conclusions,  we  siiould  admit  that  candour  and  impartiality 
consist  in  being  silent,  in  regard  to  truth,  and  tliat  those  qualities, 
which  moral  philoso|)hers  have  taught  us  to  revere  as  virtues,  were 
but  the  mere  negatives  of  his  ludicrous  system  of  new-fangled  ethics. 
But  more  of  this  in  the  next  chapter  ;  for  we  feel  it  a  duty  incumbent 
on  us  to  prove  that  Ledwich's  history  of  Ireland  is  a  base  libel  on 
our  country. 


CHAPTER   XLII. 

The  objections  of  Dr.  Ledicich  agai.ist  the  existence  of  St.  Patrick  answered. 

Bishop  Usher,  in  his  letter  to  Camden,  gave  expression  to  his 
honest  conviction ;  for  Dr.  Ledwich,  captious  as  he  certainly  was, 
had  not  the  effrontery  even  to  insinuate  that  the  primate  thought 
contrary  to  what  he  considerately  affirmed  in  his  deliberate  commu- 
nication to  the  British  antiquary ;  and,  indeed,  there  is  little  reason 
to  suppose,  that  a  protestant  bishop  of  the  privy  council  of  king 
James  I.  would  labour  to  prove  the  existence  of  a  Catholic  saint,  if 
he  had  believed  him  an  ideal  personage. 

Dr.  Ledwich  endeavoured  to  impress  his  readers  with  the  opinion 
that  Usher  and  Camden  deviated  strangely  from  strict  veracity  in 
their  concurrence  in  the  supposition,  that  the  ridiculous  miracles 
fastened  upon  our  saint  were  the  work  of  later  writers;  "for,"  said 
he,  in  "the  Roman  martyrology,  Erric  of  Auxcrre,  Nennius,  and 
others,  never  omit  St.  Patrick's  miracles  when  they  name  him. 
They  are  both  coeval  and  from  the  same  mint.  Nor  would  an  ar- 
gument so  open  to  confutation  ever  have  been  brought  forward,  was 
a  better  to  be  found."  What  shallow  logic,  and  futile  conclusions  ! 
For  do  we  not  know  that  every  argument  was  open  to  confutation, 
when  attacked  by  the  sophistical  weapons  of  Dr.  Ledwich.  We 
can,  indeed,  confute  any  argument,  if  we  are  permitted  to  add  or 
detract  from  the  sense  of  the  author,  because  it  is  not  then  his  argu- 
ment, but  a  sophistical  metamorphosis,  brought  to  aid  our  own  pur- 
pose. Such  was  Dr.  Ledwich's  mode  of  confuting  arguments  in  his 
crusade  against  our  annalists.  He  maintained  that  arguments  might 
be  culled  out  like  flowers  from  a  parterre,  ad  libitum  ;  and  so  indeed 
they  might,  if  they  were  merely  intended  to  adorn  and  diversify  the 
walks  of  literature,  instead  of  being  employed  on  a  grave  subject 
which  required  lucid  illustration,  and  the  removal  of  the  darkness 


300 

and  obscurity  that  intercepted  the  meridian  lij^ht  of  historical  know- 
Ied;re  and  aiitiqiuirian  rcsearcli.  But  Dr.  Lndwich,  though  a  o:nod 
schohir,  dill  not  reason  in  the  stron*:  s}ih)j'istical  lojiie  of  Locke  ; 
for  when  in  a  false  position,  or  a  dilemnia  of  rejison,  he  mounts  liis 
noisy  i;haiiot,  and,  hke  oM  Sahiioneus,  who  aftected  the  god  conies 
thiiriderinu:  over  his  brazen  britige,  overpowering  his  antagonists  and 
readers  at  least  by  sound,  if  not  by  arirument. 

He  tells  ns,  in  his  history,  that  Dv.  Ryves  "  ?cas  overborne  soldi/  by 
aut/ioriti/  ;^''  a  tribunal  from  whose  decisions  he  appeals  to  the  high 
court  of  his  own  finciful  iiypothesis,  and  here  he  ofturs  in  his  plead- 
innr  the  omnipotent  opinion  of  his  friend  Macjiherson,  whicdi  asserted 
that  "the  riuthoritij  of  a  thousand  learned  men  is  not  equal  to  one 
solid  aigutnenl  !"  But  what  are  arguments  if  not  founded  on  author- 
ity ?  for  without  the  evidence  «)f  authoiity  we  cannot  reason  on  as- 
serted facts,  because  we  can  have  no  pretence  whatever  to  argue 
either  for  or  against  the  truth  of  any  thing  recorded  in  the  historic 
pane.  Authority,  it  is  true,  can  have  no  weight  in  metaphysical 
and  [)!iiIosopliicai  iinpiiries,  but  so  far  as  it  is  found  to  coincide  with 
reason  and  observation.  The  book  of  nature  is  open  to  all  men,  it 
is  the  same  in  all  ages;  and  he  who  can  rec<ignize  the  truths  end)la- 
Z)ned  on  its  pages,  imbibes  information  at  the  fountain  head  of 
ratioiiid  |)liil(isopiiy. 

We  do  not  beliei'e  a  proposition  in  physics,  geometry,  or  ethics, 
because  a  certain  celebrated  plnlosopher,  or  mathematician,  has  as- 
serted it  to  be  true;  but  because  we  find  it  to  quadiate  with  the  de- 
ductions of  reason,  which  are  eternal  and  unchangeable.  We  know 
that  the  truths  of  these  ])ropositions  do  not  change  with  times,  and 
that  if  they  were  true  in  the  times  of  Pythagoras,  Socrates,  or  Euc- 
lid, they  must  be  so  at  the  present  time.  Here  then  authority  can 
never  decide,  though  the  precepts  of  others  may  guide  us  to  those 
principles  that  enable  us  to  judge  for  ourselves.  But  who  will  say 
that  the  knowledge  of  history  is  collected  in  the  same  manner? 
Who,  we  ask,  will  affirm  that  we  have  the  same  means  of  ascertain- 
ing, at  present,  that  the  land  of  Egypt  was  afflicted  by  ten  plagues, 
in  the  time  of  Pharaoh,  as  ]\Joses  and  Aaron  iiad,  who  weie  actual 
witnesses  of  the  scene  and  occurrences;  or  that  we  could  know  any 
thing  of  this  extraordinary  visitation,  if  it  had  nr)t  been  recorded  by 
Moses  1  Authority,  then,  is  the  sole  arbiter  of  historical  knowledge  ; 
and  he  who,  like  Dr.  Ryves,  is  overborne  by  authority  ;  he  who  sets 
up  his  own  visionary  conjectures  on  the  tripod  of  imagination,  to 
overawe  and  frown  down  its  testimony,  must  be  either  blinded  by 
folly,  or  infatuated  by  incorrigible  bigotry  and  refractory  prejudice. 
Dr.  Ledwich  was  driven  on  by  these  passions  beyond  the  pale  of  liis 
better  reason  and  judginent,  when  he  exultingly  asserted,  that  though 
Dr.  Ryves  was  overborne  by  authority,  "his  learning  enabled  liini 
to  bring  it  to  a  fair  conclusion,''''  that  is,  that  St.  Patrick  never  exist- 
ed !  Learning,  then,  was,  in  the  doctor's  opinion,  superior  to  au- 
thority in  Jiistoricai  researches,  and  yet  if  he  were  now  living,  we 
would  ask  him,  what  is  learning  as  it  applies  to  historical  narration  ? 
and  he  could  not  help  answering,  that  it  is  a  knowledge  of  such  facts 
and  persons  as  are  communicated  to  us,  and  verified  by  the  author- 


301 

ity  of  historical  writers.  But  why  has  not  Dr.  Ledvvicli  told  us  how 
his  h^arning  enabled  Dr.  Ryves  to  conclude  that  St.  Patrick  never 
existed  ? 

Saiely  tliis  strange  conclusion  was  not  deduced  fiom  learniii«- 
founded  on  autiiority,  for  we  must  not  fjrixet  iliat  lie  ^'^  was  uvtrhonic 
by  ity 

Cut  if  Dr.  Ryves  convinced  himself,  without  any  credible  evidence 
of  authority,  that  St.  Patrick  never  existed,  this  species  of  ground- 
less and  unreasonable  proselytisnj,  thougli  considered  by  himself  and 
Ins  friend  Ledwich  very  satisfactory,  was  doubted  and  decried  by 
the  learned  ; — and  because  U.slier  and  Camden  resolutely  opposed 
the  al)surd  heresy  of  the  new  fiingled  theories,  Ledwich  luhnmated 
a  bitter  anathema  of  wrath  against  their  memories. 

We  are  to  remember,  however,  that  the  greatest  fanatic,  or  the 
wildest  enthusiast,  is  quite  pleased  with  his  own  chimerical  conclu- 
sions, no  matter  how  improbable  and  romantic,  or  hosv  repugnant 
they  may  be  to  common  sense  and  inquiring  reason. 

Dr.  Milner,  to  whose  powerful  writings  on  the  present  subject 
we  must  acknowledge  ourself  much  indebted  for  many  of  the  au- 
thorities that  confirm  the  existence  of  our  apostle,  fully  exposes  the 
sophistry  and  artifice  of  the  arguments  of  Dr.  Ledwich,  regarding 
the  errors  that  have  crept  into  the  calendars  and  martyrologies  of 
the  Roman  Catholic  church.  To  these  errors,  Dr.  Ledwich  alludes 
in  the  most  exulting  manner,  and  adduces  them  as  grounds  from 
which  he  deduced  his  conclusion,  that  St.  Patrick  was  an  ideal 
saint.  But  from  this  vantage  ground,  which  he  thought  impregna- 
ble, the  arguments  of  Dr.  Milner  soon  compelled  the  champion  of 
Macphersou  to  retreat. 

"These  errors,"  says  the  profound  and  erudite  divine,  "have 
been  detected,  not  by  protestant,  but  by  catholic  hagiographers ;  by 
BoUandus,  and  Baillet,  and  Butler,  and  Launoi,  and  Fleury.  In 
the  books  mentioned  by  Dr.  Ledwich,  in  particular,  the  errors  de- 
nounced by  him  have  been  accurately  corrected.  Lideed  in  one  of 
those  liturgical  books,  St.  Denis  of  Paris  was  confounded  with  St. 
Denis  the  Areopagite.  Li  the  next  place,  if  it  were  reasonable  to 
reject  all  ancient  histories  and  records  in  which  an  error  had  been 
detected,  we  might  throw  the  whole  collection  of  them  into  the  fire; 
for  which  of  them  is  entirely  faultless?  After  all,  the  errors  now  in 
question  are  not,  generally  speaking,  those  of  the  hagiographers, 
but  of  the  present  critic.  He  (Dr.  Ledwich)  pretends,  indeed,  that 
those  eminent  Catholic  writers,  Bollandus,  Papebroch,  Launoi,  and 
Tillemont,  rejected  and  spoke  contemptuously  of  "the  deified  phan- 
toms," as  he  calls  the  saints  in  general.  But  what  person  of  learn- 
ing is  not  indignant  at  this  deception,  it  being  notorious  that  those 
profound  scholars  spent  the  greater  part  of  their  lives  in  recording 
the  histories,  and  illustrating  the  virtues  of  those  very  saints?  In 
writing  their  works,  the  martyrologies  were  avowedly  their  first  au- 
thority ;  next  to  which  were  the  most  genuine  acts  of  the  saints 
they  could  procure.  But  what  more  particularly  regards  the  present 
purpose  is,  we  know  that  those  learned  scholars  and  enlightened 
critics  have  one  and   all  acknowledged  the  existence  in  general  of 


302 

Ireland's  apostle,  St,  Patrick,  and  the  authenticity  in  particular  of 
the  account  whicli  he  gives  of  himself,  in  his  celebrated  "  Confes- 
sion." Dr.  Ledwich,  having  discharged  llicse  random  shafts  at  our 
saint,  comes  now  armed  in  the  invuhieiable  panoply  of  irrefutable 
evidence,  to  consign  him  at  once  to  the  chartless  regions  of  ideal 
existence. 

"I  shall  now,"  says  the  arch-apostate,  "proceed  \vith  stronger 
evidence,  to  prove  that  our  apostle  was  an  imaginary  personage. 
If  he  received  his  n)ission  from  Pope  Celesiine,  his  orders,  in  the 
Clmrch  of  Rome,  were  graced  with  the  archiepiscopal  dignity, 
formed  an  hierarchy,  and  established  rights  and  cerenionies  from 
Roman  originals,  as  Colgan,  Jocelyn,  and  all  his  biographers  boast. 
Can  the  utmost  stretch  of  human  ingenuity  assign  a  reason  why 
Cogitosus,  Adamnan,  Cummian,  and  Bede  have  passed  over,  without 
notice  these  interesting  particulars  ?  Bede,  whose  predilections  for 
Rome  and  her  tenets,  has  led  him  into  many  errors,  and  whom  all 
allow  to  have  been  well  informed,  never  would  have  omitted  so  cap- 
ital an  event  as  the  conversion  of  Ireland  by  a  holy  missionary  from 
Rome,  and  the  miracles  of  that  missioner,  in  support  of  his  favorite 
doctrines,  did  such  facts,  or  any  tradition  of  them,  exist  in  the  be- 
ginning of  the  eighth  century." 

Here  the  utmost  stretch  of  human  ingenuity  is  challenged  to  as- 
sign a  reason  why  Cogitosus,  Bede,  and  others  passed  over  the  con- 
version of  Ireland  by  St.  Patrick,  unnoticed,  if  such  a  fact  or  any 
tradition  of  it  existed  in  their  time.  The  doctor  probably  thought 
to  terrify  the  advocates  of  St.  Patrick  by  this  bold  challenge,  from 
attempting  a  task  which  he  describes  as  insurmountable.  But  if 
St.  Patrick  did  really  exist  and  convert  Ireland  in  the  fourth  centu- 
ry. Dr.  Ledwich  should  have  allowed  that  the  fact  was  too  well 
known  and  credited  in  the  commencement  of  the  eighth  century,  so 
as  to  render  it  unnecessary  for  these  eminent  ecclesiastical  writers 
to  say  any  thing  in  support  of  what  was  universally  believed,  and 
established  on  the  most  tenable  grounds  of  historical  evidence. 
Why  should  they  come  forward,  and  impose  upon  themselves  the 
useless  task  of  bearing  testimony  to  the  existence  of  a  great  and 
eminent  apostle  whom  no  one  had  denied  1  But  we  are  told  that 
Bede  woidd  have  been  glad  to  record  so  "  capital  an  event."  If 
Bede  had  lived  in  Protestant  times,  and  in  a  Protestant  country,  he 
n:iight  probably  have  been  anxious  to  signalize  the  couTcrsion  of 
Ireland  to  catholicity,  in  his  ecclesiastical  history. 

We  shall  willingly  admit  to  the  followers  of  Dr.  Ledwich,  that 
the  venerable  Bede  was  zealously  attached  to  the  Roman  see ;  but 
we  must  deny  that  this  attachment  would  have  been  a  reason  why, 
in  his  ecclesiastical  history  of  England,  he  should  deem  it  necessary, 
for  the  honour  of  that  see,  to  speak  of  St.  Patrick.  The  celebrated 
English  historian  was  not  giving  his  readers  an  account  of  the 
affairs  of  the  Irish  church,  nor  of  its  conversion  to  Christianity,  and, 
therefore,  as  Dr.  Milner  properly  observes,  '-had  no  greater  reason 
to  speak  of  St.  Patrick  than  of  St.  Jicgimhis,  the  apostle  of  the 
French."  But  does  not  Dr.  Ledwich  himself  acknowledge,  in  his 
antiquities,  that  Bede  makes  an  honorable  mention  of  St.  Patrick 
in  his  Martyrology  ? 


303 

What  greater,  or  more  convincinp,"  testimony  could  the  doctor  re- 
quire to  prove  the  existence  of  the  Irish  apostle  than  tliis  ?  But  it 
is  tiresome  and  profitless  to  pursue  Dr.  Ledwich  much  farther 
throuijh  the  traceless  wilds  of  his  theory — through  a  futile,  iliou<;h 
dogmatical,  a  specious,  thouiih  <>larinciiy  sophistical  and  inconclusive 
train  of  ncffative  arguments,  ])lausihly  suited,  no  douht,  to  vulgar 
apprehension,  which,  were  they  even  ingeniously  and  logically  con- 
nected, could  still  i)rove  nothing,  inasmuch  as  negative  arjiuments 
can  afford  no  positive  evidence,  no  positive  proof,  no  positive  his- 
toric elucidation  ;  and  the  reader  conversant  with  Ledwich's  anti- 
quities will  observe  that  all  his  arguments  against  the  real  existence 
of  St.  Patrick  are  mere  hypothetical  phantoms,  that  vanish  from  the 
light  of  inquiry  into  their  congenial  scpidchrcs  of  sophistry.  No 
one  argument  occurs  in  which  the  mind  could  fortify  itself  with  the 
orthodoxy  of  reason,  no  strong  hold  for  logical  inquiry  to  make  a 
stand  against  the  assaults  of  disputation.  In  fine,  there  is  nothing- 
tangible  that  can  be  grasped — nothing,  verily,  that  is  marked  witli 
the  distinctive  features,  and  glowing  with  the  jiulsations  of  life, 
spirit,  or  reality.  No  such  characteristic  belongs  to  tlie  controversial 
or  polemical  writings  of  the  late  Rev.  Dr.  Ledwich.  His  arguments 
were  too  retined,too  subtle  and  ethereal,  to  endure  the  grosser  bonds 
of  material  encumbrance  ;  nay,  they  cannot  even  find  a  resting  place 
in  the  remotest  prospect  of  intellectual  vision  ;  yet  with  all  their 
negative  nihility,  they  were  pompously  and  dogmatically  brought 
forward  to  prove,  that  Bishop  Usher,  General  Vallancey,  the  Rev. 
]Mr.  Whitaker,  INIr.  Charles  O'Connor,  Dr.  Keating,  as  well  as 
Fleury,  Mosheim,  Tillemont,  Cane,  Nicholson,  Harris,  Ware,  Hutch- 
inson, Camden,  Sheliman,  Bollandus,  Bellermen,  Godwin,  Parker, 
Bale,  Colgan,  St.  Bernard,  Prosper,  Prohus,  Bede,  Nennius,  and  a 
host  of  other  able  writers,  were  all  the  disciples  of  falsehood,  who 
wished  to  impose  upon  posterity,  by  labouring  to  make  them  believe 
that  a  certain  man  named  Patrick,  who  never  existed  but  in  their 
own  minds,  converted  Ireland  to  Christianity  !  The  doctor,  not 
content  with  all  the  invisible  arrows  which  he  shot  at  the  memory 
of  our  apostle,  like  an  evil-disseminating  necromancer,  kept  his 
watchful  atrial  sylphs,  down  to  the  period  of  his  death,  hovering  on 
the  wing  of  inquisitive  privation,  in  order  to  discover  a  new  train  of 
phantasms,  or  negative  argtunents,  by  which  he  might  trium|)h  over 
all  the  positive  testimony  of  antiquity.  But  his  pertinacious  cavils 
and  futile  objections  have  been  so  ably  and  conclusively  overthrown 
and  refuted  by  Dr.  jNIilner,  that  it  is  almost  unnecessary  for  us  to 
dilate  much  farther  on  this  subject.  We  shall  therefore  britiof  our 
narrative  of  St.  Patrick  towards  a  conclusion,  by  quoting  the  follow- 
ing passage  from  Dr.  Milner's  observations  on  the  historical  heresy 
of  Dr.  Ledwich  : 

"Dr.  Ledwich,  the  bold  invader  of  historical  truth,  has  e'sewhere 
endeavoured  to  prop  up  his  system  of  mingled  scepticism  and  irreli- 
gion  with  the  following  chimerical  assumption:  'The  Christian 
missionaries  found  it  indispensably  necessary  to  procure  some  saint, 
under  whose  protection  the  inhabitants  might  live  secure  from  tem- 
poral and  spiritual  evils.     At   a  loss   for   a  patron,  they  adopted  a 


304 

practice  derived  from  Driiidical  parfanism,  and  pursued  it  to  a  great 
extent  in  tlie  corrnpt  ages  of  Cliristiiinity.  Tims  of  a  motintain  at 
Glendalocli,  a  snint  was  niiulc,  as  o(  the  Slianiion,  St.  Senanus;  and 
of  Down  St.  Diinus.'  When  onr  reverend  sceptic  fjr.-t  sported 
this  ridicule  on  the  jrreat  and  j^ood  men,  to  wliom  lie  is  indebted  for 
liis  civilization,  and  fir  wliatever  lie  possesses  of  Ciiristianitv,  the 
truly  learned  and  judicious  Charles  O'Connor  was  living,  who  did 
not  fail  to  call  him  to  a  pro|)er  account  for  his  irreligious  imposi- 
tions- This  celebrated  antiquary  challenged  him  to  prove  a  single 
instance  of  such  pagan  metamorphosis  in  the  ecclesiastical  history 
of  Ireland;  and  descending  to  the  particulars  mentioned  by  Dr. 
Ledwich,  he  clearly  showed  that  the  Shannon  or  Senus,  was  so 
called  many  ages  before  the  Christian  saint,  called  Senanus,  was 
born  ;  and  with  respect  to  the  ])retended  St.  Dunns,  he  denied  that 
the  name  of  any  such  saint  was  to  be  met  with,  except  amongst  the 
fabrications  of  the  veritable  doctor.  But  after  the  innumerable  au- 
thorities, some  of  them  the  contemporaries  of  the  holy  man,  ihat 
iiave  attested  the  existence  and  missi(ui  of  St.  Patrick,  it  were  as 
reasonable  to  question  the  existence  of  all  personages  deceased, 
concerning  whom  we  have  no  contemporary,  or  other  authentic 
records,  composed  within  three  or  fiur  centuries  from  that  in  which 
they  lived,  tor  then  we  might  deny  there  ever  were  such  men  as 
Romulus,  Cyrus,  Abraham,  or  Adam  himself."  Dr.  JNIilner  lias  in- 
deed annihilated  the  theories  of  licdwich, — he  has  finally  set  them 
to  rest  in  as  decisive  and  powerful  a  refutation  as  ever  overwhelmed 
an  insulting,  arrogant,  and  unfair  adversary.  For  Dr.  Ledwich  was 
a  dogmatic  and  insolent  disputant,  who  never  brought  the  generosity 
of  literary  chivalry  with  him  into  the  lists  of  controversy.  He  had, 
we  allow,  a  stronir  vein  for  rude  irony  and  frowning  contempt  ;  as 
he  generally  mocked  the  argument  which  he  could  not  subvert,  and 
ridiculed  the  virtue  which  he  could  not  emulate.  He  not  ordy  as- 
sailed the  living,  but  Cfdumnialed  the  dead  ;  for  he  has  not  spared 
the  sacredness  of  the  grave,  nor  given  quarter  to  the  most  illustrious 
shades  of  our  Milesian  progenitors,  whose  spirits  still  live,  and  shall 
live,  in  the  historic  remembrance  of  their  virtues.  His  motive  and 
aim  were  to  despoil  their  tombs  of  the  trof)hies  with  which  ages 
adorned  them,  to  blot  out  the  records  of  their  exploits  from  the  es- 
cutcheons of  immortality,  and  to  tarnish  the  lustre  which  he  could 
not  reflect  back  upon  them. 

"The  see  of  Armagh,"  writes  IVIogre,  "being  now  established, 
and  the  great  bulk  of  the  nation  won  over  to  the  faith,  St.  Patrick, 
resting  in  the  midst  of  the  spiritual  creation  he  had  called  up  round 
him,  passed  the  remainder  of  his  days  between  Armagh  and  his  fa- 
vourite retreat,  at  Sabhul,  in  the  barony  of  Lecale, — that  spot  which 
had  witnessed  the  first  dawn  of  his  apostolical  career,  and  now 
shared  in  the  calm  glories  which  surrounded  its  setting.  Among 
the  many  obvious  fables  with  which  even  the  best  of  the  ancient 
records  of  his  life  abound,  is  to  be  reckoned  the  account  of  his  jour- 
ney to  Rome,  after  the  foundation  of  Armajjh,  with  the  view  of  ob- 
taining, as  is  alleged,  from  the  pope,  a  confirmation  of  its  metropo- 
lilical   privileges,  and  also  of  procuring  a  supply  of  relics.     This 


305 

story,  iiiventctl,  it  is  plain,  to  dignify  and  lend  a  Instie  to  some  relics 
shown  in  later  times  at  Armagh,  is  wholly  at  variance  with  ihe 
Saint's  written  testimony,  which  proves  him  constantly  to  have  re- 
mained in  Ireland,  from  the  time  when  he  comnjenced  his  mission 
in  the  barony  of  Lecale,  to  the  last  day  of  his  life.  In  the  document 
here  referred  to,  which  was  written  after  the  foundation  of  Armagh, 
he  declares  expressly  that  the  Lord  "  had  commanded  him  to  come 
among  the  Irish,  and  to  stay  with  them  for  the  remainder  of  his 
life." 

"  Among  the  last  proceedings  recorded  of  him,  he  is  said  to  have 
held  some  synods  at  Armagh,  in  which  canons  were  decreed,  and 
ecclesiastical  matters  regulated.  Of  the  canons  attributed  to  these 
early  Synods,  there  are  some  pronounced  to  be  of  a  much  later  date, 
while  of  others  the  authenticity  has  been,  by  high  and  critical  au- 
thority, admitted.* 

"  The  impression  that  his  death  was  not  far  distant,  appears  to 
have  been  strong  on  the  Saint's  mind  when  he  wrote  his  Confession, 
the  chief  object  of  which  was,  to  inform  his  relatives,  and  others  in 
foreign  nations,  of  the  redeeming  change  which  God,  through  his 
ministry,  had  worked  in  the  minds  of  the  Irish.  With  this  view  it 
was  that  he  wrote  his  parting  communication  in  Latin,  though  fully 
aware,  as  he  himself  acknowledges,  how  rude  and  imperfect  was 
his  mode  of  expressing  himself  in  that  tongue,  from  the  constant 
habit  he  had  been  in,  for  so  many  years,  of  speaking  no  language 
but  Irish. 

"  In  his  retreat  at  Sabhul,  (A.  D.  465,)  the  venerable  Saint  was 
seized  with  his  last  illness.  Perceiving  that  death  was  near  at  hand, 
and  wishing  that  Armagh,  as  the  seat  of  his  own  peculiar  see,  should 
be  the  resting-place  of  his  remains,  he  set  out  to  reach  that  spot ; 
but  feeling,  on  his  way,  some  inward  warnings,  which  the  fancy  of 
tradition  has  converted  into  the  voice  of  an  angel,  commanding  him 
to  return  to  Sablml,  as  the  jdace  appointed  for  his  last  hour,  he 
went  back  to  that  retreat,  and  there,  about  a  week  after,  died,  on 
the  17th  of  March,  A.  D.  4G5,  having  then  reached,  according  to 
the  most  consistent  hypothesis  on  the  subject,  his  seventy-eighth 
year.  No  sooner  had  the  news  spread  throughout  Ireland  that  the 
great  apostle  was  no  more,  than  the  clergy  flocked  from  all  quarters 
to  Sabhul,  to  assist  in  solemnizing  his  obsequies  ;  and  as  every  bishop, 
or  priest,  according  as  he  arrived,  felt  naturally  anxious  to  join 
in  honouring  the  dead  by  the  celebration  of  the  holy  mysteries,  the 
rites  were  continued  without  interruption  through  day  and  night. 
To  psalmody  and  the  chanting  of  hymns  the  hours  of  the  night  were 
all  devoted  ;  and  so  great  was  the  pomp,  and  the  profusion  of  torches 
kept  constantly  burning,  that,  as  those  who  describe  the  scene  ex- 
press it,  darkness  was  dispelled,  and  the  whole  time  appeared  to  be 
one  constant  day. 

**  Several  of  these  canons  appear  to  liave  been  drawn  up  at  a  time  when  Pajran- 
ism  was  not  yet  extinct  in  Irehind.  Tlius,  amoncr  tiie  canons  of  tlie  synod  of  Pat- 
rick, Auxilius,  and  Esserninus,  the  eighth  begins  thus, — "  Clericus  si  pro  gcntili 
in  Ecclesiam  recipi  non  licet;"  and  in  the  fourteenth,  "  Christianus  qui  .  .  .  more 
Gentilium  ad  aruspicem  meaverit." 

39 


306 

"  In  the  choice  of  a  successor  to  the  see  there  could  be  no  delay 
nor  difficulty,  as  the  eyes  of  the  saint  liiniself,  and  of  all  w!io  were 
interested  in  the  appointment,  had  long  been  fixed  on  his  disciple 
Benignus,  as  the  person  destined  to  succeed  him.  It  was  remem- 
bered that  he  had,  in  speaking  of  this  disciple  when  but  a  boy,  said, 
in  the  language  rather  of  prophecy  than  of  appointment,  "He  will 
be  the  heir  of  my  power."  Some  writers  even  assert,  tliat  the  see 
was  resigned  by  him  to  Benignus  soon  after  the  foundation  of  Ar- 
ninoh.  But  tuere  appear  little  grounds  for  this  assertion,  and,  ac- 
cording to  the  most  consistent  accounts,  Benignus  did  not  become 
bishop  of  Armagh  till  after  St.  Patrick's  death. 

"  Besides  the  natives  of  Ireland  contemporary  with  our  Saint,  of 
Avhom,  in  this  sketch  of  his  life,  some  notice  has  been  taken,  there 
were  also  other  distinguished  Irishmen,  of  the  same  period,  whom  it 
would  not  be  right  to  pass  over  in  silence.  Among  the  names,  ;iext 
to  that  of  the  apostle  himself,  illustrious,  are  those  of  Ailbe,  "  another 
Patrick,"  as  he  was  fondly  styled,  the  pious  Declan,  and  Ibar;  all 
disciples  of  St.  Patrick,  and  all  memorable,  as  [)rimitive  fathers  of 
the  Irish  church.  To  Secundinus,  the  first  bishop,*  as  it  is  said, 
who  died  in  Ireland,  (A.  D.  448,)  is  attributed  a  Latin  poem  or  hymn 
in  honour  of  St.  Patrick,  in  which  the  Saint  is  mentioned  as  still 
alive,  and  of  whose  authenticity  some  able  critics  have  seen  no  rea- 
son whatever  to  doubt. t  There  is  also  another  hymn,  upon  the 
same  subject,  in  the  Irish  language,  said  to  have  been  written  by 
Fiech,  the  disciple  of  the  poet  Dubdacht,  but  which,  though  very 
ancient,  is  evidently  the  production  of  a  somewhat  later  period. 

"  While  these  pious  persons  were,  in  ways  much  more  effective 
than  by  the  composition  of  such  dry,  metrical  legends,  advancing 
the  Christian  cause  in  Ireland,  a  far  loftier  flight  of  sacred  song 
was,  at  the  same  time,  adventured  by  an  Irish  writer  abroad,  the 
poet  Shiel,  or  (as  his  name  is   Latinised)  Sedulius,:|:  who  flourished 

*  This  bishop  was  sent,  in  the  year  439,  together  with  two  others,  to  aid  St. 
Patrick  in  his  mission  ;  as  we  find  thus  recorded  in  the  Annals  of  Inisfallen  : — 
"  Secundinus  et  Auxiharius  (Auxihus,)  et  Esserninus  mittuntur  in  auxilium  Pa- 
trieii,  nee  tamen  tenuerunt  apostolatuin,  nisi  Patricius  solus." 

t  "  I  find  no  reason,"  says  Dr.  Lanigan,  "  for  not  considering  it  a  genuine  work 
of  Secundinus." 

The  strophes  of  this  hymn,  consisting  each  of  four  lines,  begin  with  the  letters 
ot'tho  alphabet;  the  first  strophe  commencing,  '*  Audite  omnes  amantes  Deum;" 
and  the  last,  "Zona  Domini  prspcinctus." 

I  There  has  been  some  controversy  respecting  our  claims  to  this  poet,  who,  it  is 
alleged,  has  been  confounded  with  another  writer,  of  the  same  name,  in  the  ninth 
century,  universally  admitted  to  have  been  an  Irishman.  The  reader  will  find 
the  question  sifted,  with  his  usual  industry,  by  Bayle  (art.  Sedulius.)  Among  the 
numerous  authorities  cited  by  Usher,  in  favour  of  our  claim  to  this  poet,  the  title 
prefixed  to  a  work  generally  attributed  to  hinr  (Annotations  on  Paul's  Epistles,) 
would  seem  decisive  of  tlie  question  : — '•  Sedulii  Scoti  Hyberniensis  in  omnes 
Epistolas  Pauli  Collectaneum."  The  name,  Sedulius,  too,  written  in  Irish  Sicd- 
huil,  and  said  to  be  the  same  as  Shiel,  is  one  peculiar,  we  are  told,  to  Ireland,  no 
instance  of  its  use  being  found  in  any  other  country.  By  English  scholars,  it  will, 
I  fear,  be  thought  another  strong  Irish  characteristic  of  this  poet,  that  he  sometimes 
erred  in  prosody.  '•  Dictio  Sedulii,"  saj's  Borrichius,  "  facilis,  ingeniosa,  nume- 
rosa,  perspicua,  sic  iritis  munda — si  excipias  prosodica  quoedam  delicta." — DIssct- 
tat.  lie  poet. 
In  praising  the  Paschale  Opus  of  Sedulius,  pope  Gelasius  had  described  it  as 


307 

in  this  century,*  and,  among  other  writings  of  acknovvletlged  merit, 
was  the  author  of  a  spirited  Iambic  poem  upon  the  life  of  Christ, 
from  which  the  Cathohc  church  has  selected  some  of  her  most  beau- 
tiful hymns. t 


CHAPTER  XLIII. 


^ccesslo7i  of  Lnoghalre. — He  attempts  to  enforce  the  Leinstcr  trihvte,  is  defeated  in 
battle  and  taken  prisoner. — His  reign  and  death. — Laoghaire.  the  S07t  of  Aial  the 
Great,  as  related  in  a  former  chapter,  succeeded  to  the  throne  after  the  demise  of 
his  brave  uncle,  Dathy. 

Our  historians  have  fixed  the  epoch  of  Laoghairc's  accession  in 
the  year  42S,  of  the  Ciiristian  era.  lie  acqiiired  great  experience 
in  war;  in  the  campaigns  of  his  father  Nial  and  his  uncle  Dathy, 
and  on  several  great  occasions  he  displayed  the  most  signal  feats  of 
intrepidity  and  courage.  To  a  prince  like  him,  whose  darling  pas- 
sion was  ambition,  and  whose  desire  was  to  shine  in  martial  renown, 
the  calm  of  peace  was  disagreeable.  His  daring  spirit  could  not 
languish  in  the  luxuries  of  a  court,  nor  repose  in  the  sunshine  of  an 
inactive  reign.  War  was  the  native  element  of  his  soul,  it  was  the 
object  that  attracted  his  inclinations.  An  ambitious  monarch  like 
him,  with  a  great  standing  army,  could  not  long  want  a  pretext  for 
commencing  hostilities  on  a  neiglibouring  state.  The  Britons  having 
refused  to  pay  the  tribute  to  which  his  father  Nial  made  them  sub- 
ject, he  resolved,  in  consequence,  to  exact  it  by  the  force  of  the 
sword. 

In  conjunction  with  his  allies,  the  Picts,  he  made  an  incursion 
into  Britain,  defeated  such  of  tlic  inhabitants  as  appeared  in  arms, 
wasted  the  country,  and  compelled  the  people  not  only  to  pay  him 
the  contributions  which  he  originally  demanded,  but  to  deliver  up  to 
him  hostages  for  the  faithful  performance  of  the   conditions  of  the 

written  "  heroicis  versibus  ;"  but,  by  an  unlucky  clerical  error,  the  word  "  here- 
ticis''  was,  in  the  course  of  lime,  substituted  for  "  heroicis,"  which  brouirht  our 
Irish  poet  into  much  disgrace  at  Rome,  and  led  some  canonists,  it  is  said,  to  the 
wise  decision,  "  Omnia  poemata  esse  herctica." 

*  Not  content  with  the  honour  of  contributing,  thus  early,  so  great  an  ornament 
to  foreign  literature,  some  of  our  writers  have  represented  Sedulius  as  producing 
his  poems  in  Ireland;  and  referred  to  his  classical  knowledge  as  evidence  of  tlie 
state  of  literature  in  that  country.  Thus  O'Halloran  : — "That  poetry  was  pas- 
sionately cultivated  in  our  schools,  and  classical  poetry  too,  I  have  but  to  refer  to 
the  writings  of  the  famous  Sedulius." — Vol.  iii.  chap.  7.  Even  Mr.  D'Alton  has 
allowed  himself  to  be  tempted  by  his  zeal  for  Ireland  into  an  encouragement  of 
the  same  delusion.  *' The  treasures  of  Roman  lore,"  he  says,  "  were  profitably 
spread  over  the  country  :  the  writings  of  Sedulius  testify  that  classic  poetry  was 
cultivated  at  a  very  early  period  in  Ireland." 

t  The  Paschale  Opus  of  Sedulius  is  in  heroic  metre,  and  extended  through  five 
books.  His  Iambic  Hymn,  which  has  been  unaccountably  omitted  by  Usher,  in 
his  Sylloge,  commences  thus, — 

"  A  solis  ortus  cardine, 
Ad  usque  terrsB  limitem." 


308 

peace  which  he  granted  to  them.  Rapin,  it  will  be  observed  by  the 
intelligent  reader,  alludes  to  this  invasion  of  Britain  by  the  Irish,  in 
his  history. 

Returning  home  enriclied  with  spoils  and  flushed  with  victory, 
his  restless  spirit  could  find  no  repose  under  the  olive  of  peace. 
His  army  being  now  brave,  numerous,  and  disciplined,  he  imagined 
that  he  could  easily  force  tlie  king  of  Leinster  to  pay  the  tribute 
which  so  many  of  his  predecessors  attempted  to  exact. 

Criomthan  Kinsellagh,  the  son  of  Eana,  who  so  gallantly  opposed 
the  grandfather  of  this  monarch,  Eochaidh,  was  now  king  of  Lein- 
ster. This  prince  indignantly  refused  to  pay  the  required  impost. 
The  refusal,  of  course,  was  deemed  by  Laoghaire  as  tantamount  to 
a  declaration  of  war.  Criomthan  saw  the  storm  gathering  around 
him  without  dismay,  and  made  every  preparation  to  brave  the  shock 
of  its  explosion.  At  his  call  the  people  of  Leinster  flew  to  arms, 
and  arrayed  themselves  under  the  banner  of  their  king.  Criomthan, 
by  policy  and  address,  persuaded  Nafraoich  and  Luigh,  kings  of 
north  and  south  Munster,  to  become  his  allies.  Strengthened  by 
this  confederacy,  he  began  to  entertain  sanguine  hopes  of  success 
in  the  approaching  v/ar.  But  before  the  allies  had  reached  Kilken- 
ny, the  monarch  carried  fire  and  sword  to  the  town  of  Wexford, 
and  succeeded  in  capturing  the  palace  of  Ferns,  in  which  he  found 
a  great  quantity  of  treasure.  Criomthan,  on  his  approach,  retreated 
to  a  strong  post  in  the  county  of  Kilkenny,  where  he  determined  to 
await  the  arrival  of  his  allies.  Laoghaire,  wishing  to  give  some 
repose  to  his  troops,  after  their  long  march,  established  his  head-quar- 
ters in  Wexford,  As  soon  as  the  Munster  forces  had  joined  the 
king  of  Leinster,  he,  with  his  combined  army,  marched  towards  the 
camp  of  the  monarch.  Laoghaire  not  considering  Wexford  a 
favourable  battle-ground,  retreated  to  Atha-Dara,  an  extensive  plain, 
near  Monastereven,  in  the  county  of  Kildare.  Here  both  parties 
mutually  agreed  to  decide  their  differences  by  the  fate  of  a  battle. 

The  conflict,  as  usual,  was  desperately  disputed,  and  feats  of 
heroism  and  genius  were  displayed  on  both  sides  of  the  highest  char- 
acter; but  after  a  prolonged  struggle  as  fierce  as  it  was  brave,  the 
monarch  was  overpowered  by  the  allied  troops,  and  taken  prisoner  ; 
nor  could  he  purchase  his  freedom  but  on  condition  of  discharging 
the  Lagenians*  from  all  future  tribute  and  vassalage. 

To  these  conditions  he  was  reluctantly  obliged  to  submit,  and  to 
take  a  solemn  oath  that  he  would  fulfil  their  obligations. 

But  oaths  have  seldom  restrained  regal  power:  kings,  in  all  ages, 
have  disregarded  their  sacred  obligations,  and  only  adhered  to  them 

*  The  inhabitants  of  Leinster  were  called  Lagenians  from  the  Irish  name  of 
Leinster,  Lainscach,  which  is  derived  from  hahhra  Laoinscach,  who  was  monarch 
of  Ireland,  A.  M.  3G85.  He,  during  the  usurpation  of  his  uncle  Cohlithach,  vesidcd 
in  France,  the  king  of  that  country  being  his  uncle,  who  entrusted  him  with  the 
chief  command  of  his  army.  "  He,"  says  O'Halloran,  "  first  introduced  into  Ire- 
land the  Use  of  the  Laiffhcan,  or  Gaulish  spear,  and  he  set  many  foundries  at  work 
in  Wexford  for  the  fiibrication  of  these  instruments  of  war ;  hence,  ever  after, 
Leinster  was  distinguished  by  the  rest  of  the  nation  by  the  name  of  Co/gr  Laig- 
hfan,  or  the  province  of  spears."  For  a  more  particular  account  of  the  derivative 
of  Leinster,  we  beg  to  reicr  the  reader  to  the  XVL  chapter  of  our  history  of  Ire- 
land. 


309 

while  their  power  was  too  feeble  to  violate  them.  Laoghaire,  there- 
fore, as  soon  as  he  recovered  liis  liberty,  protested  against  the  treat- 
ment he  had  received ;  alleged  that  his  oath  was  compulsory,  and, 
in  consecpience,  refused  to  submit  to  the  restrictions  which  it  had 
imposed  upon  him.  Accordingly,  as  soon  as  he  returned  to  Tara, 
he  began,  with  the  most  spirited  activity,  to  recruit  his  army. 
Criomtlian,  on  the  other  hand,  was  not  idle.  He  filled  up  all  the 
chasms  made  in  his  ranks  during  the  last  war,  and  did  every  thing 
that  could  conciliate  the  friendship  and  good  opinion  of  the  jjrinces 
of  Munster.  To  reward  Luigh  JJcalboid,  the  king  of  north  Munster 
and  general  of  the  Dalgais,  he  gave  him  a  grant  of  a  large  tract  of 
land  in  IVleath,  whicli  was  possessed  by  his  posterity,  the  Dcalbhnas 
and  O'Finnallads,  until  the  twelfth  century,  when  they  were  despoiled 
of  it  by  Hugo  De  Lacy,  who  made  a  grant  of  it  to  Gilbert  De  Nu- 
gent, the  ancestor  of  the  present  earl  of  West  Meath.*     Laoghaire, 

*  Hugo  De  Lacy  held  the  highest  place  in  tlie  confidence  and  regard  of  Henry 
H.  Prior  to  the  king's  departure  from  Ireland,  in  1173,  he  made  De  Lacy  a  grant 
of  the  entire  county  of  iNIeath,  and  promoted  him  to  the  high  office  of  Governor  of 
Dublin.  The  better  to  secure  his  possessions,  De  Lacy  contrived  to  win  the  affec- 
tions of  tlie  Princess  Rosa  O'Connor,  the  daughter  of  King  Roderick,  and  to  es- 
pouse her.  This  union  gave  him  a  strong  hold  in  the  popularity  of  the  Irish,  who 
reverenced  their  Milesian  princesses  with  romantic  enthusiasm.  The  just  and 
impartial  government  of  De  Lacy  in  Ireland,  as  well  as  the  popularity  that  he  ac- 
quired by  his  marriage  with  an  Irisli  princess,  exposed  him  to  the  envy  and  malice 
of  his  countrymen,  who  excited  the  jealousy  and  fears  of  Henry  so  much,  that  he 
recalled  him  to  England.  But  the  moment  he  came  before  Henry,  he  vindicated 
his  conduct  with  such  a  force  of  eloquence,  that  he  reinstated  him  in  all  his  digni- 
ties, and  invested  him  with  full  powers  to  act  as  his  lord  deputy  in  Ireland.  After 
resuming  his  government,  he  built  several  forts  in  his  principality  of  JVIeath,  to 
defend  it  from  the  attacks  of  the  Irish  chieftains,  the  O'Riellys  and  O'Rourkes. 
In  his  progress  of  erecting  these  forts,  he  determined  to  demolish  the  old  abbey  of 
Dorrowe,  near  Kells,  which  was  founded  by  St.  Columb  Kille.  All  the  Irish 
workmen,  shocked  at  his  impiet}'  in  profaning,  by  such  sacrilege,  an  edifice  con- 
Becrated  aud  built  by  their  roval  saint,  indignantly  refused  to  demolish  the  abbey. 
De  Lacy,  irritated  by  this  refusal,  began  to  use  harsh  expressions  to  the  workmen  ; 
whereupon  one  of  them  snatched  a  battle-axe  '•  and,"  says  Leland,  "  with  one  vig- 
orous blow  smote  off  his  head."  This  occurred  in  August,  \1^().  Prior  to  the 
death  of  De  Lacy,  he  gave  to  Sir  Gilbert  De  Nugent,  as  a  marriage  portion  with 
his  sister  Margaret,  an  assignment  of  the  lordships  of  Delvin  More  (great)  and 
Delvenbeg  (little)  in  the  county  of  Meath,  which  his  descendants  possess  until 
this  day. 

Henry  ennobled  De  Nugent  by  the  title  of  baron  of  Delvin.  His  descendant, 
Richard  Nugent,  eighth  baron  of  Delvin,  was  elevated  to  the  office  of  lord  deputy 
of  Ireland,  by  Henry  VIII.  in  1.^2d.  But  he  did  not  enjoy  his  "palmy  state" 
long;  for  in  an  incursion  which  he  made  into  the  country  of  O'Connor,  the  king's 
county,  he  was  captured  and  imprisoned  by  that  gallant  chieftain.  Richard,  the 
tenth  baron,  was  imprisoned  by  James  I.  on  the  charge  of  being  concerned  in  the 
iina iriiwry  conspiracy  of  the  O'Nicls,  O'DonncIs,  0'Doughcrt3^s,  Maguires,  and 
M'Mahcns,  in  1007.  But  after  effiecting  his  escape  from  the  castle  of  Dublin,  he 
fled  to  England,  procured  an  audience  of  the  king,  and  succeeded  in  ingratiating 
himself  so  much  in  the  good  graces  of  the  monarch,  that  lie  created  liiin  Earl  of 
West  Meath.  His  grandson,  Richard,  the  second  earl,  fought  gallantly  against 
Cromwell ;  in  consecjuonce  of  which,  that  execrable  tyrant  caused  an  act  of  parlia- 
ment to  be  passed  for  confiscating  his  properties,  and  exempting  liiin  from  pardon 
for  life.  But  on  the  restoration  of  Charles  II.  in  IGfil,  he  recovered  his  dignities 
and  estates. 

To  trace  down  the  genealogy  of  the  Nugent  family  since  that  period  is  unneces- 
sary, as  the  reader  will  find  a  relation  of  their  marriages  and  deaths  in  the  Irish 
jiccragc. 


310 

now  overran  as  a  conqueror  Leinster  with  a  niiglity  army,  and  com- 
pelled Criomtlian  to  pay  hitn  the  tribute  which  he  demanded.  This 
conquest  enriched  tlie  excliequer  of  the  monarch,  and  enabled  him 
to  prepare  anotiier  expedition  for  Britain,  on  a  most  extensive  scale. 

At  this  juncture,  436,  the  Britons,  hearing  of  the  designs  of  the 
Irish  monarch  on  their  country,  elected  a  military  chieftain  (Vorti- 
gern)  as  tiieir  king.  He  levied  an  army,  with  which  he  marched 
to  north  Britain,  to  oppose  the  Irish  king,  and  his  allies,  the  Picts. 
But  in  a  battle  which  took  place  at  Carlisle,  Vortigern  was  totally 
defeated.  The  disastrous  result  of  the  engagement  completely 
humbled  the  Britons,  and  obliged  them  to  solicit  the  aid  of  the  Sax- 
ons. In  their  consternation  and  dismay,  they  retreated  to  the  bor- 
ders of  Wales,  whence  the  victorious  Irish  monarch  pursued  them. 
The  arrival  of  the  Saxons,  however,  revived  their  spirits,  and  the 
united  armies  made  head  against  the  Irish  invaders  with  success ; 
and  Britain,  through  the  assistance  of  her  new  auxiliaries  gained  a 
temporary  relief  from  the  distresses  of  war.  But  the  Britons  were 
unworthy  of  possessing  a  land  which  they  had  not  the  spirit  to  de- 
fend ;  and  the  extremities  to  which  they  w  ere  reduced  by  their  Saxon 
allies,  as  we  learn  from  English  history,  were  much  more  severe 
than  all  they  had  hitherto  endured  from  the  Irish  and  Picts.  Laog- 
haire,  however,  by  a  superior  force,  was  necessitated  to  retreat  to 
Caledonia.  Here  he  occupied  an  advantageous  position,  in  the 
mountains,  where  he  intended  to  defend  himself  until  he  could  pro- 
cure reinforcements  from  Ireland.  Several  months  elapsed  before 
the  succours  from  his  kingdom  had  arrived.  While  the  king  was 
impatient  for  the  assistance  of  his  new  levies,  he  was  in  the  habit, 
on  every  serene  evening,  of  setting  himself  on  the  summit  of  a  moun- 
tain overlooking  the  sea,  to  gaze  on  the  far-extended  ocean,  and  to 
strain  his  longing  eyes,  endeavouring  to  discern  the  approach  of  his 
fleet  in  the  distant  perspective. 

But  as  his  eyes  were  at  length  blessed  with  a  view  of  the  long 
expected  armament,  he  was  killed  by  lightning,  in  the  thirtieth  year 
of  his  reign.  "It  is  indeed,"  says  M'Dermott,  "  somewhat  singu- 
lar, that  he  and  his  predecessor  should  both  meet  their  fate  from 
this  dangerous  element,  and  that  both  should  be  ascribed  to  similar 
causes.  Dathy's  to  that  of  having  violated  the  cell  of  a  hermit ;  and 
Laoghaire's,  to  the  violation  of  the  treaty  he  had  made  with  the 
Lagenians,  and  which  he  cr/usecrated  with  an  oath."  The  contem- 
poraries of  Laoghaire  were  Criomthan  Kinsellagh,  king  of  Leinster, 
Muireadhach  O'Niel,  king  of  Ulster,  Dungabach  O'Connor,  king  of 
Connaught,  and  Angus  M'Carthy,  king  of  Leath  3Toga,  or  Munster. 
The  character  of  Laoghaire,  was  a  compound  of  vice  and  virtues. 
His  ambition  stifled  the  voice  of  justice  in  his  mind;  all  the  noblest 
qin\lities  of  his  heart  were  diverted  from  the  channel  in  which  nature 
had  designed  them  to  flow,  by  the  power  which  that  passion  exer- 
cised over  his  best  feelings. 

We  must  here  observe,  that  our  annalists  have  given  us  but  scanty 
details  of  this  reign,  which  was  so  distinguished  by  conquest  and 
martial  exploits.  The  cause,  we  think,  may  be  attributed  to  the 
engrossing  attraction  of  the  complete  change  and  reformation  in  the 


311 

reliijion  of  the  country.  We  m:iy  naturally  conclude,  that  the  intro- 
duction of  Christianity  interfered  with  that  puhlic  attention  wliicli 
had  hitherto  been  paid  to  the  national  records.  The  propa<xatioa 
of  the  "gospel  employed,  at  this  epocli,  the  zeal,  as  well  as  the  talent 
of  tlie  learned;  and  exi)erience  informs  us,  that  in  all  sudden  changes 
and  revolutions,  while  tiie  pid)Iic  attention  is  directed  to  one  great 
national  object,  either  through  the  interest  which  it  creates,  or  the 
passion  for  novelty  that  it  nourisiies,  matters  of  minor  consideration, 
are  deemed  unworthy  of  assiduous  regard.  But,  as  in  the  physical 
world,  when  the  laws  of  nature  are  interrupted  by  a  partial  suspen- 
sion of  their  operations,  we  have  reason  to  apprehend  some  violent 
reaction,  or  explosion,  to  restore  the  equilibrium  ;  so,  in  the  moral 
world,  partial  evils  must  be  endured  before  universal  good  can  be 
acquired. 


CHAPTER  XLIV. 


The  state  of  the  Scots  in  Britain  and  the  progress  of  Catholicity  in  Ireland  from  (he 
fifth  to  the  sixth  century. 

Mr.  Moore,  in  his  history,  presents  the  following  clear  and  copi- 
ous review  of  the  connection  that  subsisted,  during  the  days  of  St. 
Patrick,  between  the  Irish  and  the  Caledonians — as  well  as  of  the 
progress  and  state  of  the  Catholic  religion  in  Ireland,  from  the  fifth 
to  the  sixth  century. 

"It  has  been  seen,  from  the  letter  of  St.  Patrick  to  Coroticus, 
that,  so  late  as  the  middle  of  the  fifth  century,  the  incursions  of  the 
Picts  and  Scots  into  the  territories  of  the  Britons  had  not  yet  been 
discontinued.  About  the  commencement  of  the  same  century  (A. 
D.  409,)  Britain  had  ceased  to  form  a  portion  of  the  Roman  empire; 
the  separation,  according  to  some  opinions,  having  been  voluntary 
on  the  part  of  Britain,*  while  far  more  obviously  it  is  to  be  accounted 
for  by  the  enfeebled  state  of  the  Roman  power,  which  rendered  the 
occupation  of  so  remote  a  province  no  longer  yjracticable.  How 
little  prepared  were  the  Britons  themselves  for  independence,  at  this 
period,  appears  from  the  helplessness  of  their  struggle  against  the 
aggressions  of  their  neighbours,  and  the  piteous  entreaties  for  aid 
so  often  addressed  by  them  to  Rome  ;  while  the  prompt  attention, 
as  far  as  the  resources  of  the  sinking  empire  would  admit,  which 
these  appeals  generally  received,  proves  the  reluctance  with  which 
the  connection  was  then  severed  to  have  been  mutual. 

"  In  consequence  of  their  urgent  solicitations  to  Honorius,  that 
emperor  despatched  to  the  aid  of  the  Britons  a  single  legion,  which, 

*  Dr.  Linaard  has  followed  Gibbon  in  asserting,  on  no  other  authority  than  a 
few  words  ofZosimus,  that  the  Britons  at  this  time  voluntary  threw  off  their  alle- 
giance. But  the  force  of  evidence,  as  well  as  of  probability,  is  all  opposed  to  such 
a  supposition. 


312 

for  a  time,  suspended  the  attacks  of  their  invaders;  but  no  sooner 
was  this  legion  withdrawn  for  tlie  jirotection  of  Gaul,  than  again  the 
Scots  and  Picts,  breaking  through  the  now  unregarded  wall  of 
Severus,  or  else  sailing  around  the  ends,  carried  their  ravages  into 
the  very  heart  of  Britain.  Once  more,  the  interference  of  the  Ro- 
mans succeeded  in  turning  aside  tliis  scourge.  Ambassadors,  sent 
from  the  suftering  province  to  Valentinian,  and  appearing  before 
him,  as  is  said,  with  their  garments  rent,  and  sand  strewed  over 
their  heads,*  so  far  excited  the  emperor's  pity,  that  a  last  eftbrt  was 
made  for  them,  and  a  force,  under  the  command  of  Gallio  of  Ra- 
venna, despatched  seasonably  to  their  relief  As  in  all  the  preceding 
cases,  however,  the  interposition  was  but  temporary.  The  Roman 
general,  summoned  away,  witli  the  whole  of  his  force,  to  repress 
rebellion  in  Africa,  announced  to  the  Britons  that  they  must  thence- 
forward look  to  their  own  defence  ;  and,  from  that  period,  the  impe- 
rial protection  was  entirely  withdrawn  from  the  island.  No  sooner 
had  the  Romans  taken  their  departure  than  the  work  of  rapine 
recommenced  ;  and?  as  the  historian  of  these  devastations  expresses 
it,  "  foul  droves  of  Picts  and  Scots  emerged  from  out  their  currachs, 
just  as,  when  the  sun  is  at  his  burning  height,  dark  battalions  of 
reptiles  are  seen  to  crawl  from  out  their  earth-holes. "t  Both  in 
this  writer  and  in  Bede  we  find  the  most  frightful  representations 
of  the  state  of  misery  to  which  the  Britons  were  now  reduced  by 
the  "anniversary"  visitations  of  their  spoilers. t 

"  From  the  period  of  Gallio's  command,  (A.  D.  426,)  during 
which  was  erected,  between  the  Solvvay  and  Tyne,  the  last  and 
most  important  of  all  the  Roman  walls,  we  hear  no  more  of  the  suf- 
ferings of  the  Britons  till  the  time  when  St.  Patrick  addressed  his 
letter  to  Coroticus,  and  when  that  last  great  irruption  of  the  Picts 
and  Scots  took  place,  which  drove  tiie  Britons  at  length,  in  their 
despair,  to  invoke  the  perilous  protection  of  the  Saxons.  It  was  in 
the  extremity  to  which  they  had  then  found  themselves  reduced,  that, 
looking  again  to  the  Romans,  they  addressed  to  iEtius,  the  popular 
captain  of  the  day,  that  memorable  letter  inscribed  "The  Groans 
of  the  Britons."  But  the  standard  of  Attila  was  then  advancing 
towards  Gaul,  and  all  the  force  of  the  empire  was  summoned  to 
oppose  his  progress.  Rome,  prodigal  so  long  of  her  strength  to 
others,  now  trembled  for  her  own  safety  ;  and  the  ravagers  of  Britain 
were,  accordingly,  left  to  enjoy  their  prey  undisturbed. 

"By  the  arrival  of  the  Saxons,  the  balance  of  fortune  was  soon 
turned  the  other  way  ;   and  the  Scots   and   Picts   became,  in   their 

*  "  Itcmque  mittiintur  queruli  hegai'i,  scissis,  ut  dicitur,  vestibus,  opertisque 
sablone  capitibus,  impotrantes  a  Romanis  auxilia,"  &c. — Gildas. 

t  "  Itaque  illis  ad  sua  revertentibus,  einergunt  certatim  de  Curicis  quibus  sunt 
trans  Scythicarn  vallem  vecti.  quasi  in  alto  Titane,  incalescentesque  canmatf .  de 
arctissimis  foraminum  caverniilis,  fusci  vcrmiculoruni  cunei,  tetri  Scotoruin  Picto- 
rumque  gregcs,"  &c. — Gii.das. 

For  the  purpose  of  representinjr  liis  countr^'mcn.  in  ancient  times,  ns  Troglo- 
dytes, the  reverend  antiquary,  Ledwich,  lias  not  hesitated  to  separate  the  simile  in 
this  passatfe  from  tlic  context,  and  to  produce  it  as  evidence  that  the  Irish  at  that 
time  lived  in  earth-holes. 

I  Quia  anniversarias  avide  praedas,  nullo  obsistente,  trans  maria  exaggerabant. — 
Gildas,  c.  14. 


313 

turn,  the  vanquished.  To  the  unhappy  Britons,  however,  this  suc- 
cess brought  but  a  change  of  evils;  as  their  treacherous  alHes,  liaving 
first  helped  them  to  expel  the  Scots  and  Picts,  then  made  use  of  the 
latter,  as  auxiliaries,  to  crush  and  subjugate  the  Britons.  In  all 
these  transactions  it  is  to  be  remembered,  that  under  the  general 
name  of  Scots  are  comprehended  not  merely  the  descendants  of  the 
Irish  colony,  long  settled  in  North  Britain,  but  also  the  native  Scots 
of  Ireland  themselves,  who  were  equally  concerned  in  most  of  these 
expeditions;  and  who,  however  contemptuously,  as  we  have  seen, 
Gildas  has  affected  to  speak  of  their  currachs,  had  already  fitted  out 
two  naval  armaments  sufficiently  notorious  to  be  commemorated  by 
the  great  poet  of  Rome's  latter  days.  The  share  taken  by  the  Irish, 
in  these  irruptions  into  Britain,  is  noticed  frequently  both  by  Gildas 
and  Bede  : — "They  emerge  eagerly,"  says  the  former,  "from  their 
currachs,  in  which  they  have  been  wafted  across  the  Scytic  Valley," 
— the  name  anciently  given  to  the  sea  between  Britain  and  Ireland. 
"The  imi)udent  Irish  plunderers,"  says  Bede,  "return  to  their 
homes,  only  to  come  back  again  shortly."* 

"Of  the  three  great  'Devastations'  of  Britain,  recorded  by  the 
former  of  these  writers,  two  had  occurred  in  the  reign  of  the  mon- 
arch Leogaire,  who  ruled  over  Ireland  at  the  time  of  St.  Patrick's 
inission.  How  far  this  prince  was  concerned  in  originating,  or 
taking  a  personal  share  in  any  of  these  expeditions,  does  not  appear 
from  the  records  of  his  long  reign  ;  and,  among  the  domestic  tran- 
sactions in  which  he  was  engaged,  his  war  upon  the  Lagenians,  or 
people  of  Leinster,  to  enforce  the  payment  of  the  odious  Boromean 
tribute,  seems  alone  to  be  worthy  of  any  notice.  Defeated  by  the 
troops  of  this  province  in  a  sanguinary  action,  which  was  called, 
from  the  place  where  it  occurred,  the  Battle  of  the  Ford  of  the 
Oaks,  Leogaire  was  himself  made  prisoner,  and  regained  liis  freedom 
only  on  consenting  to  swear,  by  the  Sun  and  the  Wind,  that  he 
never  would  again  lay  claim  to  the  payment  of  the  tribute.  This 
solemn  oath,  however,  the  rapacious  monarch  did  not  hesitate  to 
infringe, — his  courtly  Druids  having  conveniently  absolved  him  from 
the  obligation  ;  and,  on  his  death  occurring  a  short  time  after,  it 
was  said  that,  to  punish  his  false  appeal  to  their  divinities,  the  Sun 
and  the  Wind  had  destroyed  him.t  This  Pagan  oath,  and  his  con- 
tinued commerce  with  the  Druids,  to  the  very  year  before  he  died, 
shows  that  Leogaire  had  either  at  no  time  become  a  Christian,  or 
else  had  relapsed  into  Paganism. | 

*  Revertuntur  ergo  impudentes  grassatores  Hiberni  domus,  post  non  longum 
tempus  revcrsuri. 

t  Thus  recorded  in  the  annals  of  the  Four  Masters  : — "  A.  D.  457,  anno  20. 
regni  Laogarii  filii  Nialli  Prfplium  Vadi  Quercuum  gestum  a  Lageniensibus  contra 
Laogariuni  filium  NiaUi.  Captus  est  Laogarius  in  prselio  isto,  et  juravit  jusjuran- 
dum  Solis  et  Venti,  ct  Elenientorum,  Lageniensibus.  non  venturum  so  contra  eos, 
durante  vita,  ob  intcntum  istum. 

"  A.  D.  458,  postquam  fuisset  30  annis  in  Regimine  Hibernine  Laogarius  filius 
Nialli  Novi-obsidum,  occisus  est  prope  Cassiam  inter  Erin  et  Albaniam  (i.  e.  duos 
coUes  qui  sunt  in  regione  Faolan,)  et  Sol  et  Vcntus  occiderunt  eum  quia  temera- 
vft  eos." 

t  The  Tripartite  Life  of  St.  Patrick  states  that  Leogaire  was  not  a  sincere 
believer,  and  that  he  was  accustomed  to  say  his  father  Nial  had  laid  an  injunction 
40 


314 

"  The  fervid  eagerness  and  rapidity  with  which  the  new  faith  had 
been  embraced  wore  so  much  the  appearance  of  that  sort  of  enthu- 
siasm which  mere  novelty  often  excites,  that  it  would  have  seemed 
but  in  the  natural  course  of  affairs  had  there  succeeded  a  lull  to  all 
this  excitement,  and  had  such  a  burst  of  religious  zeal,  throughout 
the  great  mass  of  the  people, — deprived  entirely,  as  it  was,  of  the 
fuel  which  persecution  always  ministers, — subsided  speedily  into 
that  state  of  languor,  if  not  of  dangerous  indifference,  in  wiiich  the 
uncontested  triumjdi  of  human  desires  almost  invariably  ends.  But 
in  this,  as  in  all  other  respects,  the  course  of  the  change  now  worked 
in  the  minds  of  the  people  of  Ireland  was  peculiar  and  unprece- 
dented ;  and,  striking  as  were  their  zeal  and  promptitude  in  adopting 
the  new  faith,  the  steady  fervour  with  which  they  now  devoted 
themselves  to  its  doctrines  and  discipline  was  even  still  more  remark- 
able. From  this  period,  indeed,  the  drama  of  Irish  history  begins 
to  assume  an  entirely  different  character.  Instead  of  the  furious 
strife  of  kings  and  chieftains  forming,  as  before,  its  main  action  and 
interest,  this  stormy  spectacle  gives  way  to  the  pure  and  peaceful 
triumphs  of  religion.  Illustrious  saints,  of  both  sexes,  pass  in  review 
before  our  eyes  ; — the  cowl  and  the  veil  eclipse  the  glory  even  of  the 
regal  crown  ;  and,  instead  of  the  grand  and  festive  halls  of  Tara  and 
Emania,  the  lonely  cell  of  the  fasting  penitent  becomes  the  scene  of 
fame. 

"  It  is  to  be  recollected,  however,  that,  through  all  this  picture, 
the  hands  of  ecclesiastics  have  chiefly  guided  the  pencil ;  and,  though 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  change  effected  in  the  minds  and 
hearts  of  the  people,  was,  to  a  great  extent,  as  real  as  it  is  wonder- 
ful, it  was  yet  by  no  means  either  so  deep  or  so  general  as  on  the 
face  of  these  monkish  annals  it  appears.  While  this  peaceful 
pageant  of  saints  and  apostles  so  prominently  occupies  the  fore- 
ground, frequent  glimpses  of  scenes  of  blood  are  caught  dimly  in 
the  distance,  and  the  constant  appeal  to  the  sword,  and  the  frequent 
falling  of  kings  suddenly  from  their  thrones,  prove  the  ancient  polit- 
ical habits  of  the  people  to  have  experienced  but  little  change.  In 
the  page  of  the  annalist,  however,  all  this  is  kept  subordinate  or 
thrown  into  the  shade ;  and  while,  for  two  or  three  centuries  after 
the  introduction  of  Christianity,  the  history  of  the  Kings  of  Ireland 
presents  but  a  meagre  list  of  names,  the  acts  of  her  missionaries  and 
her  saints,  and  the  pious  labours  of  her  scholars,  afford  materials 
for  detail  as  abundant  and  minute  as  they  are,  in  many  instances, 
it  must  be  owned,  sterile  and  uninteresting. 

"The  only  event  of  high  political  importance,  which  occurs  through 
the  whole  of  this  period,  took  place  at  the  commencement  of  the 
sixth  century,  not  long  after  the  death  of  St.  Patrick;  and  this  was 
the  establishment,  under  the  sons  of  Erck,  of  that  Scotic  or  Irish 
monarchy  in  North  Britain,  which  not  only  extended  its  sway,  in 
the  course  of  a  few  centuries,  over  the  whole  of  the  modern  Scot- 
land, but  transmitted,  through  the  race  of  the  Stuarts,  a  long  suc- 
cession of  monarchs  to  Great  Britain.     The  colony  planted  in  those 

on  him  never  to   embrace  the  Christian  faith,  but  to  adhere  to  the  gods  of  his 
ancestors.     See  Lanigan,  chap.  5,  note  53. 


315 

regions,  by  Carbre  Rieda,  in  the  middle  of  tlie  third  century,  though 
constantly  fed  with  supplies  from  the  parent  stock,  the  Dalriadians 
of  Antrim,  liad  run  frequent  risks  of  extirpation  from  the  superior 
power  of  their  neighbours  and  rivals,  the  Picts.  In  the  year  503, 
however,  the  Dalriadian  princes  of  Ireland,  aided  by  the  tlien 
all-powerful  influence  of  the  Hy-Nial  family,  were  enabled  to  trans- 
plant a  new  colony  into  North  Britain,  which,  extending  the  limits 
of  the  former  settlement,  set  up  for  the  first  time  a  regal  authority, 
and  became,  in  less  than  a  century,  sufficiently  powerful  to  shake 
ofl;'aU  dependence  upon  Ireland.*  The  territory  possessed  by  these 
original  Scots  appears  to  have  included,  in  addition  to  the  Western 
Isles,  the  whole  of  the  mountainous  district  now  called  Argyleshire  ; 
and  from  the  time  of  the  erection  of  this  Irish  sovereignty.  North 
Britain  continued,  for  some  centuries,  to  be  divided  between  two 
distinct  monarchies,  the  Scotish  and  the  Pictisli ;  till,  at  length,  in 
the  reign  of  Keneth  Mac-Alpine,  after  a  long  and  fierce  struggle, 
the  people  of  the  Picts  were  entirely  vanquished,  and  the  Scots  left 
sole  masters  of  the  country. 

"The  memoraI)Ie  migration  of  the  sons  of  Erck,  is  marked  by  the 
Irish  annalists  as  having  occurred  twenty  years  after  the  great  battle 
of  Oclia,  in  which  Olill  Molt,  the  successor  of  Leogaire  in  the 
monarchy  of  Ireland,  was  slain.  This  battle  itself,  too,  constituted 
an  era  in  Irish  history,  as  the  race  of  the  Nials,  on  whose  side 
victory  then  declared,  were,  by  the  fortune  of  that  day's  combat, 
rendered  masters  of  all  Ireland.  The  law  established  in  the  reign 
of  Tuathal  confining  the  succession  to  his  own  family,  and  excluding 
the  princes  of  the  other  lines  from  the  monarchy,  was  now  wholly 
set  aside ;  and  the  Hy-Nials,  taking  possession  of  the  supreme 
government,  held  it  uninterruptedly  through  a  course  of  more  than 
five  hundred  years. 

"Of  the  two  kings  who  succeeded  Olill  Molt,  namely,  Lugad  and 
Murcertach,  the  reign  of  one  extended  to  twenty-five  years,  and  that 
of  the  other  to  twenty-one;  and  yet  of  the  former  reign  all  that  we 
find  recorded  is  the  names  of  some  battles  which  signalized  its  course  ; 
while  of  the  grandson  of  Erck,  nothing  further  is  commemorated 
than  that,  in  A.  D.  534,  he  fought  five  battles,  and,  in  the  following 
year,  was  drowned  in  a  hogshead  of  wine. t  It  is,  however,  but  just 
to  add,  that  he  is  represented  as   a    good    and   pious  sovereign,  and 

'  The  facts  of  the  history  of  this  colony  have  been  thus  well  summed  up  by  Roy 
(Military  Antiq.)  : — 

"  There  is  incontrovertible  authority  to  join  the  Irish  with  the  Picts  in  their 
martial  exploits  against  the  Romans,  as  well  from  the  Latin,  as  from  the  ancient 
British  and  Saxon,  writers.  It  is  clear,  not  only  from  all  the  Scotch  history  we 
have  of  the  times,  but  from  Bede,  from  the  most  authentic  writers  for  an  age  or 
two  before  and  after  him,  and  from  the  Roman  writers,  tljat  Scotland,  during  the 
Roman  domination  in  Britain,  subsisted  under  two  different  monarchies,  Irish  and 
Pictish."  I  have  given  tliis  passage  as  I  find  it  cited  by  Dr.  O'Connor,  having 
searched  in  vain  for  it  in  the  folio  edition  of  Roy's  works,  17!)3. 

t  This  royal  event,  as  appears  by  the  fragments  on  the  subject  remaining,  was 
commemorated  by  many  of  the  poets  of  that  period. —  See  the  Annals  of  the  Four 
Masters,  ad  ann.  534.  It  is  supposed,  from  the  mention  in  most  of  the  Lives  of 
St.  Columbanus,  of  the  circumstance  of  an  Irish  ship  trading  to  Nantes,  in  the 
sixth  century,  that  wine  was  imported  into  Ireland  from  that  city. 


316 

was  the  first  of  the  Irish  monarchs  who  can,  with  any  degree  of 
certainty,  be  pronounced  Christian. 

"At  the  commencement  of  the  sixtli  century,  Christianity  had 
become  almost  universal  throughout  Ireland ;  and  before  its  close 
her  church  could  boast  of  a  considerable  number  of  lioly  persons, 
whose  fame  for  sanctity  and  learning  has  not  been  confined  to  their 
own  country,  but  is  still  cherished  and  held  in  reverence  by  the  great 
majority  of  the  Christian  world.  Among  these  ornaments  of  a  period 
whose  general  want  of  intellectual  illumination  rendered  its  few 
shining  lights  the  more  conspicuous,  stands  pre-eminently  the  Apostle 
of  the  Western  Isles,  Columb-Kille,  who  was  born  in  the  reign  of 
MurcertacI),  about  the  year  5'2I,  and  who,  from  the  great  activity 
and  variety  of  his  spiritual  enterprises,  was  so  mixed  up  vvitli  the 
public  transactions  of  his  times,  that  an  account  of  his  life  and  acts 
would  be  found  to  include  within  its  range  all  that  is  most  remarka- 
ble in  the  contemporary  history  of  his  country. 

"In  citing  for  historical  purposes  the  Lives  of  Saints,  of  whatever 
age  or  country,  considerable  caution  ought,  of  course,  to  be  observed. 
But  there  are  writers,  and  those  not  among  the  highest,  who,  in  the 
pride  of  fancied  wisdom,  aft'ect  a  contempt  for  this  s))ecies  of  evi- 
dence, which  is,  to  say  the  least  of  it,  shallow.  Both  Montesquieu 
and  Gibbon*  knew  far  better  how  to  appreciate  the  true  value  of 
such  works,  as  sources  of  historical  information;  being  ^^cll  aware 
that,  in  times  when  personages  renowned  for  sanctity  held  such 
influence  over  all  ranks  and  classes,  and  were  even  controllers  of 
the  thoughts  and  actions  of  kings,  it  is  often  in  the  private  lives  of 
these  spiritual  heroes  alone  tiiat  the  true  moving  springs  of  the 
history  of  their  age  is  to  be  sought. 

"  Previously  to  entering,  however,  on  any  personal  details  respec- 
ting either  Columba  or  any  other  of  those  distinguished  Irishmen 
whose  zeal  contributed  so  much  at  this  period,  not  merely  in  their 
own  country,  but  throughout  all  the  British  Isles,  to  the  general 
diff"usion  of  Christianity,  it  may  not  be  irrelevant  to  inquire  briefly 
into  the  peculiar  nature  of  the  doctrines  which  these  spiritual  suc- 
cessors of  our  great  apostle  taught.  An  attempt  has  been  made, 
enforced  by  the  learning  of  the   admirable  Usher,  to  prove  that  the 

*  "  The  ancient  legendaries,'  says  Gibbon,  ''  deserve  some  regard,  as  thej'  are 
obliged  to  connect  their  fables  with  the  real  history  of  their  own  times."  Mon- 
tesquieu acknowledges  still  more  strongly  the  use  to  be  derived  from  such  works  : — 

"  Quoiqu'on  puisse  reprocher  aux  auteurs  de  ces  Vies  d'avoir  etc  quelquefois  un 
peu  trop  credules  sur  des  choses  que  Dieu  a  certainement  faitcs,  si  elles  ont  ete 
dans  I'ordre  de  ses  dcsseins,  on  ne  laisse  pas  d'en  tirer  de  grandes  lumieres  sur  les 
mceurs  et  les  usages  de  ces  temps-la." — Liv.  xxx.  chap.  2. 

Sir  James  Mackintosh  follov%-s  eloquently  in  the  same  tract : — 

"  The  vast  collections  of  the  Lives  of  Saints  often  throws  light  on  public  events, 
and  opens  glimpses  into  the  habits  of  men  in  those  times;  nor  are  they  wanting  in 

sources  of  interest,  though  poetical   and   moral  rather  than  historical The 

whole  force  of  this  noble  attempt  to  exalt  human  nature  was  at  this  period  spent 
on  the  Lives  of  the  Saints, — a  sort  of  moral  heroes  or  demigods,  without  some 
acquaintance  with  whom  it  is  hard  to  comprehend  an  age  when  the  connnemora- 
tion  of  the  virtues  then  most  venerated,  as  thcj'  were  embodied  in  these  holy  mc^, 
was  the  principal  theme  of  the  genius  of  Christendom." — Vol.  i.  chap  2. 

See,  on  the  same  subject,  the  remarks  of  the  Benedictines  (Hist.  Litcraire  de  la 
France,)  in  speaking  of  the  writers  of  the  seventh  century. 


317 

church  founded  by  St.  Patrick  in  Ireland  held  itself  independent  of 
Rome,  and,  on  most  of  the  leading  points  of  Cliristian  doctrine, 
professed  the  opinions  maintained  at  present  by  Protestants.  But 
rarely,  even  in  the  warfare  of  religious  controversy,  has  there  been 
hazarded  an  assertion  so  little  grounded  upon  fact.  In  addition  to 
tlie  original  link  formed  with  Rome,  from  her  having  appointed  the 
first  Irish  missionaries,  we  find  in  a  canon  of  one  of  the  earliest 
Synods  held  in  Ireland  a  clear  acknowledgment  of  the  supremacy 
of  the  Roman  see.  Nor  was  this  recognition  confined  merely  to 
words;  as,  on  the  very  first  serious  occasion  of  controversy  which 
presented  itself, — the  dispute  relative  to  the  time  of  celebrating 
Easter, — it  was  resolved,  conformably  to  the  words  of  this  canon, 
that  "  the  question  should  be  referred  to  the  Head  of  Cities,"  and, 
a  deputation  being  accordingly  despatched  to  Rome  for  the  purpose, 
the  Roman  |)ractice,  on  this  point,  was  ascertained  and  adopted. 

"Respecting  the  nature  of  the  religious  doctrines  and  observances 
taught  by  the  earliest  Christian  preachers  in  Ireland,  we  have,  both 
in  the  accounts  of  their  devotional  practices  and  in  their  writings, 
the  most  satisfactory  as  well  as  ample  information.  That  they 
celebrated  mass  under  the  ancient  traditional  names  of  the  Holy 
Mysteries  of  the  Eucharist,  the  Sacrifice  of  Salvation,*  the  Immola- 
tion of  the  Host,  is  admitted  by  Usher  himself.  But  he  might  have 
found  language  even  still  stronger  employed  by  them  to  express  the 
mystery  their  faith  acknowledged  in  that  rite.t  The  ancient  prac- 
tice of  off'ering  up  prayers  for  the  dead,t  and  the  belief  of  a  middle 
state  of  existence,  after  this  life,  upon  which  that  practice  is  founded, 
formed   also   parts  of  their   creed  ;§   though  of  the   locality  of  the 

*  The  phrase  used  by  St.  Chrjsostom,  in  speaking  of  tiie  progress  of  the  faith 
in  the  British  Isles,  implies  in  itself  that  the  belief  held  in  those  regions  respectinor 
the  Euciiarist  was  the  very  same  which  he  himself  enforced  in  his  writings,  and 
which  the  Catholic  church  maintains  to  the  present  day.  "  Tliey  have  erected 
churches  (says  the  saint.)  and  Altars  of  Sacrifice." 

f  Following  the  belief  of  the  ancient  Christian  church,  as  to  a  Real  Presence  in 
the  sacrament,  they  adopted  the  language  also  by  which  this  mystery  was  express- 
^£d  ;  and  the  phrase  of  "  mnkino-  the  bodij  of  Christ,"  which  occurs  so  frequently  in 
^hc  Liturgies  of  the  primitive  Church,  is  found  likewise  in  tiie  writings  of  tlie  first 
Irish  Christians.  Thus  Adamnan,  in  his  Life  of  St.  Columba,  tells  of  that  Saint 
ordering  the  bishop,  Cronan,  "  Chrisli  corpus  ex  more  conficere."  Lib.  i.  c.  44. 
In  later  Irish  writers,  numerous  passages  to  the  same  purj)ort  may  be  found  ;  but, 
confining  myself  to  those  only  of  the  earlier  period,  I  shall  add  but  the  following 
strong  testimony  from  Scdulius  : — 

Corpus,  sanguis,  aqua,  tria  vitfB  numera  nostrce  : 
Fonte  renascentes,  inenibris  et  sanguine  Chrisli 
Vescimur,  atque  ideo  templum  Deitatis  habemur; 
Quod  servare  Deus  nos  annuat  immaculatum, 
Et  faciat  tenucs  tanto  Mansore  capaces. 

Carmen  Paschale,  lib.  iv. 
X  Oblationes  pro  defunctis  annua  die  facimus. — Tertull. 

§  It  is  acknowledged  by  Usher  that  Requiem  masses  were  among  the  religious 
practices  of  the  Irish  Christians  in  those  dn.ys ;  but  he  denies  that  they  were  any- 
thing more  tJKin  '■  an  honourable  commemoration  of  the  dead,  and  a  sacrifice  of 
thanksgiving  for  their  salvation."  It  has  been  sliown  clearly,  however,  tliat  these 
■^  ^aasses  were  meant  to  be  also,  in  the  strongest  sense  of  the  word,  j)ropitiaiory.  In 
an  old  Irish  missal,  found  at  liobbio,  of  which  an  account  has  been  given  in  the 
Rer.  Hibern.  Script.  (Ep.  Nunc,  cxxxviii.,)  there  is  contained  a  mass  for  the  dead, 
entitled  "  Pro  Defunctis,"  in  which  the  following  prayer,  and  others  no  less  Ca- 


318 

purgatorial  fire  their  notions  were,  like  tliose  of  the  ancient  Fathers, 
vague  and  undefined.  In  an  old  Lifij  of  St.  Brendan,  who  lived  in 
the  sixth  century,  it  is  stated,  "the  praver  of  the  living  doth  much 
profit  the  dead ;"  and,  amr)ng  the  canons  of  a  very  early  Irish 
Synod,  there  is  one  entitled  "  Of  the  Oblation  for  the  dead."  Of 
the  frequent  practice,  indeed,  of  prayer  and  almsgiving  for  the  relief 
of  departed  soids,  there  are  to  be  found  throughout  the  records  of 
those  times  abundant  proofs.  In  a  tract  attributed  to  Cunimian, 
who  lived  in  the  seventh  century,  and  of  whose  talents  and  learning 
we  shall  hereafter  have  occasion  to  speak,  propitiatory  masses  for 
the  dead  are  mentioned.  The  habit  of  invoking  and  praying  to 
saints  was,  it  is  evident,  general  among  the  ancient  Irish  Christians; 
and  a  Life  of  St.  Brigid,  written,  according  to  Ware,  in  the  seventh 
century,  concludes  with  the  following  words: — "There  are  two 
holy  virgins  in  heaven  who  may  undertake  my  protection,  Mary  and 
St.  Brigid,  on  whose  patronage  let  each  of  us  depend."* 

"  The  penitential  discipline  establi-shed  in  their  monasteries  was 
of  the  most  severe  description.  The  weekly  fast-days  observed  by  the 
whole  Irish  church  were,  according  to  the  practice  of  the  primitive 
times,  Wednesdays  and  Fridays  :  and  the  abstinence  of  the  monks, 
and  of  the  more  pious  among  the  laity,  was  carried  to  an  extreme 
unknown  in  later  days.  The  benefit  of  pilgrimages  also  was  incul- 
cated ;  and  we  find  mention  occasionally,  in  the  Annals,  of  princes 
dying  in  pilgrimage. t  The  practice  of  auricular  confession,  and 
their  belief  in  the  power  of  the  priest  to  absolve  from  sin,  is  proved 
by  the  old  penitential  canons,  and  by  innumerable  passages  in  the 
Lives  of  their  Saints. 1 

"  The  only  point,  indeed,  either  of  doctrine  or  discipline, — and 
under  this  latter  head  alone  the  exception  falls, — in  which  the  least 
difference,  of  any  moment,  can  be  detected  between  the  religion 
professed  by  the  first  Irish  Christians  and  that  of  the  Catholics  of 
the  present  day,  is  with  respect  to  the  marriage  of  the  clergy,  which, 
as  appears  from  the  same  sources  of  evidence  that  have  furnished  all 
the  foregoing  proofs,  was,  though  certainly  not  approved  of,  yet  per- 
mitted and  practised.  Besides  a  number  of  incidental  proofs  of  this 
fact,  the  sixth  Canon  of  the  Synod  attributed  to  St.  Patrick  enjoins 

tholic,  are  to  be  found  : — "  Concede  propitius,  ut  htec  sacra  oblatio  mortuis  prosit 
ad  veniam,  et  vivis  proficiat  ad  salutem." 

*  See  Lanigan,  Ecclesiast.  Hist.  vol.  iii.  chap.  20.  note  107. 

1  See  Tigernach,  A.  D.  610,  and  also  723.  In  the  Annals  of  the  Four  Masters, 
A.  D.  777,  the  pilgrimage  of  a  son  of  the  king  of  Connaught  to  the  Isle  of  Hyona 
is  recorded. 

:j;  On  this  point  Usher  acknowledges  that  "  they  did  (no  doubt)  both  publicly 
and  privately  make  confession  of  their  faults,"  (chap.  5.)  and  adds,  in  proof  of  this 
fact,  what  follows: — "One  old  penitential  canon  we  find  laid  down  in  a  synod 
held  in  this  country,  about  the  year  of  our  Lord  450,  hy  St.  Patrick,  Auxilius,  and 
Isserninus,  which  is  as  followelh  ; — '  A  Christian  who  hath  killed  a  man,  or  com- 
mitted fornication,  or  gone  unto  a  soothsayer,  after  the  manner  of  the  Gentiles, 
for  every  one  of  those  crimes  shall  do  a  year  of  penance  ;  when  his  year  of  penance 
is  accomplished,  he  shall  come  with  witnesses,  and  afterward  he  shall  be  absolved  -^ 
by  the  priest.'  "  Usher  contends,  however,  for  their  having  in  so  far  differed  fro^f  » 
the  belief  of  the  present  Catholics,  that  they  did  not  attribute  to  the  priest  any 
more  than  a  ministerial  power  in  the  remission  of  sins. 


319 

that  "the  clerk's  wife  shall   not   walk  out  without  having  her  head 
veiled."* 

"  The  evidence  which  Usher  has  adduced  to  prove,  that  commu- 
nion in  both  kinds  was  permitted  to  the  laity  among"  the  Irish,  is  by 
no  means  conclusive  or  satisfactory  ;t — though  it  would  certainly 
aj)pear,  from  one  of  the  Canons  of  the  Penitential  of  St.  Columba- 
nus,t  tliat,  before  the  introduction  of  his  rule,  novices  had  been 
admitted  to  the  cup.  It  is  to  be  remembered,  however,  tliat  any 
difterence  of  practice,  in  tliis  respect,  has  been  always  considered 
as  a  mere  point  of  discipline,  and  accordingly  subject  to  such  altera- 
tion as  the  change  of  time  and  circumstances  may  require." 


CHAPTER  XLV. 


Accession  of  Olioll  to  the  throne. — His  reign  and  death,  A.  D.  478.     Lughha,  the 
son  of  Laoghairc,  a  former  monarch,  succeeds  to  the  crown. — His  reign  and  death. 

Prince  Olioll,  the  son  of  the  monarch  Dathy,  who  commanded 
the  expedition  destined  to  reinforce  Laoghaire,  on  landing  in  Cale- 
donia, was  proclaimed  king  by  the  army.  To  obtain  the  sanction 
of  the  national  estates  to  his  assumption  of  the  regal  authority,  he 
resolved  to  evacuate  the  strong  holds  which  he  had  on  tlie  frontiers 
of  Britain,  and  to  transport  the  principal  part  of  his  army  to  Ireland, 
to  support  his  claims  to  the  crown.  As  soon  as  the  convention  of 
the  national  estates  heard  of  ills  arrival  in  Ulster,  with  a  potent 
army,  they  elected  him  monarch  of  Ireland,  and  sent  a  deputation 
of  nobles  as  far  as  DundalU,  in  the  county  of  Louth,  to  meet  and 
congratulate  him  on  his  accession  to  the  throne  of  his  ancestors. 
From  Dundalk,  we  are  told  by  Molloy,  he  proceeded  to  the  abbey 
of  St.  Mary's,  in  the  town  of  Louth, §  where  St.  Moctc,  a  disciple  of 

*  If  the  term  clerk  here  be  understood  to  comprise  all  the  members  of  the  cleri- 
cal orders,  the  permission  to  marry  extended  also,  of  course,  to  priests;  but  it  is 
thought  by  some  that  the  words  of  the  canon  apply  only  to  the  inferior  ranks  of 
the  clergy.  "  With  respect  to  our  English  church  (says  Dr.  Milner,)  at  the  end 
of  the  sixth  century,  we  gather  from  St.  Gregory's  permission  for  the  clerks  in 
minor  orders  to  take  wives,  that  this  was  unlawful  for  the  clergy  in  holy  orders, 
namely,  for  bishops,  priests,  and  deacons,  agreeably  to  a  well-known  rule  of  rea- 
soning, '  Exceptio  confirmat  regulam ;'  and  we  are  justified  in  inferring  the  same 
with  respect  to  the  Irish  clergy  in  St.  Patrick's  time," — Inquiry  into  certain  vulgar 
opinions,  &,'C.  &,-c.     Letter  14. 

t  He  founds  his  conclusion  chiefly  on  their  use  of  such  plirascs  as  "  the  commu- 
nion of  the  Lord's  body  and  blood  ;"  vvhereas  the  Catholics  of  the  present  day, 
among  whom  the  laity  receive  the  sacrament  under  one  kind  only,  use  the  very- 
same  language. 

t  Columban.  in  Pcenitent.,  as  I  find  it  thus  cited  by  Ceillier : — "  Novi  quia 
indocti  et  quicunque  tales  fuerint,  ad  calicem  non  accedant." 

^  Louth,  Irom  which  the  county  of  Louth  derives  its  name,  situated  about  five 
miles  north-west  of  Dundalk,  could  once  boast  of  seven  churches,  four  abbeys, 
and  three  feudal  castles,  all  now  piles  of  ruins.  In  the  abbey  of  St.  Mary  are  the 
mouldering  remains  of  several  tombs,  in  which  many  of  the  primates  of  Ireland 


320 

St.  Patrick,  and  founder  of  that  monastery,  inaugurated  him  king, 
according  to  tlie  rites  of  the  Christian  dispensation.  This  was  the 
first  of  our  inonarchs,  who  was  crowned  by  the  hands  of  a  Christian 
prelate.  From  Louth  he  set  out  for  Tara,  where  he  was  received 
by  the  provincial  princes  and  national  estates  with  every  demon- 
stration of  loyalty  and  respect.  This  monarch  married  Lchdealb, 
the  daughter  of  Angus,  king  of  Munster;  an  alliance  that  strength- 
ened his  power,  and  enabled  him  to  exact  the  Leinster  tribute  three 
times  without  being  forced  to  have  recourse  to  arms.  The  king  of 
Connaught,  Amalgaid,  was  also  his  relation  and  ally,  so  that  sub- 
mission was  the  wisest  policy  which  the  king  of  Leinster  could  have 
adopted  under  such  circumstances.  Amalgaid  was  a  distinguished 
warrior,  "  who  was,"  says  O'Flaherty,  "  victorious  in  nine  sea  fights 
and  many  land  engagements." 

This  monarch,  who  loved  the  blessings  of  peace,  and  is  repre- 
sented by  our  annalists  as  more  ambitious  of  rendering  his  people 
hapjjy  than  of  distinguishing  himself  by  military  fame,  assiduously 
applied  all  his  thoughts  to  the  internal  policy  of  the  kingdom.  His 
spirit  gave  life  and  animation  to  the  operations  of  commerce  and 
agriculture.  He  caused  the  laws  to  be  revised,  so  as  to  afford  a 
wider  scope  to  the  freedom  of  his  people.  Literature  and  the  arts, 
also,  flourished  under  his  cheering  auspices.  At  the  suggestion  of 
the  monarch,  the  national  estates  passed  a  law  for  encouraging 
trade  and  the  mechanical  arts.  A  commission,  consisting  of  sixty 
intelligent  men,  well  experienced  in  science,  commerce,  and  the 
mechanical  arts,  was  appointed  to  visit  the  chief  towns  and  maritime 
ports,  for  the  purpose  of  reporting,  from  an  accurate  survey,  the 
state  of  commerce,  mechanics,  and  the  arts,  and  to  suggest  plans 
for  their  progressive  improvement. 

But,  though  the  encouragement  of  the  arts  of  peace,  the  amelio- 
ration of  the  condition  of  the  middle  classes  of  the  people,  and  the 
general  spread  of  national  prosperity,  were  the  primary  objects  to 
which  he  directed  his  active  attention,  he  did  not  forget  that  to  pre- 
serve this  internal  happiness,  it  was  necessary  to  watch  the  enemies 
of  his  kingdom  abroad,  and  to  guard  against  external  danger. 
Accordingly,  we  are  informed,  that  he  kept  up  a  considerable  body 
of  troops  in  Caledonia,  and  on  the  frontiers  of  Britain,  to  assist  his 
Dalriadian  allies,  and  to  oppose  the  designs  of  the  Saxons  and  their 

were  interred.  The  abbott  of  St.  Mary's  was  a  peer  of  parliament,  and  bore,  for 
centuries,  the  title  of  Bishop  of  Louth.  He  had  episcopal  authority  over  the  sees 
of  Clogher  and  Louth,  and  the  right  of  presentation  to  the  rectories  of  Dundalk, 
Ardee,  Louth,  Drumisken,  Kilsaron,  Dunleer,  Drumcar,  Clonkeen,  Stickillen, 
Churchtown,  Hagorardstown,  Tallanstown,  and  Smarmore.  But  the  abbott  of 
Louth  was  deprived  of  these  rights  by  Edward  IL,  in  131G,  in  consequence  of  his 
having  crowned  Edward  Bruce  king  of  Ireland,  in  the  church  of  Dundalk.  In 
addition  to  the  abbey  founded  by  St.  Mocte,  the  first  bishop  of  Louth,  a  magnifi- 
cent priory  was  erected  by  Donough  O'Carroll,  prince  of  Urial,  in  1148,  and 
another  by  Edan  O'Kelly,  in  11.50.  These  abbeys  were  munificently  endowed. 
Henry  VIH.,  on  the  suppression  of  the  monasteries,  made  a  grant  of  the  estates 
of  the  religious  houses  of  Louth  to  Sir  Oliver  Plunkett,  the  first  baron  of  Louth. 
Louth  is  gradually  decaying,  though  it  stands  in  the  midst  of  as  fertile  a  district 
of  country  as  any  in  Ireland.  The  greater  part  of  the  town  belongs  to  the  present 
Lord  Louth. 


321 

British  dependents.  Every  act  of  the  reign  of  this  patriotic  monarch 
was  dictated  by  the  soundest  principles  of  prudence  and  pohcy ;  but, 
notwitlistanding  the  wisdom  and  justice  which  appeared  in  all  the 
measures  of  his  administration,  he  had  to  contend  with  internal 
discords  and  party  divisions,  and  he  found  that  the  tranquil  and 
peaceable  reign  wliich  lie  had  hitherto  enjoyed  was  not  solely  owing 
to  the  [)opularity  of  his  impartial  government,  but  that  he  was  partly 
indebted  for  it  to  his  alliance  and  connection  with  the  kings  of 
Munster  and  Connaught.  At  this  epoch  of  his  reign,  476,  the  death 
of  his  father-in-law  convinced  him  that  though  wisdom  may  be  the 
means  of  securing  power,  yet  still,  that  wisdom  without  power 
cannot  insure  or  command  obedience. 

As  soon  as  the  Lagenians  were  made  acquainted  with  the  death 
of  Angus,  they  began  to  manifest  a  disposition  of  resistance,  and  to 
speak  of  the  imposts  exacted  from  them  as  despotic  and  grievous. 
Tliey  now  boldly  assumed  an  attitude  of  independence  and  defiance. 
The  tribute  which  they  had  already  paid  the  monarch  several  times 
was  now  peremptorily  refused  ;  and  several  severe  engagements, 
fought  with  various  success,  was  the  result  of  their  praiseworthy 
resistance  to  despotic  aggression.  Olioll,  however,  sometimes  suc- 
ceeded in  exacting  by  force  what  he  coidd  not  acquire  by  authority. 
He  was  yet  but  successful  at  times  in  his  hostile  attacks  on  Leinster; 
and,  while  he  was  thus  weakening  and  frittering  away  his  power  in 
an  unprofitable  predatory  warfare,  he  was  encouraging  a  more 
dangerous  enemy,  to  dispute  with  him  the  sovereignty  of  the  entire 
kingdom. 

Lugha,  the  son  of  Laoghaire,  and  grandson  of  the  famous  Nial, 
being  disqualified  by  his  age  to  become  a  candidate  for  the  kingdom, 
on  the  death  of  his  father,  had  scarcely  passed  his  minority,  when 
he  began  to  indidge  hopes  of  attaining  to  the  monarchy.  This  young 
prince  was  highly  educated,  and  he  possessed  a  genius  that  served 
to  imy)art  an  impulse  to  his  daring  ambition.  His  polished  manners 
and  winning  address  gained  for  him  great  popularity  amongst  the 
princes  and  nobles  of  the  kingdom.  When  he  had  organized  his 
plans,  and  after  having  gained  the  alliance  of  several  Irish  princes, 
particularly  of  Murtough  O'Niel,  and  of  the  king  of  Leinster,  whose 
daughter  he  had  married,  he  sent,  agreeably  to  the  custom  of  all 
pretenders  to  the  Irish  crown,  his  ambassador  to  the  monarch,  to 
demand  a  formal  resignation  of  the  throne,  or  otherwise  to  give  a 
challenge  to  meet  him  in  the  field  of  battle,  and  to  decide  their 
respective  claims  by  the  sword. 

The  monarch,  equal  to  his  rival  in  bravery,  appointed  a  day  and 
place  of  action  ;  and  having  summoned  all  his  friends  and  tributa- 
ries, the  hostile  armies  met,  in  pursuance  of  agreement,  on  the  plains 
of  Ocha,  in  the  county  of  Carlovv,  where  the  sanguinary  conflict  was 
disputed  with  such  resolution  on  both  sides,  that  victory  remained 
for  a  long  while  doubtful.  The  valiant  Olioll,  perceiving,  at  length, 
that  the  fortune  of  the  day  inclined  to  his  adversary,  rushed,  with 
heroic  courage,  into  the  midst  of  the  engagement,  at  the  head  of  his 
personal  guards,  determined  to  decide  the  contest  by  his  own  death, 
or  by  that  of  his  rival.  The  royal  combatants  met,  like  enraged 
41 


322 

lions,  and  the  valiant  Olioli,  in  the  gigantic  struggle,  fell  by  the 
hand  of  his  more  fortunate  antagonist.  This  battle,  which  termi- 
nated the  life  of  Olioli  iu  the  nineteenth  year  of  his  reign,  was  fouglit 
in  May  A.  D.  478. 

The  pacific  administration  of  Olioli  was  the  source  of  national 
prosperity  and  happiness,  because  it  was  based  on  justice,  equitable 
rights,  and  legislative  wisdom.  His  attempts  to  levy  the  Leinster 
tribute  are  the  only  acts  of  his  reign  that  approached  despotism. 
The  victor,  Lugha,  was  proclaimed  king  on  the  field  of  battle,  and 
immediately  after  crowned  with  great  solemnity  at  Tara.  He  com- 
menced his  reign  by  rewarding  the  generals  and  chieftains  who 
aided  him  in  obtaining  the  decisive  victory  which  paved  his  way  to 
the  throne.  The  territories  of  Delvin  Rugad,  in  the  county  of  Ros- 
common— Delvin  Culfabhar,  and  Delvin  Teadha,  in  the  county  of 
Galway,  were  bestowed  on  the  sons  of  Lugha.  Our  annalists  tell 
us  that  several  sanguinary  engagements  were  fought  during  this 
reign,  but  the  name  of  the  battle  fields,  or  of  the  heroes  who  figured 
in  them,  has  been  withheld  from  us.  We  are,  therefore,  left  totally 
in  the  dark,  with  regard  to  the  causes  which  produced  the  state  of 
warfare,  that  raged  at  that  epoch  in  Ireland.  We  may  however 
impute  it,  we  think,  with  some  justice  to  the  discords  and  restless 
ambition  that  agitated  our  chieftains  in  those  days  of  savage  valour 
and  ungovernable  pride. 

The  Leinster  tribute  that  kept  the  flames  of  civil  hostility  ever 
glowing,  and  Lugha,  like  his  predecessors,  laid  claim  to  that  odious 
impost,  and  invaded  Leinster  to  extort  the  payment  of  it;  but  he 
was  defeated  and  routed  by  the  Lagenians,  at  the  battle  of  Kille 
Osnoch,  in  the  county  of  Carlow.  Murtough  O'Niel  invaded  Con- 
naught  about  this  era,  483,  and  spread  ruin  and  misery  through  the 
whole  province.  It  is  strange  that  no  Irish  historian  has  furnished 
us  with  the  particulars  of  these  desultory  conflicts.  O'Flaherty, 
indeed,  informs  us,  that  in  a  battle  on  the  borders  of  Lough  Corrib, 
in  the  county  of  Galway,  in  which  the  Connacians  were  defeated, 
and  that  three  sons  of  the  king  of  Con  naught,  whose  names  were 
I^ugene,  Olioli,  and  Duach,  fell  under  the  swords  of  the  Ultonians. 

From  the  chasms  left  unfilled  by  our  annalists  in  their  narrative 
of  the  occurrences  of  those  days,  it  would  seem  that  the  civil  history 
of  this  epoch  was  compiled  from  tradition.  The  great  events  that 
had  taken  place,  and  the  battles  which  had  been  fought,  could  not 
be  forgotten  iu  the  course  of  one  or  two  centuries;  while  the  causes 
in  which  they  originated  might  soon  escape  recollection,  having 
nothing  of  that  marvellous  quality  which  alone  could  fix  them  on 
the  public  attention.  Accordingly,  where  causes  have  been  assigned, 
there  is  room,  in  some  cases,  to  suspect  their  authenticity.  The 
deaths  of  Dathy  and  Laoghaire,  two  successive  monarchs,  have  been 
attributed  to  lightning,  and  the  death  of  Lugha,  the  next  king  in 
succession  but  one,  has  been  imputed  to  the  same  cause.  A  person 
must  have  much  historic  faith  to  believe,  that  three  nearly  successive 
princes  should  fall  victims  to  the  same  element.  Their  deaths,  it  is 
true,  have  been  accounted  for  by  Christian  writers  as  the  conse- 
quence of  their  impiety.     But  we   do  not  remember  an  instance  in 


323 

the  sacred  writings,  where  lightning  has  been  made  the  instrument 
of  God's  wrath.  The  probability  is,  that  some  Christian  antiquarian, 
moved  by  a  pious  zeal  for  the  cause  of  religion,  but  not  rejecting, 
tiiat  no  cause,  however  sacred,  should  be  promoted  at  tlie  expense 
of  truth,  had  recourse  to  tliese  sanctimonious  stratagems  and  delu- 
sions to  annex  the  idea  of  punishment,  even  in  this  life,  to  the  pur- 
suits of  vice  and  immorahty. 

It  was  at  tliis  juncture  that  the  Picts  revolted  from  tlie  sovereign 
authority  of  tlie  Dairiad  colony,  and  succeeded  in  driving  the  Irish 
and  their  descendants  into  the  mountains.  Reduced  to  this  exigen- 
cy, their  princes  Angus,  Fergus,  and  Lorn,  sent  andiassadors  to  the 
Irish  monarcli,  Lugha,  to  solicit  his  aid  and  protection. 

The  appeal  was  no  sooner  urged  than  complied  with.  The 
monarch  in  person  led  the  expedition  to  the  shores  of  Caledonia, 
A.  D.  508,  where  he  soon  reduced  the  Picts  to  servile  obedience. 
But  as  he  was  preparing  to  return  to  his  kingdom  he  was  killed  by 
a  thunder-bolt,  in  the  thirtieth  year  of  his  reign. 

"His  death,"  says  Dr.  Warner,  "is  said  to  have  been  from  the 
vengeance  of  heaven,  in  consequence  of  his  having  opposed  the 
preaching  of  St.  Patrick,  and  otherwise  endeavoured  to  stop  the 
dissemination  of  Christianity  in  Ireland."  Lugha's  character,  like 
that  of  many  of  his  predecessors,  was  a  compound  of  vice  and  virtue. 
He  was  ambitious  and  valiant,  and  always  desirous  of  acquiring 
military  fame  at  the  expense  of  justice  and  freedom. 


CHAPTER  XLVI. 


The  accession  of  Murtovgh  to  the  throne. — His  reign  and  death. — Dr.  Ledicich's 
objections  noticed. —  Tuathul  re-elected  Monarch. — He  reduces  the  Picts  to  complete 
subjection. — His  reign  and  death. 

As  soon  as  the  news  of  the  death  of  Lugha,  in  the  manner  detailed 
in  the  last  chapter,  arrived  in  Ireland,  the  national  estates  assembled 
for  the  purpose  of  electing  a  successor  to  the  crown.  Their  choice 
fell  on  Murlough,  the  son  of  Muireadhach,  who  was  the  grandson  of 
Nial  of  the  nine  hostages.  This  prince  acquired  great  eminence  by 
his  exploits  in  the  campaigns  against  the  Caledonian  Picts*  during 
the  two  preceding  reigns. 

*  '•  Even  the  name  of  Scotland,  and  of  her  great  families,  the  Campbels,  the 
McAllens,  McDonnells,  Loons,  and  other  clans,  prove,  if  proof  were  wanted,  that 
the  Scotch  were  of  Irish  origin." — Nicholson. 

"  The  Albanians  wore  called  Picts  by  the  Irish  invaders,  because  they  generally 
painted  their  bodies." — Bede. 

"  It  is  to  Ireland  that  Scotland  is  indebted  for  the  name  of  Cahdonia,  which 
appellation  was  bestowed  upon  her  by  Carbre,  the  prince  of  the  Dalriada,  in  com- 
pliment to  his  chief  General  Cathluan  ;  for  Cathluan  is  with  us  pronounced  Caluan, 
and  Don  is  used  to  denote  the  posterity  of  some  eminent  personage.  Thus  Cale- 
donia implies  in  Irish  the  descendants  of  Caleran." — M'Dekmott. 


324 

His  election  gave  great  satisfaction  to  the  nation.  Our  annalists 
concur  in  asserting  that  this  monarch  ascended  the  throne  A.  D. 
503.  His  queen  was  Sahina,  a  Connacian  princess,  whose  piety  and 
amiahle  virtues  are  greatly  eulogized  by  our  historians,  who  rank 
her  among  the  Irish  saints.  We  know  but  little  of  tiie  events  of 
Murtough's  reign.  The  transactions  of  this  epoch  are  almost  passed 
over  in  silence  by  our  antiquarians,  which  is  rather  strange,  as  they 
tell  us  that  he  fought  seventeen  battles,  yet  without  saying  a  word 
of  their  causes  or  informing  us  who  were  the  opponents  of  the  mon- 
arch. Dr.  O'Halloran,  indeed,  accounts  for  the  neglect  evinced  by 
our  annalists  in  recording  the  occurrences  of  Lugha's  reign,  by 
supposing  that  king  to  have  apostatized  ;  but  the  present  monarch 
is  allowed  by  that  historian  himself,  not  only  to  have  lived  and  died 
in  the  Christian  faith,  but  even  to  be  exemplary  for  his  piety.  AVhy 
then  the  same  unaccountable  neglect,  unless  we  attribute  it  to  the 
cause  which  we  have  already  assigned  1 

O'Flaherty  acquaints  us  that  five  of  the  seventeen  engagements 
in  which  this  monarch  commanded  were  fought  in  one  year;  but  we 
are  at  a  loss  to  know  whether  he  was  either  victorious  or  vanquished 
in  any  of  them. 

Dr.  Keating  has  given  us  the  names  of  the  scenes  of  these  battles; 
but  he  could  furnish  no  other  particulars. 

The  troops  of  Murtough  occupied  all  the  strong  holds  in  Caledo- 
nia at  this  period,  in  order  to  overawe  the  Picts,  and  protect  the 
Irish  colony,  the  Dalriada. 

Shortly  after  his  accession,  by  the  advice  of  the  national  estates, 
he  created  his  cousin  Fergus,  King  of  the  Albanian  Scots,  and  com- 
pelled the  Picts  to  swear  allegiance  to  him. 

We  are  assured  by  all  our  creditable  historians  that  he  sent  the 
famous  Liagh  Fail,  or  stone  of  destiny,  to  Scotland,  either  to  add 
greater  solemnity  to  the  coronation  of  Fergus,  or  to  prevent  the 
seeds  of  disaffection  and  rebellion  from  prevailing  among  his  sub- 
jects, who  were  composed  of  Irish,  Picts,  Albanians,  and  Britons, 
by  impressing  them  with  a  strong  conviction  of  the  stability  of  his 
throne ;  as  they  gave  full  credit  to  the  prediction  that  wherever  the 
stone  of  destiny  remained,  a  IMilesian  prince  should  reign  over  the 
country  which  had  it  in  possession. 

We  have  already  given  a  comprehensive  account  of  the  stone  of 
destiny,  and  of  the  miraculous  power  attributed  to  it,  in  the  begin- 
ning of  this  history,  so  that  it  would  be  inexcusable  tautology  to 
introduce  another  narrative  of  that  subject  here. 

The  successors  of  the  Irish  prince,  Fergus,  bold  and  enterprising 
heroes,  extended  from  time  to  time  the  frontiers  of  their  kingdom, 
so  that  Kenneth,  the  son  of  Alpin,  in  the  ninth  century,  totally 
destroyed  the  Pictisii  monarchy,  and  assumed,  by  the  consent  of 
the  Irish  monarch,  Nial  HI.  the  title  of  King  of  Scotia  Minor.* 

*  Vide  Laing,  Pinckerton,  and  Fordun. 

"  Nial  only  sanctioned  this  assumption  of  an  independent  sovereign  by  his  rela- 
tive, in  a  country  which  was  his  colony  on  condition  that  the  kings  of  Scotia 
Minor  should  always  pay  tribute  and  do  homage  to  the  monarchs  of  Ireland." — 

O'SUM.IVAN. 

"  The  Albanian  Picts  were  never  known  by  tlie  name  of  Scots  until  after  Nial 


325 

In  the  reig[n  of  Murtough  architecture  and  sculpture  were  carried 
to  the  highest  pitcli  of  perfection.  The  palaces  and  ahhoys  erected 
at  this  tisne  were  superbly  decorated  in  the  enricliments  of  the  sister 
arts.  At  this  juncture  too,  poetry,  classical  learning,  astronomy, 
and  matlieniatics  were  assiduously  cultivated  hy  tiie  people  of  Ireland. 
There  is  still  extant  an  Irish  poem,  written  hy  Terua  Eiges,  in  the 
reign  of  Nial  the  Great,  in  which  there  is  a  spirited  description  i!;iven 
of  the  marble  busts  of  the  Irish  monarchs,  which  tilled  the  niches  of 
the  royal  sepulchre  of  Cruacluin,  in  the  county  of  Roscomtinon. 
We  can  adduce  another  testimony  of  our  exquisite  skill  in  the  art  of 
sculpture  and  architecture,  in  Cogitosus's  biography  of  St.  Bridget, 
who  bears  honourable  evidence  to  the  beauty,  magnificence,  and 
magnitude  of  tlie  monuments  of  that  saint  as  well  as  of  her  contem- 
porary, St.  Conlaith.  He  says,  "these  tombs,  which  I  saw  with 
my  own  eyes,  were  exquisitely  finished,  and  adorned  with  gold, 
silver,  and  precious  stones,  with  crowns  of  gold  and  silver  suspended 
over  them  ;  and  the  church  of  Kildare  was  hung  with  many  paint- 
ings representing  the  sufferings  of  Christ." 

Dr.  Ledvvich,  who,  in  his  vile  spirit  of  national  apostacy,  sooner 
than  acknowledge  the  use  of  sculpture  and  painting  in  Ireland, 
laboured  with  his  usual  assiduity  to  prove  Cogitosus,  like  St.  Patrick, 
an  imaginary  being,  merely  because  he  described,  in  his  book,  the 
ornaments  and  paintings  which  he  saw  with  his  own  eyes  in  the 
church  of  Kildare. 

He  has  written  pages  in  endeavouring  to  prop  up  the  venal  false- 
hoods of  Hume  respecting  Ireland.  "I  liave  examined  several 
authorities,"  says  he,  "but  could  find  no  evidence  supplied  by  anti- 
quity, that  the  Irish  had  domestic  edifices  or  religious  structures  of 
lime  and  stone,  antecedent  to  the  invasion  of  the  Danes,  in  the  ninth 
century.  Tacitas  proves  that  the  Germans  were  not  acquainted 
with  the  composition  of  mortar  in  his  time.  The  life  of  the  ancient 
Irish,  hke  that  of  tlie  Germans,  was  truly  pastoral,  a  state  of  society 
where  no  one  expects  to  find  durable  structures.  Whatever  change 
Christianity  operated   on   the   religious   sentiments  of  the   Irish,  it 

llie  Great  gave  the  modern  Scotland  the  name  of  Scotia  Minor  in  tlie  fifth  ao-e." — 
Hatr.liinson's  Defence. 

The  Plots  and  tlie  Irish,  whom  Eumenes  the  rhetorician,  towards  the  end  of  the 
third  century,  in  his  panegyric  on  Constance  Ca?sar,  calls  the  ordinary  enemies  of 
the  Britons,  are  designated,  by  Ammianus  and  Claudian  under  the  name  of  Scots 
and  Picts,  from  which  bisiiop  Usher  proves  that  Ireland  must  be  taken  for  the  true 
country  of  the  Scots;  in  confirmation  of  which  he  quotes  the  verses  of  Claudian, 
in  wiiich  that  poet  represents  the  Scots  as  the  inhabitants  of  the  country  which  he 
calls  Jerne.  In  the  fifth  age,  we  have  the  testimony  of  Paul  of  Orasius,  who,  in 
his  description  of  Ireland  says  that  it  is  inhabited  by  Scots;  a  Scotorum  gentibus 
colctiir. 

But  authorities  are  useless  to  establish  historical  facts.  Scotland  owes  every 
thing  to  Ireland;  but  she  is  like  Lear's  daughter  an  ungrateful  and  unkind  child. 
— M'Dermott. 

"  So  late  even  as  the  eleventh  centur}',  the  Irish  are  not  spoken  of  by  any  other 
name  than  Srofs,  by  Herman,  in  the  first  tome  of  his  chronicle,  by  Marianus  Sco- 
tus,  and  by  Floronli\is  Wigorniensis,  in  his  annals,  in  whicli  having  inserted  the 
chronicle  of  Marianus,  lie  says,  in  the  year  102H,  '  This  year  Marianus  was  born, 
a  Scot  of  Ireland,  by  whose  cares  this  excellent  chronicle  was  collected.'  " — Lynch. 


326 

made  no  alteration  in  the  political  constitution  of  tlie  country,  and 
of  course  things  remained  in  tlieii  ancient  state  as  to  the  arts  of 
civil  life.  The  force  of  this  analogical  reasoning  cannot  be  resisted,  it 
must  satisfy  every  rational  inrjuirer,^^ 

The  ^^  rational  inquirer''^  who  woidd  he  satisfied  with  these  futile 
proofs,  that  there  were  no  stone  edifices  in  Ireland  hefore  the  ninth 
century,  must  surely  be  an  inquirer  who  is  very  easily  satisfied,  a 
credulous  believer  in  the  historical  heresies  of  Dr.  Ledwich  ;  one 
that  asserts  without  reason  and  concludes  without  experience.  In 
Dr.  Ledwich's  attempt  to  annihilate  all  the  Druidical  temples,  round 
towers,  abbeys,  and  raths  of  Ireland,  he  rendered  himself  as  silly 
and  ridiculous  as  Don  Quixote  did  in  his  assault  on  the  wind-mill. 
The  raths,  according  to  A^allancey,  Raymond,  and  Harris,  were 
raised  many  centuries  before  the  Christian  epoch,  and  we  believe 
that  there  is  not  one  to  be  found  throughout  Ireland  in  which  there 
is  not  a  mural  cavity  of  stone  and  lime.  But  Dr.  Ledwich  spurned 
the  dull  and  tedious  mode  which  all  other  antiquarians  and  historians 
have  felt  it  an  imperative  duty  to  adopt  in  their  inquiries,  namely, 
historical  proofs,  founded  on  facts,  authenticated  by  the  testimony 
of  ancient  writers.  He  was  quite  indifferent  about  his  rash  asser- 
tions; it  mattered  not  to  him  that  he  had  no  authority  in  maintain- 
ing that  there  were  no  stone  edifices  in  Ireland,  hefore  the  ninth 
century,  ^\'ith  him  it  was  quite  sufficient  to  establish  a  theory  that 
might  upset,  in  the  opinion  of  the  credulous,  all  the  evidences  and 
proofs  derived  from  history.  "The  Germans,"  says  he,  "  had  no 
structures  of  stone, — ergo,  the  Irish  could  have  none." 

Surely  the  writer  who  has  to  contend  with  such  authors  as  Dr. 
Ledwich,  must  possess  the  apathy  of  a  stoic,  or  be  strongly  im- 
pressed with  the  necessity  of  good  temper  in  argument,  when  he 
can  reply  with  coolness  to  the  stupid  theories  of  a  bigoted  sophist. 
The  hypothetical  theories  of  the  ancient  philosophers  have  been  long 
since  exploded,  because  it  was  found  that  the  solution  of  natural 
appearances  is  always  doubtful  when  fourfded  on  hypothesis. 
When,  therefore,  hypothesis,  which  is  so  often  the  creature  of  the 
brain,  was  once  rejected,  and  the  philosopher  betook  himself  to 
experiments  and  observations,  the  general  powers  an4  laws  of  nature, 
which  remained  in  obscurity  for  so  many  ages,  were  soon  collected  ; 
but  surely,  ho«vever  absurd  hypothesis  may  be  in  physics,  it  is  a 
monster  in  history. 

Whenever  the  ancient  historians  afiirmed  an  event  to  have  taken 
place  they  quoted  the  authority  of  some  other  writer,  unless  they 
were  themselves  eye-witnesses.  If  they  felt  that  a  regard  to  truth, 
as  deduced  from  appearances,  imposed  upon  them  the  duty  of  deny- 
ing it,  they  unifi)rmly  founded  their  negative  conclusions  on  some 
concurring  evidence:  but  they  never  argued  like  Dr.  Ledwich,  that 
if  the  ancient  history  of  one  country  was  involved  in  obscurity,  that 
of  another  should  be  so  likewise:  they  never  maintained,  on  only  a 
vantage  ground  of  Jiypothesis,  that  if  there  were  no  stone  edifices 
in  one  nation,  there  could  be  none  in  another.  We  see,  then,  how 
absurd  and  ridiculous  it  would  be  to  make  the  assertion,  even  if 
there  were  no  liistorical  authority  to  prove  the  contrary,  but  where 


327 

such  an  absurdity  is  advanced  in  the  very  face  of  existing  refutation 
— ill  tlie  very  teeth  of  authority,  it  is  carryinof,  as  Dr.  Ledwich  has 
done,  bigotry  to  tlie  last  extreme  of  pre[)osterous  folly. 

Yet  sucli  is  tlie  infatuation  of  party  spirit,  that  every  hypothesis 
of  Dr.  Ledwicli  lias  found  its  advocates;  and  even  the  literary  world 
was  for  some  time  deceived,  not  by  the  imposing  lustre,  or  ingenious 
sophistry  that  characterized  bis  antiquities,  but  by  the  plausible 
misrepresentations  that  supported  and  sustained  the  dogmatical  and 
unhesitating  confidence  with  which  he  asserted  and  enforced  his 
barefaced  errors.  There  is  no  doubt  but  that  his  airy  system  of 
imposition  had  its  Irish  proselytes;  and  the  Scotch  writers,  ever 
willing  to  detract  from  the  ancient  renown  of  their  mother  country, 
exerted  all  their  talents  to  give  currency  to  the  opinions  of  a  man 
who  was  hired  by  the  British  to  vilify  our  national  character,  and  to 
depreciate  the  ancient  fame  which  Ireland  had  accpiired  in  arts  and 
artns.  That  there  were  stone  buildings  in  Ireland  long  before  the 
Christian  era,  we  have,  in  the  course  of  this  history,  distinctly 
proved,  not  by  hypothesis,  but  by  the  incontrovertible  testimony  of 
many  ancient  writers.  The  inquiring  historian  who  examines  the 
spirit  and  genius  of  the  late  Dr.  Ledwich's  writings,  will  soon  per- 
ceive, that  the  inventive,  nor  the  creative  faculty  was  not  that  which 
he  has  chiefly  cultivated.  His  great  power  seems  to  have  consisted 
in  annihilation.  Unable  to  create  any  thing  of  his  own,  he  perpetu- 
ally laboured  to  destroy  the  creation  of  others.  So  devoted  was 
that  heartless  apostate  to  such  a  pursuit,  that  he  could  not  confine 
himself  to  the  destruction  of  imaginary  existence,  no,  for  truth, 
nature,  reality,  and  reason  were  equally  the  victims  of  his  sweeping 
theories. 

In  his  book,  improperly  called  the  '^^  Antiquities  of  Ireland,'^  he 
employed  all  his  argumentative  powers  in  the  endeavour  to  impress 
the  world  with  the  opinion  that  Cogitosus  was  a  fictitious  personage, 
because,  forsooth,  he  had  expressed  his  admiration  of  the  architective 
grandeur  of  Ireland,  in  the  sixth  century.  But  Cogitosus  is  not  the 
only  writer  who  has  extolled  the  architective  taste  and  skill  that 
prevailed  at  that  epoch  in  our  country.  Bede,  St.  Bernard,  and 
Nennius  record  that  the  architects  and  masons  of  Ireland  were  so 
eminently  proficient  in  their  art  that  they  were  employed  in  building 
the  cathedral  of  York,  in  the  eighth  century. 

Cambrensis  too,  who  was  hired  by  Henry  II.  to  calumniate  the 
character  of  the  Irish  nation,  has  reluctantly  eulogized  the  paintings 
and  sculpture  with  which  our  ancient  artists  enriched  the  cathedrals 
of  Cashel,  Limerick,  Cork,  Kildare,  Armagh  and  Down. 

In  his  Irish  topography,  written  expressly  by  the  orders  of  Henry 
II.,  that  virulent  defamer  of  Ireland  says: — '■'■  I saio  in  the  churrh  of 
Kildare  some  fine  ptiintings  of  scriptural  subjects,  as  icdl  as  marble 
busts,  that  are  ingeniously  fashioned.  But  the  greatest  iconder  in  this 
church  is  a  concordance  of  the  four  gospels.  The  margin  is  ornamented 
with  mystic  pictures,  most  wonderfully  and  cmimatingly  finished.  The 
writing,  but  particularly  the  capital  letters,  so  highly  embellished,  that 
neither  the  pencil  of  an  Apelles,  nor  the  chisel  of  a  Lysippus  ever  formed 
the  like.  In  a  word,  they  seem  to  have  been  executed  by  something  more 
than  a  mortal  hand.^^ 


328 

But  let  us  resume  our  historical  narrative.  Murtough  fell  a  victim 
to  a  barbarous  cons])iracy,  which  was  formed  against  him  in  the 
twenty-fourth  year  of  his  reii^ii.  He  was  invited  to  an  entertainment 
to  the  palace  of  a  chieftain,  at  Midlarh-Clintach  (the  iiiil  of  hedjies,) 
near  the  river  Boyne,  in  Meath  :  and  w  liile  he  was  yet  at  the  ban- 
quet table,  the  relentless  conspirators  rui-hed  out,  fastened  the  doors 
to  prevent  the  e<j;ress  of  the  unhappy  monarch,  and  set  the  bouse  on 
fire.  Tiie  names  of  the  cruel  conspirators  who  doomed  the  ill-fated 
Murtouc;!!  to  such  a  torturing  death,  are  not  given  by  any  of  our 
historians. 

The  contemporary  princes  of  Ireland,  at  this  era,  A.  D.  527,  were 
Fergus,  king  of  Ulster,  Cormoc,  king  of  Leinster,  Eocha,  king  of 
Connaught,  and  Aodh,  king  of  Munster.  Tuathal,  the  grandson  of 
Carbre,  the  son  of  Nial  the  Great,  was  elected  monarch  by  the 
national  estates.  Whether  he  was  implicated  in  the  horrid  conspi- 
racy in  which  his  predecessor  was  sacrificed,  is  a  question  that  all 
our  annalists  have  left  unanswered.  O'Flaherty  informs  us  that  the 
accession  of  this  prince  to  the  throne  was  foretold  by  St.  Patrick, 
while  he  was  an  infant  at  his  mother's  breast. 


CHAPTER  XLVH. 


The  reign  and  death  of  Tuathal. —  The  accession  of  Dcrmod  to  the  throne. — His  reign 
and  death. 

The  history  given  to  us  of  Tuathal,  like  that  of  his  two  immediate 
predecessors,  is  extremely  scanty  and  barren  of  events.  It  is 
involved  in  impenetrable  obscurity.  AVe  may  observe,  that  historical 
notes  and  genealogical  registers  had,  at  this  juncture,  little  of  inte- 
rest, and  less  of  novelty,  to  recommend  them  to  the  literary  world  ; 
for  theological  inquiries  had  opened  so  wide  a  field  for  the  specula- 
tions of  the  learned,  that  they  began  to  spurn  that  narrow  compass 
of  science  to  which  they  had  been  confined  during  the  long  twilight 
of  paganism,  and  to  this,  as  well  as  to  the  cause  which  we  have 
already  assigned,  we  must  impute  the  historical  dearth  which  impov- 
erishes our  annals  during  the  early  ages  of  Christianity. 

The  princes  Fergus  aiid  Daniel,  the  sons  of  king  Murtough,  waged 
war  at  this  time,  by,  we  presume,  the  consent  of  the  present  monarch, 
on  the  Connacians,  and,  in  a  great  battle  which  they  gnined  at 
Sligo,  they  succeeded  in  killing  the  king  of  Connaught  and  his  prin- 
cipal generals.  We  are  likewise  told  that  Earca,  the  son  of  the 
monarch  OlioU,  invaded  Leinster  at  this  period,  and  that,  in  a  battle 
fought  near  Wexford,  which  he  lost,  he  was  killed  by  the  hand  of 
the  Leinster  king.  The  crown  of  Connaught  became  now  the  prize 
of  competition  between  Cealach,  the  son  of  the  late  king,  who  had, 
during  his  father's  reign,  devoted  himself  to  a  monastic  life,  under 
the  holy  abbot  Ciaran,  and  Guare,  the  son  of  Coleman,  king  of  North 


329 

Munster.  But  no  sooner  had  Cealach  heard,  in  his  cell,  of  Guare's 
assumption  of  regal  power,  than  he  abstracted  himself  from  devo- 
tional piety,  and  gave  way  to  the  strong  impulses  of  jealousy  and 
ambition.  He  immediately  divested  himself  of  the  humble  habit  of 
a  monk,  and  summoned  all  his  clans  to  attend  his  standard  ;  nor 
were  the  partizans  of  his  house  slow  in  testifying  their  determination 
to  support  its  dignity;  so  that  he  soon  found  himself  at  the  head  of 
a  numerous  and  devoted  party.  But  before  his  measures  were 
sufficiently  organized,  the  holy  Ciaran  sent  to  him,  expressing  tiie 
strongest  indignation  at  his  impiety,  and  tbreatening  to  jjursue  him 
with  tbe  invocated  vengeance  of  lieaven,  if  he  did  not  immediately 
return  to  his  cell.  Cealach,  who  had  long  cherished  the  sweets  of 
retirement,  and  enjoyed  the  secret  raptures  of  religious  impressions, 
had  now  to  struggle  between  tbe  contending  emotions  of  nature  and 
grace;  of  pride  and  humility;  of  and)ition  and  religion.  Tbe  cause 
of  virtue,  however,  proved  triumpbant,  and  tbe  repenting  Cealach 
once  more  tbrew  away  tbe  roval  robes,  assun)ed  the  monastic  bal)it, 
and  returned  to  bis  cell,  where  he  prostrated  himself  before  the 
indii>naiit  al)bot,  and  humbly  implored  bis  forgiveness. 

Tbe  sincerity  of  the  prince's  sorrow  softened  tbe  abbot  to  com- 
passion ;  he  gave  him  his  blessing  and  pardon  ;  but,  at  the  same 
time,  prophesied  that  his  crime  could  only  be  expiated  by  bis  sufler- 
ing  a  violent  death.  The  prediction  was  verified  by  the  event. 
Tuathal  was  assassinated  by  Maol-mor,  who  was  instigated  to  tbe 
atrocious  deed  by  Dermod,  the  succeeding  monarch,  A.  D.  539,  in 
the  twelfth  year  of  his  reign.  Tbe  sanguinary  villain  received  the 
just  reward  of  bis  crime  ;  for,  when  he  waited  on  Dermod  for  the 
price  of  his  diabolical  deed,  the  latter  caused  his  guards  to  seize 
him,  and  put  bim  to  a  torturing  death.  Tuatbal  governed  the  nation 
witb  justice,  clemency,  and  impartiality,  during  his  sbort  reign. 

Contemporary  witb  this  prince  were  Cormoc,  king  of  Leinster, 
Deman,  king  of  Ul>ter,  Guare,  king  of  Connauybt,  Forranan,  king 
of  Thomand  ;  and  Fingin,  tbe  son  of  Aodb-dul)h,  of  the  Eugenian 
race,  and  ancestor  of  tbe  Sept  of  the  O'Sullivans,  was  king  of 
South  Munster. 

Dermod,  who  so  cruelly  doomed  his  predecessor  to  assassination, 
was  tbe  son  of  Fergus  Rerbal,  who  was  tbe  grandson  of  Connall,  of 
the  dynasty  of  Niaf  tbe  Great,  was  elected  tnonarcb  by  the  national 
estates.  At  bis  coronation  he  assumed  the  title  o<i  Monarch  of  Scotia 
Major  and  Scotia  Minor  by  the  appointment  of  God.  In  tbe  year  541 
a  desi)erate  battle  was  fought  in  the  county  of  Cork,  between  the 
Lagenians  and  the  Claud  Breogan,  with  great  slaughter  on  both 
sides. 

Such,  as  we  have  frequently  observed  in  the  course  of  this  history, 
was  the  romantic  passion  of  tbe  Milesians  for  military  fairie,  that 
the  most  trifling  cause  often  induced  tbe  different  septs  to  appoint  a 
time  and  place  to  determine  their  matter  of  quarrel  l)y  force  of  arms. 
The  day  of  battle  was  sometimes  deferred  to  a  period  of  six  months, 
while  the  parties  met  in  the  interim,  and  transacted  business  as 
usual,  in  the  most  friendly  manner.  The  glory  and  honour  of  vic- 
42 


330 

tory,  and  not  the  spoils  of  war,  were  alone  aimed  at  by  the  chivalric 
combatants. 

The  estates  of  the  kin2:dom  were,  at  this  era,  549,  convened  at 
Tara,  by  the  present  monarcii,  Dermod.  In  our  history  of  the  reign 
of  Ollamh-Fodlila,  wc  liave  detailed  the  ceremonies  and  observances 
which  every  prince  and  peer  had  to  conform  to,  during  the  session 
of  the  national  convention.  One  of  the  laws,  enacted  for  the  regu- 
lation of  that  senatorial  institution,  adjudged  death  to  atiy  person 
who  would  liave  the  criminal  temerity  of  striking  another  during  the 
sittings  of  the  representatives.  For  the  first  time  tlie  law  was  now 
violated  by  Cuarnane  Mac  Aodh,  a  prince  of  Connaught.  This  fiery 
youth,  provoked  by  the  insolent  language  of  one  of  the  representa- 
tives, struck  him  with  his  battle-axe,  and  killed  him  on  the  spot. 
Aware  of  the  punishment  due  to  the  crime,  and  of  the  danger  to 
which  he  had  exposed  himself,  he  immediately  fled,  for  sanctuary, 
to  Fergus  and  Daniel,  the  sons  of  Murtough,  and  besought  their 
protection;  but  these  princes,  though  willing  to  protect  their  cousin, 
quickly  foresaw  that,  if  they  attempted  to  shelter  him,  they  would 
only  draw  down  the  vengeance  of  the  monarch  on  their  head.  But 
feeling  compassion  for  his  situation,  they  enabled  him  to  escape  to 
the  monastery  of  St.  Columb  Kille,  at  Derry.  The  royal  abbot, 
sympathising  in  the  distress  of  the  fugitive,  readily  gave  him  an 
asylum.  Dermod,  however,  denying  the  right  assumed  by  the  saint, 
of  aftording  sanctuary  to  fugitives  who  fled  from  justice,  caused  a 
strong  body  of  guards  to  drag  Mac  Aodh  from  the  altar,  and  put 
him  to  death. 

St.  Columb,  highly  incensed  at  the  afi"ront  put  upon  himself  and 
his  brethren,  stirred  up  his  kinsmen,  the  northern  Hy  Nials,  and  hig 
cousins,  Fergus  and  Daniel,  by  whose  assistance,  at  the  head  of  a 
miglity  army,  he  attacked  the  monarch,  defeated  him  in  the  most 
signal  manner,  and  compelled  him  to  retreat,  in  disorder,  with  his 
shattered  bands,  to  Tara.  Though  Dermod  had  involved  himself 
in  this  unsuccessful  war,  by  endeavouring  to  give  strength  and  effi- 
cacy to  the  laws,  in  exercising  an  act,  if  not  of  moral,  at  least  of 
legal  justice  on  one  of  his  subjects,  we  find  him,  shortly  after,  impli- 
cated in  another,  through  the  same  cause. 

Guare,  king  of  Connaught,  having  deprived  a  religious  woman  of 
a  cow,  which  was  her  only  support,  she,  in  consecjuence,  made  her 
complaint  to  the  supreme  sovereign,  who  immediately  marched, 
with  his  forces,  to  the  frontiers  of  Connaught,  to  punish  the  despotic 
Guare  for  his  injustice.  Having  reached  the  Shannon,  he  found  the 
Connacian  army  strongly  posted  on  the  opposite  side;  but,  fearless 
of  danger,  and  borne  away  by  his  impetuous  valour,  he  plunged  into 
the  tide,  and  made  good  liis  landing,  in  spite  of  all  the  eftbrts  of  the 
enemy.  A  fierce  battle  ensued,  in  which  the  Connacians  were 
totally  defeated.  Guare,  however,  made  good  his  retreat,  and  drew 
up  his  forces,  the  next  day,  in  order  of  battle;  but,  in  a  council  of 
war,  he  was  persuaded  by  his  oflScers  to  subujit  to  the  monarch. 

Dermod,  after  receiving  the  sword  of  his  fallen  enemy,  treated 
him  with  every  insult  and  indignity,  in  a  degrading  manner  that 
showed  the  littleness  of  a  vindictive  mind.     "  He  commanded  him," 


331 

says  O'Halloran,  "to  lie  on  his  back.  He  then  placed  one  of  his 
feet  upon  his  breast,  and  thrust  the  point  of  his  sword  into  his  mouth, 
and  then  compelled  him  to  express  his  sorrow  for  his  disloyalty, 
and  to  swear  lidelity  and  obedience  to  him  during  the  residue  of  his 
life." 

The  cause  of  tliis,  like  the  causes  assigned  for  the  preceding  wars, 
savours  strongly  of  tiie  fabulous.  To  suppose  that  Guare,  who  is  so 
highly  panegyrised  by  our  historians,  for  his  nobleness  of  mind  and 
generosity  of  disposition,  would  deprive  an  indigent  woman  of  her 
cow,  is,  in  our  opinion,  very  incredible.  Another  story,  thrown  out 
of  the  loom  of  fiction  by  some  adulating  poet,  who  wove  it  merely 
to  place  the  justness  of  the  monarch  in  a  more  luminous  point  of 
view,  is  told  lay  Keating  and  O'Halloran. 

But  let  us  translate  Dr.  Keating's  version  of  this  poetic  creation  : 
"  Prince  Breasal,  at  this  time,  invited  his  father,  the  monarch, 
and  the  principal  nobility  then  at  Tara,  to  a  banquet  at  his  palace 
at  Kells,  in  the  county  of  JMeath.  To  enrich  this  feast  with  every 
luxury,  the  prince  was  assiduous  in  providing  prime  joints  of  meat 
from  all  parts  of  the  kingdom.  His  purveyors,  however,  sought  in 
vain,  amongst  his  numerous  herds  of  oxen,  for  a  beef  of  such  extra- 
ordinary size  and  fatness  as  would  come  up  to  the  beau  ideal  of  the 
prince.  But,  as  he  was  expressing  his  regret  at  their  inability  to 
procure  a  steer  of  such  a  description  as  he  wanted,  one  of  his  ser- 
vants told  him  that  a  recluse  widow,  in  the  neighbouriiood,  had  in 
her  possession  the  largest  and  fattest  beast  in  the  country.  The 
prince,  rejoiced  at  the  information,  instantly  despatched  one  of  his 
stewards  to  the  widow  to  purchase  the  beef;  but  she,  on  being  ap- 
plied to,  resolutely  refused  to  sell  it  at  any  price;  and  although  he 
even  offered  seven  fat  heifers  and  a  bull  in  exchange,  she  still  inex- 
orably adhered  to  her  determination  of  not  parting  with  her  ox. 
Breasal,  indignant  at  her  conduct,  ordered  a  party  of  his  soldiers  to 
bring  to  him  the  steer,  which  they  did,  in  despite  of  the  cries  and 
entreaties  of  the  poor  widow.  It  was  cooked  and  served  up  at  the 
banquet.  The  king  and  all  the  other  guests  of  the  prince  expressed 
their  admiration  of  the  excellence  of  the  beef;  but  the  entertainment 
was  scarcely  over,  when  the  weeping  widow  threw  herself  at  the 
monarch's  feet,  and  demanded  justice  and  satisfaction  for  the  spolia- 
tion of  her  property.  Her  piteous  story  inflamed  the  indignation  of 
Dermod  against  the  prince,  his  son,  to  the  highest  pitch  of  passion, 
so  that  in  the  vehemence  of  his  choler,  he  ordered  the  unfortunate 
Breasal  to  instant  death,  witliout  allowing  himself  to  institute  an 
inquiry  into  the  merits  of  the  case,  or  to  hearken  to  the  expostulation 
of  the  interceding  nobles." 

Thus  we  give  the  tale,  for  so  we  think  it  is,  literally  as  we  found 
it  in  the  Irish  of  Keating,  without  attaching  the  sligiitest  credit  to 
its  pretended  authenticity. 

The  restless  and  ambitious  Guare,  king  of  Connaught,  had  scarce- 
ly made  peace  with  the  monarch,  when  he  directed  his  arms  against 
the  king  of  Munster,  to  recover  the  territories  which  had  been 
wrested  from  his  ancestor  by  Luigh  Liamb-Dearg,  in  the  fourth 
century.     The   king  of  Munster,  who   was   aware  of  the   intended 


332 


invasion,  inet  Guare  at  Cnoc  Aine,  (the  hill  of  birds,)  in  the  county 
of  Limerick,  wliere  Guare  sustained  a  decisive  defeat.  So  signal 
was  ti)e  overthrow,  that  hut  few  of  his  soldiers  escaped  from  the 
field  of  battle.  There  were  six  princes,  as  well  as  the  noblest  chiefs 
of  Connaught  amongst  the  slain. 

Dermod,  in  the  twentieth  year  of  his  reign,  to  avenge,  it  is  said, 
an  insult  oifered  to  his  ambassador,  at  the  court  of  Ulster,  invaded 
that  province  in  the  year  558  of  the  Christian  era.  In  his  progress 
to  Armagh  he  devastated  the  country,  and  drove  the  Ultonians  in 
consternation  before  him,  to  the  borders  of  the  county  of  Antrim. 
The  Ultonians,  however,  under  their  king,  Aodh  Dubh,  resolving 
to  stop  the  career  of  the  enemy,  posted  themselves  in  a  narrow 
defile  in  the  mountains,  where  they  resolved  to  conquer  or  die. 
Dermod,  counting  on  the  valour  of  his  soldiers  and  the  enthusiasm 
that  animated  them,  put  himself  at  their  head  and  charged,  with  the 
intention  of  forcing  the  pass.  But,  notwithstanding  the  impetuosity 
of  the  assailants,  the  Ultonians  stood  like  a  wall  of  brass.  In  the 
fury  of  the  contest  the  monarch  and  the  king  of  Ulster  fought  hand 
to  hand,  with  the  most  determined  bravery,  and,  after  contending 
for  an  hour,  like  enraged  giants,  Dermod  fell  pierced  with  wounds. 
The  royal  army  seeing  the  national  standard  lowered,  which  was 
the  signal  of  tlie  death  of  the  monarch,  began  to  retreat,  having 
previously  recovered  the  body  of  Dermod,  which  they  carried  with 
them  to  the  church  of  Cluan  Mac  Noise,  on  the  banks  of  the  Boyne, 
where  it  was  interred  with  fuucral  honours.  The  Ultonians  were 
too  much  disabled  to  follow  the  retreating  army. 

O'Duvegan,  a  genealogical  writer  of  the  seventh  century,  con- 
cludes his  eulogium  on  Dermod  in  tlic  following  words  : — "  Of  all 
the  Irisli  kings,  this  Avas  the  greatest,  the  most  excellent,  the  most 
powerful,  and  the  most  experienced  legislator."  This  picture  has, 
indeed,  too  much  of  the  glaring  colours  of  poetic  hyperbole. 

The  contemporaries  of  Dermod  were  Finghin  O'SuUivan  and 
Failbhe  O'Connall,  kings  of  South  and  North  Munster  ;  Fergus  Mac 
Rosa,  king  of  Connaught ;  Deman,  king  of  Ulster;  Comgall,  the 
tributary  king  of  the  Albanian  Scots  ;  and  Carbre,  king  of  Leinster. 

"It  was,"  writes  Moore  in  his  history,  "in  the  reign  of  this  mon- 
arch, (A.  D.  554.)  the  ancient  Hall  or  Court  of  Tara,  in  which,  for 
so  many  centuries,  the  Triennial  Councils  of  the  nation  had  been 
held,  saw,  for  the  last  time,  her  kings  and  nobles  assembled  within 
its  precincts  ;  and  the  cause  of  the  desertion  of  this  long  honoured 
seat  of  legislation  shows  to  what  an  enormous  height  the  power  of 
the  ecclesiastical  order  had  then  risen.  Some  fugitive  criminal, 
who  had  fled  for  sanctuary  to  the  monastery  of  St.  Ruan,  having 
been  dragged  forcibly  from  thence  to  Tara,  and  there  put  to  death, 
the  holy  abbot  and  his  monks  cried  aloud  against  the  sacrilegious 
violation;  and  proceeding  in  solemn  procession  to  the  Palace,  pro- 
nounced a  curse  upon  its  walls.  'From  that  day,'  say  the  annalists, 
'  no  king  ever  sat  again  at  Tara  ;'  and  a  poet  who  wrote  about  that 
period,  while  mourning  evidently  over  the  fall  of  this  seat  of  gran- 
deur, ventures  but   to   say,  'It  is  not  with  my  will  that  Teanior  is 


333 

deserted.'*  A  striking  memorial  of  the  church's  triumph  on  the 
occasion,  was  preserved  in  the  name  of  distinction  given  to  tlie 
monastery,!  which  was,  ever  after,  in  memory  of  this  malediction, 
called  '  Tiie  Monastery  of  the  Curses  of  Ireland.'  " 


CHAPTER  XLVIII. 


Fergus  and  Daniel  ascend  the  throne. — Their  reign. — .Accession  and  reign  of  Achy — 
of  Carbre  Croman — of  Ainmeric — of  Badan — and  of  Hugh. —  The  events  af  Hugh's 
reign,  and  his  death. 

The  death  of  Dermod  called  forth  many  candidates  for  the  vacant 
throne.  We  have  shown,  in  the  last  chapter,  that  Fergus  and 
Daniel,  the  sons  of  the  monarch,  Murtough,  were  powerful  princes, 
who  had  distinguished  themselves  hy  their  valour  and  success  in  the 
invasion  of  Con  naught.  On  the  present  occasion  they  had  on  foot 
a  large  army  to  back  their  pretensions  to  the  monarchy. 

The  national  representatives  assembled  at  Tara,  A.  D.  559,  and, 
after  a  short  deliberation,  elected  Fergus  and  Daniel  joint  monarchs 
of  Ireland.  As  soon  as  they  had  mounted  the  throne  they  despatched 
ambassadors  to  the  king  of  Leinster,  to  inform  him,  that,  unless  he 
caused  the  balance  of  the  Boroihme,  or  tribute,  to  be  promptly  paid 
to  them,  on  their  arrival,  that  the  kings,  with  the  royal  army,  would 
invade  his  territories,  and  enforce  the  payment  of  the  impost.  The 
Leinster  king,  far  from  complying  with  the  arrogant  requisition, 
placed  himself  at  the  head  of  his  forces,  and  marched  to  the  fron- 
tiers to  meet  the  in\ading  foe.  The  belligerents  came  to  battle  at 
Iniver  More,  Arklow,;]:  and  after  a  brave  resistance,  the  Lagenians 
were  decisively  defeated. 

*  Irish  Hymn,  attributed  to  Fiech,  a  disciple  of  St.  Patrick,  but  evidently,  from 
this  allusion  to  the  desertion  of  Tara,  written  at  least  as  late  as  the  time  of  King 
Diarmid. 

t  Annal.  Ulton.  ad  ann.  564,  note. 

X  Arklow,  a  neat,  thriving  seaport  town  in  the  county  of  Wicklow,  seated  on 
the  beautifully  wooded  banks  of  the  charming  river  Avoca,  at  the  distance  of  fifty 
miles  S.  E.  from  Dublin,  abounds  with  antique  monuments  of  historical  recollec- 
tions. Its  ruins  are  impressive,  solemn,  and  affecting.  The  white  houses,  at  a 
distance,  appear  to  rise  on  each  side  of  this  classic  stream,  whose  banks  are  finely 
fringed  witli  venerable  oaks,  like  druidical  priestesses,  in  their  snowy  robes,  as  if 
ascending  to  temples  on  the  impending  summits.  From  the  noble  bridge,  of  nine- 
teen arches,  which  crosses  the  Avoca,  the  traveller  beholds,  on  one  side,  the  pelucid 
bay  reflecting  the  blue  sky,  and  on  the  other,  the  bold  acclivities,  studded  with 
giant  oaks,  and  wreathed  with  shrubs  and  grassy  fillets  of  the  softest  verdure. 
Bishop  Pococke,  the  celebrated  author  of  Travels  in  the  East,  was  delighted  with 
the  romantic  and  magnificent  scenery  of  Arklow.  In  his  remarks  on  it  he  says, 
"  This  is  a  most  charming  place,  that  possesses  all  that  is  desirable  in  landscape 
scenery.  The  ruins  of  castles  and  abbeys  embosomed  in  groves,  and  skirted  by 
modern  residences,  bestow  the  interest  of  contrast  on  the  lively  scene.  This  '  sea- 
born' town,  with  its  noble  bay  and  golden  sands,  verdant  steeps  and  winding  glens, 
when  viewed  from  the  promontory,  where  the  prospect  brings  all  the  groupings 
of  the  landscape  under  the  eye,  presents  a  striking  resemblance  to  the  hill  of 


334 

The  reign  of  these  victorious  kings,  who  are  so  extolled  for  mar- 
tial genius  and  daring,  was  short,  but  brilliant;  and  although  one 
year  terminated  it,  yet  it  was  as  eventful  and  memorable  as  if  it  had 
lasted  lialf  a  century.  We  marvel,  indeed,  why  our  annalists  do 
not  inform  us  more  particularly  of  the  events  of  this  reign.  We  are 
likewise  left  in  the  dark  as  to  the  cause  of  their  death;  for,  whether 
thev  suffered  as  the  victims  of  conspiracy,  or  fell  in  the  field  of 
battle,  or,  what  is  more  unlikely,  died  a  natural  death,  is  a  question 
that  can  never  be  satisfactorily  answered.  Dr.  Warner,  we  do  not 
know  on  what  authority,  says,  that  during  tlieir  short  but  glorious 
reio^n,  they  fought  the  king  of  Munster,  who  brought  into  the  field 
the  strength  of  the  entire  province,  and  completely  defeated  him, 
and  compelled  him  to  pay  tribute,  and  send  thein  hostages.* 

As  we  cannot  find  this  battle  spoken  of  by  any  other  writer,  save 
Dr.  Warner,  and  Mr.  Wyne,  who  probably  follows  his  authority, 
we  are  inclined  to  think  he  has  mistaken  it  for  the  battle  of  Arklow, 
in  which  the  monarchs  triumphed  over  the  Lagenians,  and  in  conse- 
quence, exacted,  as  conquerors,  the  Leinster  tribute.  The  battle  of 
Arklow  is  spoken  of  by  all  our  historians.  Keating,  O'Halloran, 
M'Geoghegan,  Cummerford,  O'Flaherty,  and  M'Dermott  concur  in 
their  accounts  of  it.  The  latter  writer  is  of  opinion,  that  Fergus 
and  Daniel  fell  in  an  engagement  near  Cashel,  in  the  county  of 
Tipperary. 

Achy,  the  son  of  Daniel,  succeeded  his  father  and  uncle,  A.  D. 
560,  associating  with  him  on  the  throne,  his  father's  yoimgest 
brother,  Badan.  But  they  were  not  suffered  to  hold  the  sceptre 
longer  than  three  years.  Carbre  Croman,  an  aspiring  prince,  the 
son  of  Tigernach,  of  their  own  dynasty,  attacked  the  joint  sover- 
eigns, and  succeeded  in  vanquishing  and  depriving  them  of  life,  in 
the  battle  of  Glengivin,  in  Meath.  Carbre  was  scarcely  seated  on 
the  throne,  when  Coleman,  the  son  of  king  Dermod  instigated  an 
insurrection  against  him.  In  the  battle  whicli  took  place  in  conse- 
quence, both  antagonists  died  of  their  wounds. 

Ainmeric,  of  the  house  of  Nial  the  Great,  and  grandson  of  Fergus, 
was  elected  monarch,  A.  D.  563.  In  the  third  year  of  his  reign  he 
was  defeated  and  killed,  in  the  battle  of  Careg  Leime-an  Eich,  by 
J)is  cousin  Fergus  Hy-Nial.  Ainmeric  was  a  very  pious  prince, 
much  devoted  to  religion,  and  scrupulously  observant  of  its  rights 
and  discipline. 

Mount  Sion,  at  Jerusalem."  The  house  and  domain  of  Lord  Wicklow  impart 
grace,  beauty,  and  cheerfulness  to  the  environs  of  Arklow.  The  abbey  was  found- 
ed in  1264,  iiy  Theobald  Butler,  whose  statue,  of  white  marble,  stands  in  the  choir 
of  the  parish  church.  The  castle,  whicli  crowns  an  eminence  overlooking  the 
river,  once  the  feudal  residence  of  the  O'Byrnes,  was  battered  and  dilapidated  by 
Cromwell's  soldiers.  A  fierce  and  sanguinary  battle  was  fought  in  the  vicinity  of 
this  town,  on  the  7th  of  June,  17!)8.  between  the  Armagh,  Cavan,  and  North  Cork 
militia,  as  well  as  the  Durham  fencibles,  under  the  command  of  General  JN'eedham, 
and  the  Irish  Republicans,  led  on  by  the  brave  but  unfortunate  enthusiast,  the 
Rev.  Michael  Murphy,  who  fell  gallantly  fighting,  like  one  of  his  Milesian  ances- 
tors, in  the  engagement. 

*  "  Whether  the  two  monarchs  were  mortally  wounded  in  this  engagement, 
which  is  not  improbable,  or  wliether  they  fell  by  a  natural  death,  is  uncertain :  we 
are  only  told  that  they  both  died  soon  after." — Warner. 


335 

Badaii,  cousin-german  of  the  late  monarch,  succeeded  A.  D.  566; 
but  his  reijia  was  terminated  in  a  year.  He  invaded  ConnaniMit, 
and  was  kiMed  at  tlie  battle  of  I3a<rha,  in  the  county  of  Leitrim. 
AVe  are  tohl  by  our  annahsts  that  Badan  was  defeated  in  the  first 
year  of  his  reign,  and  obhged  to  take  shelter  in  St.  Columb's  monas- 
tery, at  Derry,  whence  he  was  dragged  by  his  revolted  subjects,  and 
put  to  death. 

Aodh,  or  Hugh,  the  son  of  Ainmeric,  succeeded  A.  D.  576.  This 
])rince  is  represented  to  have  been  pious  and  valiant,  and  extremely 
liberal  in  his  donations  to  the  church.  He  granted  the  territory  of 
Doire,  now  Derry,*  to  St.  Columb  Kille,  on  wiiich  tliat  famous  saint 
founded  a  monastery,  celebrated  during  his  life  and  for  many  ages 
after,  for  the  number,  piety,  and  learning  of  its  monks. 

Hugii  was  not  permitted  long  to  hold  his  sceptre  in  peace  or 
comfort.  He,  in  the  be^innitig  of  his  reign,  was  attacked  by  Col- 
man,  the  son  of  Dermod,  the  former  monarch,  who  aspired  to  the 
throne.  The  contending  competitors  for  empire  fought  a  battle  at 
Dathi,  in  Meath,  which  was  heroically  disputed  on  both  sides;  but 
at  length  the  monarch  proved  victorious  after  killing  his  adversary 
and  five  thousand  of  his  best  troops,  in  the  field.  During  this  reign, 
according  to  Bishop  Usher,  Aidanus,  of  the  house  of  O'Donnel,  was 
consecrated  by  his  uncle,  St.  Cohunb  Kille,  King  of  the  Albanian 
Scots,  in  the  Isle  of  Sky. 

The  reiijn  of  Hugh  is  distinguished  in  our  annals,  in  consequence 
of  his  having,  at  this  era,  convened  a  congress  of  the  national  estates 
at  IJrumkeat,  (the  Eminence  of  the  Plough,)  in  Meath.  The  mon- 
arch had  three  principal  objects  in  view  in  calling  this  meeting:  the 
first  was  to  repress  the  pride  and  insolence  of  the  bards  and  anti- 
quarians, who,  not  only  from  their  numbers,  but  also  from  their 
immunities,  became  a  burden  on  the  state. t     The  second,  to  enforce 

*  Londonderrj',' the  ancient  patrimony  of  the  O'Doiiglierties,  callt'd  in  Irish 
Datrc  Calgac.  (the  Vale  of  Oaks.)  is  tlie  scene  of  historical  events,  and  the  site  of 
venerable  monuments  of  antiquity.  That  city  is  beautifully  situated  on  a  penin- 
sula eminence  at  the  narrow  part  of  Lough  Foyle,  at  the  distance  of  a  hundred 
and  fifty  English  miles  from  Dublin.  It  is  a  very  flourisliinof  city,  admirably  and 
advantageously  situated  for  commerce.  When  James  I.  confiscated  tlie  estates  of 
the  O'Neils,  O'Donnels,  and  O'Dougherties,  he  seized  on  upwards  of  half  a  million 
of  acres  of  the  lands  of  these  proscribed  and  persecuted  noblemen,  two  thousand 
acres  of  which  he  sold  to  London  adventurers  in  1607;  hence  the  name  London- 
derry. The  streets  are  regular  and  well  paved,  and  the  houses,  which  are  built  of 
polished  freestone,  have  a  pleasing  appearance. 

The  Abbey,  dedicated  to  St.  Peter  and  Paul,  was  erected  by  St.  Columb  Kille, 
(the  Dove  of  the  Church,)  in  the  year  545. 

Prince  Turlogh  O'Niel  built  another  abbey,  for  nuns  of  the  Cesterian  order 
here,  in  1218,  and  a  Dominican  Friary  was  founded  on  the  north  side  of  the  city, 
by  O'Donnel,  prince  of  Tyrconnel,  in  the  year  1274.  There  is  not  a  trace  of  the 
monastery  to  be  seen.  Tlie  cathedral,  a  noble  pile  of  Gothic  architecture,  is  in 
fine  repair.  Tiiis  episcopal  edifice  was  originally  founded  by  St.  Congall,  the  son 
of  the  king  of  Leinster,  about  the  year  GKl  In  1150  Muieach  O'Coffy,  the  then 
bishop,  enlarged  and  beautified  the  cathedral.  It  was  consimied  by  fire  in  1151, 
but,  by  the  munificence  of  Maurice  M'Loughlin,  King  of  Ireland,  it  was  soor» 
rebuilt,  in  more  than  its  pristine  magnificence  of  architecture. 

f  Poets  being  increased  to  a  prodigious  number,  and  becoming  a  grievance  to 
the  people,  from  the  charge  they  were  at  to  support  them.  Hugh  was  determined 
to  put  them  under  another  regulation,  or  else  to  expel  them  out  of  the  kingdom. 
Indeed,  if  the  account  is  to  be  credited  that,  because  of  the  ease  and  idleness 


336 

the  payment  of  tlie  tribute  that  Nial  the  Great  had  imposed  on  the 
Dalriadian  colony  of  Scotland,  which  they  had  not  paid  for  some 
time;  and  thirdly,  to  deprive  Scanlan  More  of  the  government  of 
Ossory,  and  to  transfer  it  to  his  son  Jolian.  It  woidd  seem  tliat  the 
monarch  covdd  liave  conferred  the  jjovernment  of  Ossory  on  Jolian 
without  consulting  the  national  estates,  as  he  had  in^prisoned  his 
fuller,  Scanlan,  and  consequently  had  nothing  to  fear  from  the 
consequences  of  promotino:  the  son  to  the  power  which  he  had 
wre>ted  from  the  father  witii  impunity. 

Why  this  assembly  was  held  at  DrumUeat,  and  not  at  Tara,  as 
was  customary,  we  are  not  informed  by  the  Irish  historians  ;  but, 
whatever  may  have  been  the  cause,  it  was  not  inferior  in  pomp  and 
splendour  to  any  of  the  former  conventions.  All  the  princes  of 
Ireland,  Albany,  and  the  Isle  of  Man  were  summoned  to  attend. 
St,  Columb  Kille  alone,  though  perhaps  next  to  the  king,  on  account 
of  the  profound  esteem  and  reverence  in  which  he  was  held  by  the 
Irish  people,  was  not  invited  to  this  convocation  of  princes  and 
nobles.  It  is  certain,  however,  that  if  St.  Columb  was  not  summon- 
ed from  his  monastery  of  lona,  in  the  Hebrides  of  Scotland,  where 
he  was  now  a  resident,  it  did  not,  we  think,  arise  frrm)  either  enmity 
or  jealousy  on  the  part  of  the  king,  as  he  was  particularly  attached 
to  the  saint,  and  bestowed  on  liim,  as  we  have  already  stated,  the 
territory  of  Derry,  to  erect  a  monastery  and  church  on  it.  The 
saint  having  the  most  powerful  influence  over  the  minds  of  the  Alba- 
nians and  Picts,  among  whom  he  was  then  jjreaching  the  gospel, 
Hugh  might  have  thought  his  presence  in  the  country  necessary  to 
prevent  a  defection  from  the  mother  country.  The  monarch  was 
perha])s,  influenced  by  another  reason  in  not  inviting  St.  Columb 
to  the  assembly  : — he  knew  that  his  mission  to  the  Picts  was  in 
performance  of  a  penance  imposed  upon  him  by  St.  Molaise,  for  the 
wars  and  civil  broils  which  he  had  excited  by  his  violent  temper,  as 
we  have  related  in  the  last  chapter,  and  that  he  had  bound  him,  by 
a  solemn  promise,  that  he  never  was  to  set  his  eyes  on  the  scenes 
or  soil  of  his  native  land;  so  that  it  would  be  an  insult  offered  to  the 
royal  saint  to  invite  him  to  a  congress,  where  he  could  not  appear 
without  violating  his  vow. 

The  poets,  adopting  every  plan  to  avert  the  militant  consequences 
that  menaced  their  body,  sent  a  special  mission  to  St.  Columb,  their 
chief  laureate,  imploring  him  to  attend  the  convocation,  and  to 
exert  his  influence  and  eloquence  in  their  behalf.  This  solicitation 
of  the  bards,  as  well  as  the  deep  interest  which  the  saint  took  in  the 
temporal  and  spiritual  advantages  of  his  adopted  country,  operated 
powerfully  on  his  feelings,  and  produced  the  determination  of  revis- 
iting his  native  land.  But  to  fulfil,  at  the  same  time,  the  obligations 
of  his  vow,  and  carry  his  resolution  of  pleading  before  the  assembly 
for  the  bards  and  the  cause  of  the  poets,  he  covered  his  eyes  with  a 
sear  cloth,  and,  hoodwinked  thus,  was  conducted  to  the  general 
congress,  attended  by  twenty  bishops,  forty  priests,  and  fifty  deacons. 

enjoyed  by  this  profession — for  there  a  profession  it  was — and  of  the  jvreat  immu- 
nities annexed  to  it  by  the  ancient  laws  of  the  land,  the  resolution  of  the  monarch 
seems  wise  and  necessary." — Warner. 


337 

That  an  abbot  should  have  priests,  deacons,  and  even  bif^hops  in 
his  train,  would  appear  doubtful,  if  not  supported  by  the  most 
respectable  authority — that  of  the  venerable  Bede,  who  had  tlie  best 
opportunity  of  kiiowinj;  wliatever  belonged  to  ecclesiastical  subjects 
in  the  British  Isles.  The  great  historian  of  tlie  ecclesiastical  affairs 
of  Britain  says,  "  i<  teas  usual  in  this  island,  (lona,)  to  have  an  abbot 
for  its  governor,  toho  was  a  priest  to  whom  not  only  the  entire  province, 
but  even  tlie  bishops  themselves,  by  an  extraordinary  decree,  were  sub- 
ject, following  herein  tlie  example  of  its  first  doctor  and  teacher,  who 
was  not  a  bishop,  but  a  priest  and  a  monk.''''  But  it  is  obvious  that, 
even  if  Colunib  had  not  precedence  of  the  bishops  by  any  ecclesias- 
tical institute,  gratitude  alone,  for  the  spiritual  blessings  which  their 
country  derived  from  his  apostolic  labours,  and  their  knowledge  of 
his  illustrious  birth,  would  have  induced  them  to  give  him,  in  consid- 
eration of  these  causes,  and  of  his  superior  talents,  that  priority  of 
rank  to  which  his  priestly  dignify  did  not  entitle  him. 

We  may  judge  of  the  importance  of  the  debates  which  took  place 
in  this  memorable  convention,  from  its  having  remained  in  session 
fourteen  months,  a  term  much  longer  than  any  former  sitting.  In 
this  regal,  princely,  and  noble  assembly,  we  find  the  following  names 
enumerated  :  Criomthan,  king  of  Leinster  ;  Jollan,  king  of  Ossory  ; 
Maodium,  king  of  >\'est  Munster  ;  Guare,  son  of  Coleman,  king  of 
North  and  South  Munster;  Fingin,  or  Florence,  son  of  Hugh  Dubh, 
king  of  East  jNIunster  ;  Criomthan,  king  of  West  Ireland  ;  Ragallach, 
son  of  Udach,  king  of  Tuatha  ;  and  Breffeny  O'Rourke  and  Conquill 
Cearnach,  kings  of  Urial  ;  Congallach,  prince  of  Tirconnel ;  and 
Fearguil,  king  of  Leinster. 


CHAPTER  XLIX. 


St.  Columha  pleads  for  the  bards  before  the  .National  Asscmhbj,  and  procures  an 
acicnoicledgment  of  the  independence  of  the  .llhanian  Scots. — Death  of  the  monarch 
Jlodh. — His  contemporaries. — Biography  of  St.  Columb  Kille. 

The  news  of  the  approach  of  St.  Columba  inspired  the  bards  with 
cheering  hopes,  while  it  depressed  and  damped  the  expectations  of 
the  monarch  and  his  ministers,  who  foresaw  that  the  eloquence  and 
influence  of  the  saint  would  frustrate  all  the  measures  which  they 
had  designed  for  enactment  in  the  present  convention. 

Keating  relates  that  wiien  the  queen,  who  for  some  cause  of  which 
we  are  not  informed,  was  very  inimical  to  the  holy  man,  was  appris- 
ed of  his  arrival  in  the  vicinity  of  the  senate  house,  with  a  numerous 
train  of  ecclesiastics,  she  induced  her  son  Connell  to  collect  a  rude 
mob,  who  not  only  loaded  the  venerable  abbot  with  every  species  of 
the  most  insulting  and  opprobrious  contumely,  but  pelted  him  and 
his  followers  with  mud.  The  saint  bore  this  gross  usage  with  meek- 
ness and  resignation,  and  proceeded  to  the  senate  house  amidst  a 
43 


338 

shower  of  filth  and  missiles.  On  entering  the  hall,  the  monarch, 
pvovincial  princes,  and  national  representatives  rose  simultaneously 
to.  salute  him.  His  cousin,  O'Niel,  king  of  Ulster,  caused  the  Saint 
to  take  a  seat  on  his  throne,  and  his  retinue  to  occupy  chairs  of 
state  adjoining  it. 

St.  Columba,  without  uttering  a  word  of  complaint  of  the  rudeness 
he  and  his  followers  experienced  from  Prince  Connell,  commenced 
speaking  on  the  subjects  of  debate.  In  the  exordium  of  his  speech 
he  expressed  his  regret  for  the  war  he  had  fomented  ;  admitted  the 
justness  of  the  penance  that  had  been  imposed  upon  him,  and 
declared  that  nothing  else  than  the  sincere  desire  of  warding  off 
the  blow  which  menaced  the  existence  of  the  bardic  order,  and  a 
wish  to  exempt  the  Dalriadian  colony,  as  well  as  their  subjects,  the 
Caledonians,  from  the  tribute  which  they  owed  to  the  Irish  crown, 
could  iiave  induced  him  to  visit  the  land  of  his  birth.  He  then  gave 
a  narrative  of  the  success  of  his  mission,  in  converting  all  the  inhabi- 
tants of  Scotland  to  the  Christian  creed. 

Passing  from  these  subjects,  he  entered  into  the  discussion  by 
labouring,  with  great  force  of  eloquence,  to  impress  the  assembly 
with  feelings  of  compassion  towards  the  bards  and  antiquarians. 
He  urgently  represented  to  the  convention,  that  it  would  be  more 
prudent,  glorious,  and  beneficial  to  the  state,  to  diminish  the  number 
of  the  "sons  of  song  and  story,"  than  to  suppress  altogether  a  body 
of  men  whose  genius  celebrated  virtue,  and  immortalized  the  deeds 
of  the  valiant  and  the  wise.  "If,"  said  he,  "you  exile  the  poets, 
who  will  transmit  the  fame  of  the  brave  in  arms  to  posterity  ?  what 
greater  incentive  can  inflame  the  breast  of  the  patriotic  warrior,  in 
defence  of  his  country,  than  tlie  certainty  that  his  exploits  will  live 
in  song,  and  that  his  name  shall  be  glorified  in  the  lasting  monu- 
ments of  genius  ?  To  merit  the  eulogium  of  the  poet  has  ever  been 
the  passion  and  ambition  of  our  greatest  heroes  and  legislators.  To 
whom,  then,  O  monarch  of  Erin,  and  exalted  princes  of  Inisfail,  is 
our  country  indebted  for  her  illustrious  renown  in  arms,  in  arts,  and 
in  letters?  Surely  ye  will  all  say,  'To  the  poets!'  Their  soft  or 
sublime  eftusions,  which  powerfully  touched  the  passions  of  the 
brave  and  the  generous,  while  tiiey  made  the  heart  of  the  fiercest 
warrior  glow  with  emotions  of  tenderness  and  love,  often  animated 
and  roused  a  Tuathal,  a  Cormac,  or  a  Nial,  with  resistless  energy 
of  spirit,  to  the  combat  of  heroes.  These  great  conquerors,  while 
preparing  for  the  strife  of  siiields,  and  enjoying  the  delightful  rap- 
ture— the  ethereal  pleasure,  which  the  combined  powers  of  music 
and  poetry  create,  felt  that  the  song  of  the  bard,  which  is  not  only 
the  source  of  melting  joy,  but  of  noble  and  heroic  exertion,  owed  its 
origin  to  that  invisible  power,  whose  influence  seemed  to  hallow  and 
animate  the  mind  of  the  inspired  poet.  I  think  that  poetry  is  not 
yet  degenerated  among  us,  nor  that  inspiration  is  extinct  in  our 
poetic  productions.  Our  present  bards,  like  those  of  other  times, 
consecrate  their  genius  to  the  ennobling  task  of  celebrating  the 
praises  of  heroes ;  of  forming  and  elevating  the  virtues  of  the  living, 
by  applauding  those  of  the  dead.  Yes,  sire,  and  princes,  if  you 
banish  the  poets  you  will  undermine  the   proud  fabric  of  our  litera- 


339 

ture,  paralyze  the  martial  spirit  of  the  country,  and  sink  the  charac- 
ter of  the  nation  low  in  the  scale  of  moral  and  intellectnal  attain- 
ment. Oh  !  then,  let  me  implore  this  regal  and  princely  assembly 
to  pause  ere  they  prostrate  tiie  literary  glory  of  their  country — ere 
they  extinguish  the  refulgence  of  the  muses,  and  benight  Ireland, 
the  foster-mother  of  poetry,  piety,  and  learning,  in  the  gloom  of 
ignorance.  This  is  the  last  time  that  I  shall  address  ye,  most  regal 
and  princely  sages  !  but,  before  I  bid  an  eternal  adieu  to  the  country 
of  my  birth — of  my  sovereign  fathers;  a  country,  oh,  misery  unutte- 
rable !  in  \\  hich  my  crimes  deny  to  me  a  grave,  let  me,  the  descen- 
dant of  Nial  the  Great,  conjure  and  supplicate  this  august  convention 
to  retain  and  preserve  a  portion  of  the  bards,  to  not  only  illuminate 
our  country  with  the  radiance  of  genius, — but  to  relinquish  the  right 
of,  and  release  the  Caledonian  colonists,  who  will  ever  acknowledge 
their  feudal  obedience  to  Ireland,  from  the  tribute  for  which  they 
are  bound  to  the  monarch  of  Ireland."* 

At  this  epoch  it  was  an  evil  peculiar  to  the  Irish  poets  to  have 
many  dependents,  who  were  glad  of  enlisting  under  their  banners, 
from  the  immunities  they  then  enjoyed,  and  the  respect  which  was 
paid  to  them.  Tiie  saint,  therefore,  in  the  course  of  his  speech, 
advised  the  convention  to  limit  tiie  students  in  the  diflerent  colleges, 
and  to  check  the  insolence  of  those  who,  without  being  regularly 
educated,  or  possessing  the  gifts  of  genius,  wished  to  appear  in  the 
train  of  the  poets,  and  to  wear  the  borrowed  livery  of  the  legitimate 
sons  of  inspiration. 

The  speech  of  St.  Columba  enlisted  the  sympathies  of  the  convo- 
cation in  the  cause  he  advocated.  His  representations  were  emi- 
nently successful.  The  convention  resolved,  that  thenceforth  the 
monarch's  chief  bard  was  to  be  president  of  all  the  poetic  colleges 

"  The  speech  of  St.  Columba  in  the  text  we  have  translated  from  Molloy  :  it 
never  appeared  before  in  an  English  dress.  OFlaherty  alludes  to  it,  and  says, 
"  St.  Coluniba's  speech  at  the  great  parliament,  breathed  the  eloquence  of  inspira- 
tion ;  it  effected  great  purposes,  the  retention  of  the  Irish  bards,  and  the  release  of 
the  Caledonians  and  Ficts  from  the  Irish  tribute.  The  speech  is  preserved  in  the 
book  of  Donegal,  and  thence  copied  into  the  compilation  of  the  Four  Ma.sters." 
How  often  have  we,  since  we  commenced  writing  a  history  of  Ireland,  been  pro- 
voked and  mortified  in  hearing  men  utterly  ignorant  of  the  liistory  of  their  country, 
exclaim,  "  Oh,  we  have  read  Keating,  and  O'Halloran,  and  they  have  given  us  all 
we  loatit  to  know  of  Ireland."  Now  we  could  swear  on  the  rubric  that  not  one  of 
the  men  who  used  this  language  could  tell,  if  he  were  asked,  "  whether  was 
Heremon  the  Son  or  the  Father  of  Milesius  ?  Whether  Nial  the  Great,  and  Con 
of  the  hundred  battles,  were  contemporaries  ;  whether  Fion  Mac  Cumhal  and  Ossian 
were  brothers .''"  But  in  this  fate  we  are  not  singular.  Men  of  narrow  under- 
standing, and  contracted  intellect,  are  notable  to  discriminate  between  compilation 
and  originality.  They  think,  that,  because  we  take  the  frame  work  of  our  history 
from  O'Flaherty,  Keating,  O'Halloran,  Cumerford,  and  O'Connor,  that  we  are  not 
entitled  to  any  credit  for  the  drapery  of  thought,  the  embellishment  of  the  lan- 
guage, and  the  blazonery  of  research,  with  which  we  decorate  the  barren  facts  of 
our  predecessors. 

We  owe  no  more  to  those  historians  who  have  preceded  us  than  Robertson  owes 
to  Fordun  and  Buchanan,  than  Gibbon  owes  to  Tacitus,  or  that  Lingard  owes  to 
Bede  and  Clarendon.  All  we  will  say  of  our  history  of  Ireland,  is  that  the  lan- 
guage and  sentiment  of  the  narrative  are  original,  and  that  we  have  illustrated  it 
with  several  translations,  and  extended  the  discoveries  of  research  far  beyond  the 
land-marks  set  up  by  Keating  and  O'Halloran.  This  we  predict  will  be  yet 
admitted  by  every  candid  critic  who  is  versed  in  the  philosophy  of  Irish  history. 


340 

in  the  kingdom  ;  that  he  shoukl  have  the  power  of  appointing  inspec- 
tors to  examine  the  state  of  the  different  schools,  and  to  enact  such 
regulations  as  he  deemed  best  suited  to  give  efficacy  to  this  restric- 
ting law.  It  was  also,  at  the  same  time  enacted,  that  the  monarch, 
the  provincial  sovereigns,  and  minor  chieftains  should  each  retain  a 
poet,  to  record  the  exploits  and  preserve  the  genealogies  of  his  fam- 
ily; and  a  salary  was  to  be  allowed  to  them,  adequate  to  support 
them  with  suitable  respectability.  As  a  con)pensation  to  the  state 
for  their  immunities  and  salaries,  they  were  obliged  to  instruct  the 
youth  of  several  districts,  in  history,  poetry,  and  antiquities.  The 
revenues  intended  for  their  support  were  exempted,  as  usual,  from 
tax  and  plunder  ;  their  persons  were  inviolable  ;  and  exclusive  of 
their  settled  annuities,  they  were  to  be  paid  for  each  poem,  accor- 
ding to  its  merit,  by  their  particular  patrons. 

The  second  object  of  the  meeting  being  to  impose  a  tax  on  the 
Dalriada  of  Albania,  the  king  urged  the  measure  with  as  much 
energy,  as  the  saint  opposed  it.  The  eloquence  of  the  royal  abbot 
triumphed  over  the  suggestions  of  the  sovereign.  The  law  author- 
izing the  exaction  of  the  impost  was  abrogated,  and  the  Albanian 
Scots  were  declared  the  allies  and  friends  of  Ireland,  and  exonerated 
from  all  kinds  of  tribute,  except  in  cases  of  murder  and  spoliation, 
when  they  were  bound  to  make  reparation  to  the  friends  of  the 
deceased  as  well  as  to  the  injured  person. 

The  saint  having  thus  effected  his  purposes,  took  his  leave  of  the 
monarch  and  assembly,  and  set  out  on  his  journey  to  Albania;  but 
on  his  way  home,  he  visited  Scanlan  More  the  deposed  king  of 
Ossory,  whom  he  liberated  from  the  trammels  of  a  prison,  having 
succeeded,  while  at  the  convention,  in  obtaining  his  pardon  from 
the  monarch. 

Shortly  after  the  dissolution  of  the  convocation  of  Drumceat, 
Conneli,  the  eldest  son  of  Aodh,  invaded  the  territories  of  Colman 
Bemhidh,  but  his  army  was  defeated  and  himself  slain  in  the  field 
of  battle.  At  this  juncture,  A.  D.  594,  Aodh  embodied  a  great  mili- 
tary force  with  which  he  invaded  Leinster  to  enforce  the  payment 
of  a  tribute  Avhich  had  been  the  cause  of  so  many  former  wars.  The 
people  of  Leinster  flew  to  arms  on  his  approach  and  gave  him  battle 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  town  of  Swords,  near  the  city  of  Dublin,  where 
they  totally  vanquished  his  troops,  and  slew  himself.  Aodh,  or 
Hugh,  was  a  prince  of  amiable  private  qualities,  but  he  wished  to 
exercise  the  arbitrary  sway  of  an  absolute  monarch.  During  his 
reign,  which  lasted  twenty-four  years,  the  country  enjoyed  repose 
and  prosperity. 

The  reigning  Princes  in  Ireland,  at  the  period  of  Hugh's  death, 
were  Dioraa,  king  of  Munster,  Colman  More,  king  of  Leinster, 
Maolcatch,  king  of  Connaught,  and  Congall,  the  son  of  Gabhran, 
ruled  the  Picts  in  Albany. 

As  the  life  of  St.  Columb  Kille  embraced  great  historical  events, 
and  as  his  genius  and  piety  reflected  lustre  on  the  fame  of  his  coun- 
try, we  will  weave  a  biographical  sketch  of  him,  in  our  history  of 
Ireland. 

This  renounced  saint,  who,  to  use  the  language  of  Dr.  .Johnson, 


341 

first  "  preached  the  Gospel  of  Christ  to  the  roving  clans  and  rude 
barbarians  of  ancient  Caledonia,"  was  the  son  of  Feidlim,  tlie  son 
of  Fergus,  the  son  of  Council  (from  whom  Tirconnell  derives  its 
name)  the  son  of  j\ial  the  Great.  He  was  born  in  Gartown,  in  the 
county  of  Donegal,  on  the  9th  of  June,  in  the  year  519.  His 
mother,  Eitha,  like  his  father,  was  of  the  blood  royal  of  Ireland  ; 
she  was  the  daughter  of  Deenia,  a  prince  of  Leinster,  and  the  direct 
descendant  of  Carbrc  Lijfichairc,  the  monarch  of  Ireland,  in  the 
third  century.  Immediately  after  his  birth,  his  mother  bore  him  to 
the  cell  of  Cruachnii  a  learned  and  pious  monk,  w  ho  baptized  him 
by  the  name  of  Criomthan  O^Ciiin.  At  seven  years  of  age  after 
leaving  the  nursery,  his  parents  placed  him  under  the  instruction  of 
the  hermit  Cruachan.  Tliis  anchorite  bestowed  the  greatest  care, 
and  the  most  assiduous  attention  on  the  education  of  his  nol)le  pupil. 
He  made  so  rapid  a  progress  in  his  studies  under  the  tutorage  of 
the  hermit,  that,  on  the  attainment  of  his  tenth  year,  he  was  a  pro- 
ficient in  Greek  and  Latin  classics,  while  with  these  acquisitions  he 
possessed  a  comprehensive  knowledge  of  the  holy  Scriptures,  as 
well  as  of  the  histories  of  the  saints  and  martyrs  of  the  Christian 
church.  His  person  was  robust,  but  graceful,  and  his  face  presented 
the  expression  of  mildness  and  gentleness  of  disposition.  Like 
many  other  personages,  destined  to  soar  to  eminence  in  the  world 
our  saint's  birth,  we  are  informed  by  Colgan,  and  Keating,  was 
preceded  by  some  extraordinary  omens.  Saint  Patrick,  and  his 
successor  3Iav€ih,  predicted  the  sanctity  and  distinction  which  should 
immortalize  the  Life  of  Columbn,  and  the  glory  that  he  should 
acquire  in  converting  Caledonia  to  Christianity.  His  mother  too, 
while  pregnant  with  the  saint,  dreamed,  one  night,  that  an  uncom- 
mon personage,  whose  figure  and  mien  bespoke  him  more  than 
mortal,  had  presented  her  with  a  spangled  veil  of  the  most  varying 
and  vivid  hues,  but  that  while  she  was  yet  gazing  on  its  beauties 
with  admiration,  lie  snatched  it  out  of  her  hands,  and  then  raising 
and  expanding  it  in  the  breeze,  it  flew  up  to  heaven  in  such  ampli- 
tude of  distention  that  it  concealed,  like  a  drapery,  the  whole  concave 
of  the  horizon.  Perceiving  that  what  she  so  lately  possessed,  was 
irretrievably  lost,  she  burst  out  in  tears  of  sorrow,  when  the  angel 
moved  by  her  wailings,  thus  addressed  her:  "Fair  and  faithful 
daughter  of  kings,  dry  up  the  tears  of  thy  anguish,  for  the  veil  you 
have  lost  is  but  the  emblem  of  that  child  to  whom  you  will  soon  give 
birth,  and  who  is  destined  and  ordained  to  be  one  of  the  prophets 
of  God.  His  name  shall  be  immortal,  and  his  piety  and  elotpience 
shall  lead  myriads  of  souls  to  heaven."  This  dream  made  a  deep 
impression  on  the  mother  of  Columba,  who,  the  moment  he  was 
born,  devoted  him  by  a  vow  to  the  church  ;  and  consequently  his 
education  was  such  as  might  qualify  him  for  the  sacred  office  he 
was  to  fill.* 

After  the  saint  had  studied  literature,  science,  and  theology  under 
the  learned  preceptor,  Cruaclian,  he  was  removed  to  the  school  of 
the  celebrated  St.  Finian,  in  Downpatrick.     It  was   at   this  school 

*  The  description  of  the  dream  of  Columb  Kille's  mother  we  have  translated 
from  "  Flemming's  Miscellanies." 


342 

lie  received  the  name  of  Columb,  from  his  fellow-students,  because 
of  the  dove-like  innocence  of  his  behaviour,  the  amiableness  of  his 
manners,  and  the  beauty  of  his  person.  St.  Finian,  perceiving  how 
applicable  the  term  thus  instinctively  applied  to  the  youth  was  to 
his  personal  and  mental  endowments,  believed  it  was  the  will  of 
heaven  that  he  should  be  so  called,  and  he  never  after  accosted  him 
by  his  original  name,  Criomthan. 

When  St.  Finian  become  bishop  of  the  see,  and  head  of  the  famed 
college  of  Clonardj*  in  Meath,  his  disciple,  St.  Columba,  accompa- 
nied liim  thither. 

"St.  Finian,"  says  Ware,  "was  the  first  bishop  of  Clonal d,  and 
a  famous  philosopher  and  divine.  He  was  of  a  noble  family,  but 
much  more  ennobled  by  his  piety,  at  St.  DavicVs,  in  Wales,  where 
he  was  deeply  beloved  of  the  bishop  of  that  place,  with  whom  he 
sometimes  sojourned.  Upon  his  return  home  he  was  made  a  bishop, 
and  fixed  his  see  at  Clonard,  in  Meath,  near  the  river  Boyne,  where 
he  also  erected  a  famous  college,  which,  by  his  great  care  and 
labours,  bred  many  famous,  holy  and  learned  men,  some  of  whom 
were  the  two  Rierans,  the  two  Brendans,  the  two  Columhs.  He 
died  on  the  12th  of  December,  552,  and  was  buried  under  the  altar 
of  his  own  church." 


CHAPTER  L. 

Biography  of  St.  Columha,  Continued. 

Our  Saint  continued  five  years  at  the  celebrated  college  of  Clo- 
nard, where,  like  a  diligent  Bee,  he  sipped  the  honey  of  poetry, 
literature,  science,  and  divinity  from  the  lessons  of  St.  Finian,  and 
the  other  professors  of  the  "  Great  school  of  the  West,^^  as  Bede 
designated  the  University  of  Clonard.  His  education  being  thus 
completed,  his  venerable  master  bestowed  on  him  the  order  of 
Priesthood.  The  discipline  established  in  the  college  of  Clonard, 
by  St.  Finian,  for  the  probation  of  candidates  for  holy  orders,  were 
trying  and  severe.  On  the  entrance  of  the  young  student  into  the 
house,  he  was  received  with  parental  tenderness,  and  the  most 
gentle  means  were  adopted  to  fire  his  mind  with  emulation,  and  a 
desire  for  distinguishing  himself  in  piety,  literature,  and  philosophy. 
At  the  end  of  a  year  after  his  admission,  "  he  was,"  says  the  vene- 

*  Clonard,  situated  thirty-five  miles  N.  W.  of  Dublin,  in  the  county  of  Meath, 
though  now  a  hamlet  village,  was  once  an  episcopal  city,  possessing  a  university 
where,  in  the  latter  end  of  the  sixth  century,  more  than  five  thousand  students 
received  at  a  time,  their  education.  The  first  abbey  was  founded  there  by  St. 
Finian,  who  was  of  royal  lineage  and  the  most  learned  philosopher  of  his  day. 
This  renowned  saint  died  of  the  plague,  in  December,  552,  on  which  day  his  festi- 
val is  celebrated.  The  tomb  of  the  Dillon  family  still  stands  in  high  preservation 
in  the  abbey.     The  Delacies  founded  a  monastery  here  in  1190. 


343 

rable  and  profound  Bishop  Burke,*  "ordered  to  build  a  small  cell 
near  the  college,  with  his  own  hands  for  his  oratory.  Here  the 
student  watched,  prayed,  studied,  and  slept.  By  day  he  was  to 
assemble  with  his  school-fellows,  and  enter  into  an  enudous  trial  of 
mental  competition  wilh  them.  Thus  were  all  in  a  state  of  activity, 
rivalling  each  other  in  their  exertions  to  arrive  at  evangelical  per- 
fection,— and  contemptuous  of  worldly  magnificence,  there  was  no 
room  .for  cabal — no  subject  for  discontent — for  when  disengaged 
from  their  studies,  the  youth  were  necessitated  to  work  for  their 
sustenance  with  their  own  hands." 

From  the  illustrious  College  of  Clonard,  (the  lovely  hill)  where 
many  French  and  Spanish  princes  received  their  education  during 
the  sixth  and  seventh  centuries,  issued  a  brilliant  array  of  learning 
and  sanctity.  The  two  St.  Kierans,  the  two  Cohimbas,  as  well  as 
the  Saints  Brandons,  Lasserius,  Muachas,  Ruadan,  with  a  numerous 
host  of  talented  and  holy  men,  whose  genius  reflected  lustre  on 
their  country's  fame,  by  the  eminent  exercise  of  their  piety,  learn- 
ing and  capacity,  in  foreign  climes. 

In  513,  he  took  leave  of  his  kind  patron  St.  Finian,  and  set  out 
on  a  missionary  tour  through  Ireland,  in  order  to  build  churches, 
preach  the  sublime  trutiis  of  the  Gospel,  and  found  monasteries  in 
such  parts  of  the  country  as  required  them. 

To  eimmerate  all  the  churches  and  monasteries  built  by  our  saint, 
would  require  the  space  of  a  volume.  He  was  on  the  retreat, 
engaged  in  prayer  and  penance  in  his  abbey  at  Derry,  when  king 
Derniod,  as  we  have  already  recorded  in  a  former  chapter,  violated 
the  right  of  sanctuary  with  which  the  edifice  was  invested,  and 
thereby  incurred   the   resentment   of  the   saint,  who   led   forth   his 

*  The  Right  Rov.  Dr.  Thomas  Burke,  has  contributed  so  vast  a  fund  of  antiqua- 
rian research  and  acute  illustrations  to  our  annals,  that  we  shall,  as  a  debt  of  grati- 
tude for  the  information  we  derive  from  his  writings,  in  a  future  number,  pay  a 
biographical  tribute  to  his  memory.  He  was  a  native  of  Dublin,  where  he  was 
born  in  1710.  At  the  age  of  fifteen,  his  father  sent  him  to  Rome,  to  study  divinity 
under  his  maternal  uncle,  Rev.  James  Fitzgerald,  then  prior  of  the  convent  of  St. 
Sixtus  and  Clement.  In  Rome  his  learning  and  eloquence  procured  for  him  the 
favourable  notice  of  Pope  Benedict  XIII.  He  was  advanced  by  liis  Holiness,  to 
the  highest  theological  honours,  and  promoted  in  175!*,  to  the  seeof  Ossory.  This 
exalted  station,  so  justly  due  to  his  talents,  erudition,  piety,  benevolence,  and 
other  exemplary  virtues,  he  did  not  enjoy  many  years,  for  he  died  in  Kilkenny,  in 
September,  1776.  His  excellent  work,  entitled,  "  Hibernica  Dominicancp,"  is  a 
gigantic  pile  of  intellect,  research,  and  historical  inquiry.  He  devoted  a  volume 
of  this  celebrated  work  to  the  history  of  Ireland,  from  the  English  invasion,  to  the 
year  1772,  including  a  comprehensive  account  of  all  the  abbeys  and  convents 
which  were  erected  in  the  country,  from  the  days  of  St.  Patrick  down  to  the 
present  day.  This  valuable  book,  without  which  there  would  have  been  a  chasm 
in  the  history  of  our  country,  was  denounced  in  the  Irish  parliament  in  1775,  as  a 
seditious  publication.  The  Lord  Lieutenant  ofltered  a  reward  for  the  discovery  of 
the  author,  and  called,  ex  officio,  upon  the  Roman  Catholic  prelates  to  pass  sen- 
tence of  reprobation  '•  against  a  book  that  was  calculated  to  fill  the  public  mind 
with  alarm,  and  to  sow  the  seeds  o^  disunion  among  the  Irish  people." 

Seven  Catholic  prelates,  accordingly,  at  a  synod  held  in  Thurles,  passed  an 
interdict  against  the  Ilihcrnica:  Dominicans.  But  those  Bishops  were  forced  by 
the  sword  of  terror  held  over  their  heads,  by  a  despotic  government  in  the  reign 
of  barbarous  intolerance,  to  act  as  they  did.  The  names  of  the  prelates  appended 
to  the  interdict  were  James  Butler,  James  Kcefe,  William  Egan,  Francis  Moylan, 
Daniel  Kearney,  John  Butler,  and  Matthew  M'Kenna. 


344 

kindred,  the  O'Donnels,  and  O'Niels,  against  tlie  despotic  and  impi- 
ous monarch,  and  completely  routed  liini  and  his  army. 

Before  the  period  of  this  discomfiture  of  the  royal  army,  the  saint 
incurred  the  displeasure  of  the  king  and  his  courtiers,  by  his  bold 
exposure  of  the  vices  of  royalty,  and  of  its  sycophantic  satellites, 
among  whom  were  many  of  the  clergy  themselves.  His  denuncia- 
tions and  anathemas  were  launched  against  them  with  a  treniendous 
power  of  eloquence.  These  had  the  most  salutary  and  moral  effects 
— they  terrified  the  provincial  princes  into  mildness  and  justice,  and 
induced  them  to  adopt  a  more  clement  and  equitable  system  of 
government,  and  to  act  more  conformably  to  the  benign  spirit  of  the 
Christian  dispensation. 

"  Such  among  the  clergy,"'  writes  Colgan,  "  as  were  precipitate, 
or  prone  to  worldly  aftairs,  he  soon  curbed — such  as  were  indolent 
he  roused — such  as  were  addicted  to  luxury,  he  severely  reprimand- 
ed— the  weak  and  the  wavering  he  strengthened — the  vicious  he 
reformed.  In  short,  the  oppressed  he  abetted — the  haughty  he 
humbled,  and  the  vicious  he  repressed." 

How  could  such  a  rigid,  moral  censor  as  this,  escape  tlie  malice 
and  revenge  of  the  persons  against  whom  he  hurled  the  shafts  of 
reproof?  The  princes  and  priests  whom  he  reprobated,  exerted  all 
their  influence  against  him,  and  gained  so  far  their  object,  as  to 
have  him  unjustly  excommunicated.  But  he  was  not  long  a  sufierer 
under  the  anathema  which  was  procured  by  a  consjiiracy  of  princes 
and  priests. 

A  synod  was  held  in  Birr,  in  the  Ring's  county,  of  all  the  princi- 
pal clergy  of  Ireland,  in  544,  to  which  our  saint  repaired,  in  order 
to  vindicate  his  character  from  the  odium  which  the  malignity  of  his 
enemies  had  heaped  upon  it. 

When  he  approached  the  hall  of  deliberation,  St.  Brendan  rose 
from  his  seat,  and  advanced  to  embrace  him.  All  the  clergy  present, 
indicated  their  astonishment  at  this  act  of  condescension  to  an 
excommunicated  person.  As  soon  as  St.  Brendan  conducted 
Columba  to  a  seat,  he  observed  to  the  elders — "Do  not  wonder  at 
this  deference  to  a  personage  of  such  sanctity  and  learning  as  St. 
Columb-Kille.  His  tears,  remorse,  and  repentance,  have  blotted 
out  his  transgressions  from  the  anger  of  God.  Had  Jesus  vouch- 
safed to  manifest  to  you,  venerable  fathers,  what  he  has  revealed  to 
me,  you  would  not  have  dishonoured  the  man  whom  ihe  Almighty 
has  preordained  to  fill  the  folds  of  religion  and  grace  with  flocks  of 
the  faithful.  Behold  !  the  royal  prophet,  and  the  glorified  saint,  who 
is  to  conduct  the  whole  Heathen  people  of  Albania  unto  the  paradise 
of  eternal  salvation!" 

Columb-Kille  then  proceeded  to  extenuate  his  conduct ;  but  in  the 
course  of  his  speech,  he  expressed  his  sincere  sorrow  for  the  blood- 
shed and  commotions  which  his  choleric  passion  gave  birth  to; 
pledging  himself  at  the  same  time,  to  submit  to  any  penance  the 
synod  might  think  proper  to  impose  upon  him  for  his  transgressions. 

No  sooner  had  he  expressed  his  contrition  for  what  had  happened, 
than  the  entire  assembly  simultaneously  rose  to  greet  him.  The 
saints,  Finian  and  Molaise,  after  a  short  consultation  told  our  saint 


345 

that  the  penance  he  would  have  to  perform,  in  order  to  atone  for 
his  sins,  was,  tliat  he  must  in  foreign  chmes,  by  preacliing  piety  and 
sanctity,  bring  as  many  souls  into  the  church  of  Christ,  as  those 
which  the  war  he  fomented  and  occasioned  had  hurried,  perhaps 
unprepared,  before  the  tribunal  of  heaven.  As  soon  as  this  was 
announced  t(»  him,  he  with  a  joyful  heart  replied — "  This  penance 
is  so  just  and  etpiitable  that  I  shall  cheerfully  undertake  it,  in  the 
hope  that  God  will  for<;ive  my  sins  and  enable  me  to  satisfy  him  by 
my  performance  of  it." 

The  conduct  of  our  saint  furnishes  a  notable  instance  of  the 
proj^ress  of  the  soul,  from  weakness  to  strength — from  frailty  to 
perfection.  The  violence  of  his  temper  and  the  stubl)orii  unbending 
spirit  that  led  him  to  excite  war  and  civil  commotions  now  sink  in 
in  the  serene  sanctity  of  the  repenting  saint.  The  facility  with 
which  he  submitted  to  his  sentence — a  sentence  that  expatriated 
him  from  the  land  of  his  nativity,  over  which  his  parents  and  relatives 
held  sovereign  sway,  exemplifies  the  characteristic  virtues  of  the 
primitive  Divines  of  Ireland.  What  a  noi)le  example  of  self-denial 
and  resignation  has  our  royal  saint  exhibited  in  this  instance. 

Had  he  not  divested  himself  of  the  coil  of  the  passions  and  listened 
to  the  admonitions  of  conscience,  he  might  have  set  the  decrees  of 
the  synod  of  Birr  at  defiance  ;  for  the  O'Neils,  O'Donncls,  McLough- 
lins  and  Rinsellaglis,  the  most  powerful  regal  septs,  and  all  his 
blood  relations  in  Ireland,  were  burning  with  ardour  and  impatience 
to  avenge  the  wrongs  under  which  they  thought  the  holy  man  had 
unjustly  suffered.  His  exile,  therefore,  though  caused  by  a  public 
ecclesiastical  censure,  must  be  still  considered  as  a  voluntary  act 
arising  from  a  conviction  that  he  had  merited  to  the  fullest  extent, 
the  severity  of  this  reproof  and  the  punishment  annexed  to  it.  Con- 
scious of  the  evils  that  almost  invariably  result  from  an  ardent  and 
passionate  temper,  when  connected  with  power,  and  yielding  to  the 
influence  of  returning  grace,  that  divine  emanation  of  the  soul  that 
not  only  renders  us  sensible  of  our  faults,  but  prompts  us  to  atone 
for  them,  he  passed  over  to  Scotland,  where  he  devoted  the  remain- 
der of  his  life  to  the  conversion  and  civilization  of  a  people  who 
were  then,  comparatively,  as  Dr.  Johnson  has  verified,  engulphed 
in  gross  barbarism. 

The  obligations,  however,  which  the  Christian  religion  owes  to 
Columba,  must  not  be  estimated  by  the  numerous  converts  that  he 
and  his  immediate  disciples  brought  over  to  the  Christian  church. 
To  him  must  also  be  attributed  in  a  great  measure  the  conversions 
effected  by  his  disciples  and  successors. 

He  it  was,  that  inspired  them  with  that  fervent  sanctity  and  apos- 
tolic perseverance,  which  crowned  their  tninistry  with  a  success 
unexampled  in  the  age  in  which  they  flourished.  In  addition  to  the 
testimony  of  Bede  to  the  learning,  eloquence,  and  zeal  of  the  follow- 
ers and  successors  of  the  brilliant  luminary  of  the  Irish  church,  we 
feel  proud  of  adducing  the  corroborating  evidence  given  by  the 
ablest  and  most  philosophic  of  living  historians  (Dr.  Lingard)  in  his 
history  of  the  Anglo  Saxon  church.  "From  the  monastery  of  St. 
Columba  at  lona,  came  Aidan,  the  successful  apostle  of  Northumbria. 
44 


346 

During  tlie  course  of  his  labours,  the  missionary  kept  his  thoug^hts 
fixed  on  liis  patron  and  countryman,  St.  Cohimb-Kille,'  and  alter 
his  example  requested  permission  to  retire  from  the  Court  and 
fix  his  residence  in  some  lonely  island,  where  his  devotions  mijrht 
not  be  interrupted  by  the  follies  and  vices  of  men.  His  peti- 
tion was  granted.  Lindins  Farn,  at  a  small  distance  ironi  the 
Northuujhrian  coast,  was  peopled  with  a  colony  of  Irish  Mmiks. 
The  successors  of  Aidan  rapidly  extended  the  monastic  institute 
throuijliont  the  kinjjdom  of  Bernicia,  and  Deira  Meicia,  and  east 
Anjjlia.  Bede,  in  different  parts  of  his  works,  lias  borne  the  mnst 
honourable  testimony  to  their  virtue — with  a  glowinj^  pencil  he  dis- 
plays their  patience,  their  chastity,  their  frequent  meditation  on  the 
sacred  writings,  and  their  indefatigable  efforts  to  attain  the  summit 
of  Christian  ])erfection. 

They  chose  for  their  habitation  the  most  dreary  situations  :  no 
motives  but  those  of  charity  could  draw  them  from  their  cells:  and 
if  they  appeared  in  public  their  object  was  to  reconcile  enemies,  to 
instruct  the  ignorant,  to  discourage  vice,  and  to  plead  the  cause  of 
the  unfortunate.  The  little  property  which  they  enjoyed  was  com- 
mon to  all — poverty  they  esteemed  as  the  surest  guardian  of  virtue, 
and  the  benefactions  of  the  opulent  they  respectfully  declined,  or 
instantly  employed  in  relieving  the  distress  of  the  indigent.  One 
only  stain  did  Bede  discover  in  their  character,  an  immoderate  esteem 
for  their  Milesian  forefathers — which  prompted  them  to  prefer  their 
own  customs  to  the  consent  of  all  other  Christian  churches;  "but 
this,  he  piously  trusted,  would  disappear  in  the  bright  efli'ulgence  of 
their  virtues." 

But  let  us  return  to  the  synod  of  Birr,  and  the  departure  of  St. 
Columba  on  his  mission  to  Caledonia.  The  saints  and  fathers  at 
this  clerical  convocation,  after  giving  their  blessing  to  Columba,  also 
consented  that  he  should  be  assisted  in  his  mission  by  twelve  erudite 
and  pious  ecclesiastics  whom  he  had  nominated  for  their  approval. 
Tiie  names  of  these  saintly  missionaries  or  Ciddees*  are  recorded  by 

**  Various  and  ridiculous  are  the  opinions  of  the  Scottish  writers  respecting  the 
derivation  of  the  term  CuUhe.  Our  countryman,  the  learned  Toland,  in  his  history 
of  the  Druids,  deduces  the  name  from  Kcillf  De,  which  imports  in  Irish,  the  con- 
sorts of  God.  Dr.  Shaw  contends  its  proper  etymology  is  KeU  De,  or  the  servants 
of  God.  Bishop  Nicholson  says  that  its  derivation  is  found  in  the  Cool  dubh,  or 
the  b'lick  hood.  But  though  these  celebrated  antiquarians  were  very  able  Greek 
and  Latin  scholars  they  were  but  indifferent  Etymologists.  Tiie  late  Rev.  Paul 
O'Brien,  who  was  Professor  of  the  Irish  language  in  the  College  of  Maynooth, 
and  whose  premature  death  our  vernacular  literature  must  ever  deplore,  in  com- 
menting on  the  foregoing  definitions,  observed, — "these  writers  had,  evidently, 
but  a  slight  acquaintance  with  our  native  dialect,  or  they  would  have  known  that 
the  C,  and  G,  are  commutable  letters,  and  tliat  in  classic  Irish  the  devout  followers 
of  Columb-Kille  were  denominated  Giolla  De,  i.  e.  the  servant  of  God,  as  Gioallo 
Coiumh-KiUe,  the  servant  of  the  Dove  of  the  Church ;  Giolla  Chrecst,  the  servant 
of  Christ." 

The  Siiint  and  Bard-claiming  Marphcrson,  has  written  several  essays  to  prove 
that  St.  Columba  and  his  Culdees,  notwithstanding  the  positive  evidence  of  For- 
dun,  Boelhius  and  Buchanan,  were  Caledonians.  But  the  elegant  antiquarian 
Dr.  Smith,  one  honest  Scot,  who  was  too  proud  to  despoil  the  temple  of  our  sacred 
antiquities,  says  in  the  preface  of  his  Gaelic  dictionary — "  The  Culdees  were  of  the 
Irish  rule,  and  carried  into  Scotland  by  the  famous  Columba,  and  from  thence 
dispersed  into  the  northern  parts  of  England."     The  illustrious  author  of  the 


347 

Hector  Boetliiiis  in  his  history  of  Scotland.  "  With  St.  Columb- 
Kille,"  said  the  father  of  Caledonian  history,  "  there  came  from 
Irehuid  twelve  men  eminently  imhiied  with  tiie  doctrine  of  Christ 
and  more  so  with  piety  and  righteousness — tlieir  names  were  Baat/ian, 
Cummins,  Cobthac  and  Klhcrnene,  holh  nephews  of  the  saint,  Burins 
and  Ftthus,  divines  of  illustrious  descent.  Two  priests  of  the  royal 
dynasty  of  O'Xeil,  and  lastly  Scanlan,  Eglodeus,  Ihtaneus  jMotffar 
and  Gallan ;  all  of  whom,  by  their  argumentation,  prediction  and 
writing,  in?tructed  the  Picts  and  Caledonians  in  the  soul-saving 
science  of  virtue,  morality,  and  true  religion."  We  also  find  hy  a 
relation  of  St.  Columba's  mission  in  Fordun's  '■'■  Scotic  Cronicoi^" 
that  our  saint  was  accompanied  by  St.  Constantine,  king  of  Corn- 
wall, who,  through  the  representations  and  censures  of  St.  Gildas, 
of  his  crimes  and  enormous  impiety,  had  been  induced  to  become  a 
jienitent,  and  to  repair  to  Ireland  in  order  to  place  himself  under 
the  spiritual  guidance  of  our  saint. 

Shortly  after  Columba's  arrival  in  Caledonia,  his  cousin  Conuell, 
king  of  the  Dal  Riada,  gave  him  a  grant  of  the  Island  of  Hy,  or 
lona,  in  which  he  l)uilt  a  monastery  that  afterwards  became  as 
famous  for  tlie  learning  and  sanctity  of  its  ecclesiastics,  as  for  its 
grounds  being  the  burial  place  of  some  of  the  kings  of  Ireland, 
Scotland,  and  Norway. 

The  celebrated  'is\nuA  oi  Icoloumb-kille  "that  illustrious  ground 
that  was  once  dignified  by  leart'ing  and  consecrated  by  piety,"  is 
separated  from  the  isle  of  Mull,  by  a  narrow  channel,  and  is  about 
three  miles  in  length,  and  one  in  breadth.  In  1819,  by  a  statement 
in  an  Edinburgh  periodical,  it  contained  seventy  houses  occupied  by 
38G  inhabitants.  The  decayed  ajid  dilapidated  Fanes,  at  whose 
mouldering  altars  Kings  and  Queens  worshipped  the  God  of  the 
universe,  present  still  in  the  aspect  of  their  ruin  and  desolation  noble 
and  atfecting  traces  of  the  Gothic  grandeur  that  once  rose  here  in 
the  solemn  majesty  of  architecture.  In  the  middle  of  St.  Columba's 
cathedral,  on  which  Dr.  Johnson  wrote  as  elocjuent  a  passage  as 
any  in  the  English  language,  stands  a  Gothic  tower  thiee  stories 
high,  and  supported  by  four  large  arches.  This  cathedral  is  encir- 
cled by  piles  of  magnificent  ruins,  in  one  of  which  are  the  three 
ddapidated  tombs,  each  beating  on  a  marble  tablet,  an  inscription. 
The  tomb  that  contains  the  remains  of  forty-eight  kings  of  Scotland, 
is  inscribed,  "  Tumulus  regum  Scoiiae,^'  that  in  which  four  Irish 
monarchs  were  interred,  has  the  inscription  "  Tumulus  rcgum  Iliber- 
niae,'^  and  the  sepulchre  of  three  Norwegian  kings,  who  were  buried 
here  is  marked  "  Tumulus  rcgum  Nortcegia." 

But  the  famed   piety  and   erudition   which   gave   such  illustrious 

pleasures  of  Hope,  in  a  note  to  one  of  his  poems  coincides  in  the  opinion  of  Dr. 
Smitii. 

Dr.  Ledwich,  the  unnatural  and  unpatriotic  asperser  of  the  ancient  glory  and 
greatness  of  his  native  land,  says  of  St.  Coluniba  and  his  successors  in  loua — "  For 
his  Monks,  he  established  such  admirable  rules,  that  tiiej'  soon  became  as  conspicu- 
ous for  erudition  as  for  sanctity  of  manners,  and  were  tiiencelorward  dislinguislied 
by  the  honourable  appellation  of  Culdce.s,  or  the  ministers  of  God."  This  is  the 
only  instance  we  beUeve  in  which  the  venal  apostate.  Dr.  Ledwich,  spoke  as  a 
true-born  Irishman  should,  in  vindication  of  his  country. 


348 

eminence  to  lona,  have  been  already  immortalized  by  the  genius  of 
reli<;ioiis  and  poetic  inspiration. 

Tlie  sanctity  of  the  place,  by  a  prophecy  of  St.  Columb-Kille, 
made  it  for  many  centuries  the  most  renowned  cemetery  in  the 
world.  A  king  of  France,  in  the  ninth  century,  made  a  jjilgrimage 
to  tlie  shrine  of  Columba,  in  order  to  select  the  site  of  his  grave  in 
the  holy  ground  of  lona.  In  the  elegant  translation  of  the  great 
Scotcli  antiquary,  the  late  Rev.  Dr.  Smith,  of  Cambeltown,  we  find 
the  following  English  version  of  our  Saint's  prophecy,  relating  to 
his  beloved  isle. 

"  Seven  years  before  the  awful  day, 

When  time  shall  be  no  more, 
A  watery  deluge  shall  o'ersweep 
Hibernia's  grassy  shore. 

The  green-clad  isle  too  shall  sink, 

Wliilst  with  the  great  and  good, 
Columba's  happy  Isle  shall  rear 

Her  towers  above  the  flood." 

We  conclude  our  brief  biography  of  St.  Colurab-Kille  by  the 
following  extract  from  Moore's  history  of  Ireland. 

"During  this,  his  last  sojourn  in  Ireland,  Columba  visited  all  the 
various  religious  establisliments  which  he  had  founded ;  j)assing 
some  time  at  his  favourite  monastery  at  Dairmagh,  and  there  devo- 
ting himself  to  the  arrangement  of  matters  connected  with  the 
discipline  of  the  church.  After  accomplishing,  to  the  best  of  his 
power,  all  the  objects  he  had  in  view  in  visiting  Ireland,  he  returned 
to  his  home  in  North  Britain, — to  that  "Isle  of  his  heart,"  as,  in 
some  prophetic  verses  attributed  to  him,  lona  is  called,* — and  there, 
assiduous  to  the  last  in  attending  to  the  care  of  his  monasteries  and 
numerous  churches,  remained  till  death  closed  his  active  and  benefi- 
cent course.  Tlie  description  given  of  his  last  moments  by  one  who 
received  the  details  from  an  eye-witness,  presents  a  picture  at  once 
so  calm  and  so  vivid,  that  I  shall  venture,  as  nearly  as  possible  in 
the  words  of  his  biographer,  to  relate  some  particulars  of  the  scene.t 
Having  been  forewarned,  it  is  said,  in  his  dreams  of  the  titne  when 
his  death  was  to  take  place,  he  rose,  on  the  morning  of  the  day 
before,  and  ascending   a   small    eminence,  lifted    up    his    hands  and 

*"  '•  In  the  Isle  of  my  heart,  the  Isle  of  my  love,  instead  of  a  monk's  voice  there 
shall  be  lowing  of  cattle.  But,  ere  the  world  comes  to  an  end,  lona  shall  flourish 
as  before." — Cited  in  Armstrong's  Gaelic  Dictionary.  Dr.  Johnson  appears  to 
have  been  animated  with  a  similar  spirit  of  prophecy  respecting  this  island. 
"  Perhaps,"  says  the  moralist,  "  in  the  revolutions  of  the  world,  lona  may  be, 
some  time  again,  the  instructress  of  the  western  regions."  (Jozirncij  to  the  West- 
em  Islands.) 

t  Post  hiEc  verba  de  illo  dicens  (descendens)  monlicelluio,  et  ad  monasterium 
levertens,  sedebat  in  tugurio  Psalterium  srribens;  et  ad  ilium  tertii  Psnimi  versi- 
culum  perveniens,  ubi  scribitnr,  Inquirentes  autem  Dominum  non  deficient  omni 
bono,  Hie,  ait,  in  fine  cessandum  est  paging;  qua;  vero  sequuntiir  Baithenrus 
scribat.  .  .  .  Interim  ceetus  monachorum  cum  Juminaribus  accurrens,  Patre  vise 
moriente,  caepit  plangere ;  et  ut  ab  aliquibus  qui  praesentes  inerant  didicimns, 
Sanctus,  necdum  egrediente  anima,  apertis  sursum  oculis,  ad  utrumque  latus  cum 
mira  hilaritate  et  laetitia  circumspiciebat.  .  .  .  Diermitius  turn  Sancti  .sanctum 
sublevat,  ad  benediciendum  monachorum  chorum,  de.xteram  manum  :  sed  et  ipse 
venerabilis  Pater  in  quantum  poterat,  suam  simul  movebat  manum. — ^damnan, 
lib.  iii.  cap.  3. 


349 

solemnly  blessed  the  monastery.  Retiirnin<j  from  thence,  he  sat 
down  in  a  hut  adjoining,  and  tiiere  occupied  himself  in  copying  part 
of  the  Psalter,  till,  havinj^  finished  a  pnu;e  with  a  passai>e  of  the 
thirty-third  Psalm,  he  stopped  and  said,  "  Let  Baithen  write  the 
remainder."  This  Baithen,  who  was  one  of  the  twelve  disciples 
that  originally  accompanied  him  to  Hy,  had  been  named  by  him  as 
his  successor.  After  attending  the  evening  service  in  the  church, 
the  Saint  returned  to  his  cell,  and,  reclining  on  his  bed  of  stone, 
delivered  some  instructions  to  his  favourite  attendant,  to  be  commu- 
nicated to  the  brethren.  When  the  bell  rang  for  midnight  prayer, 
he  hastened  to  the  church,  and  was  the  first  to  enter  it.  Throwing 
himself  upon  his  knees,  he  began  to  pray — but  his  strength  failed 
him  ;  and  his  brethren,  arriving  soon  after,  found  their  beloved 
master  reclining  before  the  altar,  and  on  the  point  of  death.  As- 
sembling all  around  him,  these  holy  men  stood  silent  and  weeping, 
while  the  Saint,  opening  his  eyes,  with  an  expression  full  of  cheer- 
fulness, made  a  slight  movement  of  his  hand,  as  if  to  give  them  his 
parting  benediction,  and  in  that  effort  breathed  his  last,  being  then 
in  the  seventy-sixth  year  of  his  age. 

"  'J'he  name  of  this  eminent  man,  though  not  so  well  known 
througiiout  the  Latin  church  as  that  of  another  Irish  Saint,  Colum- 
baniis,  with  whom  he  is  frequently  confounded,*  holds  a  distinguished 
place  among  the  Roman  and  other  rnartyrologies,  and  in  the  British 
Isles  wUl  long  be  remembered  with  traditional  veneration.  In 
Ireland,  rich  as  have  been  her  annals  in  names  of  saintly  renown, 
for  none  has  she  continued  to  cherish  so  fond  a  reveience,  through 
all  ages,  as  for  her  great  Columb-Rilie ;  while  that  Isle  of  the 
Waves, t  with  which  his  name  is  now  inseparably  connected,  and 
which,  through  his  ministry,  became  "the  luminary  of  the  Caledo- 
nian regions, "J  has  far  less  reason  to  boast  of  her  numerous  Tombs 
of  Kings,  than  of  those  heaps  of  votive  pebbles  left  by  pilgrims  on 
her  shore,  marking  the  path  that  once  led  to  the  honoured  Shrine 
of  her  Saint. §  So  great  was  the  reverence  paid  to  his  remains  in 
North  Britain,  that,  at  the  time  when  the  island  of  Ily  began  to  be 
infested  hy  the  Danes,  Kenneth  III.  had  his  bones  removed  to 
Dunkeld  on  the  river  Tay,  and  there  founding  a  church,  dedicJiled 
it  to  his  memory;  while  the  Saint's  crosier,  and  a  few  other  relics, 
were  all  that  fell  to  the  share  of  the  land  of  his  birth. || 

*  Among  the  writers  who  have  been  led  into  this  confusion  is  M.  Thierry, 
(Hist,  de  la  Conquele  de  I'Angleterre)  who,  in  pursuance  of  his  professed  object, 
— that  of  making  his  liistory  picturesque, — has  jumbled  together  the  lives  of  the 
two  saints  most  graphically. 

t  Such,  accorditig  to  some  writers,  is  the  meaning  of  the  term  lona. — See  Gar- 
nttt's  Tour  in  the  Highlands,  vol.  i. 

t  "We  were  now  treading  that  illustrious  island,  which  was  once  the  luminary 
of  the  Caleaonian  regions.  That  man  is  little  to  be  envied,  wiiose  patriotism 
would  not  gain  force  upon  the  plain  of  Marathon,  or  whose  piety  would  not  grow 
warmer  upon  the  r'lins  of  lona." — Dr.  Johnsuns  Journey  to  the  Western  Islands. 

§  "The  Port  na  Curachan,  where  Columba  is  said  to  have  first  landed; — a  bay 
towards  the  West,  which  is  marked  by  large  couical  heaps  of  pebbles,  the  peni- 
tentiary labours,  as  tradition  says,  of  pilgrims  to  his  shrine." — Macculloch's  West- 
ern Isles. 

II  Among  the  various  prophecies  attributed  to  St.  Columba,  the  arrival  of  the 
English  and  their  conquest  of  the  country  were,  it  is  said,  foretold  by  him. 


350 

"In  the  Annals  of  the  Four  Masters,  for  the  year  1006,  we  find 
mention  made  of  a  splendid  copy  of  the  Four  Gospels,  said  to  liave 
been  written  by  St.  Colmiiba's  onii  hand,  and  preserved  at  Rells  in 
a  cover,  richly  ornamented  with  <rold.  In  the  time  of  Usher,  this 
precious  ninnwscri|)t  was  still  numbered  ainonir  the  treasures  of 
Kells  ;*  and  if  not  written  by  Coluniba  himself,  is  little  doubted  to 
have  been  the  work  of  one  of  his  disciples. 


CHAPTER  LI. 

Biograpliical  sketches  of  St..  Bridgid  and  St.  Columhanus. 

Mr.  Moore  in  narrating  the  events  of  those  Saints  lives  has 
displayed  them  under  a  brief,  but  luminous  compendium.  He  says, 
"To  give  an  account  of  all  the  numerous  saints,  uiale  and  female, 
whom  the  fervent  zeal  of  this  period  quickened  into  existence  and 
celebrity,  would  be  a  task  so  extensive  as  to  require  a  distinct  histo- 
rian to  itself;  and,  luckily,  this  important  part  of  Ireland's  history, 
during  her  first  Christian  ages,  has  been  treated  fully,  and  with  the 
most  sifting  zeal  and  industry,  by  a  writer  in  every  respect  qualified 
for  such  a  task,  and  who  has  left  no  part  of  his  ample  subject 
untouched  or  unexplored. t  Referring,  therefore,  to  this  learned 
historian  for  a  detailed  account  of  the  early  Irish  church,  I  shall 
notice  such  only  of  its  most  distinguished  ornaments  as  became 
popularly  known  throughout  Europe,  and  regained  for  the  "  Sacred 
Island"  of  other  days,  all  its  ancient  fame,  under  the  new  Christian 
designation  of  "  the  Island  of  Saints." 

"  The  institution  of  female  monasteries,  or  nunneries,  such  as,  in 
the  fourth  century,  were  established  abroad  by  Melania,  and  other 
pious  women,  was  introduced  into  Ireland,  towards  the  close  of  the 
fifth  century,  by  St.  Brigid  ;   and  so  general  was  the  enthusiasm  her 

"Tlien,"  says  Giraldus,  "was  fultiJled  the  alleged  prophecy  of  Columba,  of 
Hibernia,  who  lonir  since  foretold  that,  in  this  war,  there  should  be  so  great  a 
slaucrhter  of  the  inhabitants,  that  their  enemies  would  swim  up  to  the  knees  in 
their  blood."  (Hibcrn.  Expugiwt.  lib.  ii.  cap.  16.)  There  is  yet  another  remarka- 
ble passage  of  this  propliecy,  which  adjourns  its  fulfilment  to  a  very  remote 
period. — "The  Irish  are-said  to  have  four  prophets,  Moling,  Braccan,  Patrick,  and 
Columb-Kille,  whose  books,  written  in  the  Irish  language,  are  still  extant ;  and 
speaking  of  this  conquest,  (by  tiie  English,)  they  all  bear  witness  that  in  after 
times  the  island  of  Ireland  will  be  polluted  with  many  conflicts,  long  strife,  and 
much  slaughter.  But  they  all  pronounce  that  the  English  shall  not  have  a  com- 
plete victory  till  but  a  very  little  before  the  day  of  judgment."  "  Omnes  testantur 
earn  crebris  conflictibus,  longoque  certamine  multa  in  posterum  tempora  multis 
caedibus  foedaturam.  Sed  vix  parum  ante  diem  judicii  plenam  Anglorum  populo 
victoriam  compomittunt." — {lb.  cap.  33.) 

*  This  Kells  manuscript  is  supposed  to  have  been  the  same  now  preserved  in 
the  library  of  Trinity  College,  Dublin,  on  the  margin  of  which  are  the  following 
words,  written  by  O'Flaherty,  in  the  year  1G77  : — "  Liber  autem  hie  scriptus  est 
maiiu  ipsius  B.  Columbaj." 

t  Ecclesiastical  History  of  Ireland,  by  the  Rev.  John  Lanigan,  D.  D. 


351 

example  excited,  that  the  religious  order  which  she  instituted  spread 
its  branches  through  every  part  of  the  country.  Taking  the  veil 
herself  at  a  very  early  age,  when,  as  we  are  told,  she  was  ch)lhe(l  in 
the  white  ijarnieMt,  and  the  white  veil  placed  upon  her  head,  she 
was  immediately  followed,  in  this  step,  by  seven  or  eight  other  young 
maidens,  who,  aitacliing  themselves  to  her  fortunes,  formed,  at  the 
first,  her  small  religions  community.*  The  pure  sanctity  of  this 
virgin's  life,  and  the  supernatural  gifts  attributed  to  her,  spread  the 
fame  she  had  acquired  more  widely  every  day,  and  crowds  of  young 
women  and  widows  applied  fm-  admission  into  her  institution.  At 
first  she  contented  herself  with  founding  establishments  for  her 
followers  in  the  respective  districts  of  which  they  were  natives;  and 
in  this  task  the  bishops  of  the  different  dioceses  appear  to  have  con- 
curred with  and  assisted  her.  But  the  increasing  nun)ber  of  those 
who  required  her  own  immediate  siqierintendence  rendered  it  neces- 
sary to  form  some  one  great  establishment,  over  which  she  should 
herself  preside  ;  and  the  |)eople  of  Leinster,  who  claimed  to  he  pecu- 
liarly entitled  to  her  presence,  from  the  illustrious  family  to  which 
she  belonged  having  l)een  natives  of  their  province,  sent  a  deputation 
to  her,  to  entreat  that  she  wonid  fix  .ursong  them  her  residence.  To 
this  request  the  saint  assented  ;  and  a  habitation  was  itiimediately 
provided  for  herself  and  her  sister  nuns,  which  formed  the  com- 
mencement both  of  her  great  monastery  and  of  the  town  or  city  of 
Kildare.  The  name  of  Kill-(lnra,f  or  Cell  of  the  Oak,  was  given  to 
the  monastery  from  a  very  hiiih  oak-tree  which  grew  near  the  spot, 
and  of  which  the  trunk  was  still  remaining  in  the  twelfth  century; 
— no  one  daring,  as  we  are  told  by  Giraldus,  to  touch  it  with  a 
knife.  The  extraordinary  veneration  in  which  St.  Brigid  was  held, 
caused  such  a  resort  of  persons  of  all  ranks  to  this  place — such 
crowds  of  penitents,  pilgrims,  and  mendicants — that  a  new  town 
sprang  up  ra])idly  around  her,  which  kept  pace  with  the  growing 
])rosperity  of  the  establishment.  The  necessity  of  providing  spiritual 
direction,  as  well  for  the  institution  itself,  as  for  the  numerous  settlers 
in  the  new  town,  led  to  the  a()pointmeiJt  of  a  bishop  of  Kildare,  with 
the  then  usual  privilege  of  presiding  over  all  the  churches  and 
communities  belonging  to  the  order  of  St.  Brigid,  throughout  the 
kingdom. 

"  Among  the  eminent  persons  who  were  in  the  habit  of  visiting 
or  corresjionding  with  this  remarkable  woman,  are  mentioned  St. 
Ailbe,  of  Emiy,  one  of  the  fathers  of  the  Irish  church,  and  the 
Welsh  author,  Gildas,  who  is  said  to  have  sent  to  St.  Brigid,  as  a 
token  of  his  regard,  a  small  hell  cast  by  himself.|     By  one  of  those 

"  The  bisliop  who  adniilled  her  into  the  number  of  Sacred  Virgins,  was  named 
Maccaile,  or  Maccaleus ;  and  the  ceremony  is  thus  described  by  her  biographer,. 
Cogitosus  : — "  Qui  (Maccaleus)  caeleste  intuens  dcsiderum  et  pudicitiam,  ettantum 
tastitatis  amorem  in  tali  virgine,  pallium  album  ct  vestem  candidam  super  ipsius 
venerabile  caput  intpnsuit." — Cap.  ',i. 

f  Ilia  jam  cella  Scotice  dicitur  Kill-flara,  Latine  vero  sonat  CcUa  Qitercus^ 
Quercus  enim  altissiina  ibi  erat,  cujus  stipes  adhuc  manet. — S.  Britrid .  Vita. 

X  A  veneration  for  small  portable  bells,  as  well  as  for  staves,  which  had  once 
belonged  to  holy  persons,  was,  in  the  time  of  Giraldus,  common  both  among  the 
laity  and  clergy.  "  Campanus  baiulas,  baculos  quoque  in  superior!  parte  camera- 
tos,  auro  et  argento  vel  eere  contectos,  aliasquo  hujusmodi  sanctorum  reliquias,  in 


352 

violations  of  chronoloo^y  not  unfrequentlj  hazarded  for  the  purpose 
of  hringin":  extraordinary  personages  toojether,  an  intimate  friend- 
ship is  supposed  to  have  existed  hetween  St.  Brijrid  and  St.  Patrick, 
and  she  is  even  said  to  have  woven,  at  the  a|(nstle's  own  request, 
the  shroud  in  which  he  was  buried.  But  with  this  imagined  inter- 
course between  the  two  saints,  the  dates  of  their  respective  hves  are 
inconsistent;  and  it  is  but  just  possible  that  Brigid  might  iiave  seen 
the  great  apostle  of  her  country,  as  she  was  a  child  of  about  twelve 
years  old  when  he  died. 

"Among"  the  miracles  and  gifts  by  which,  no  less  than  by  her 
works  of  charity  and  holiness,  the  fame  of  St.  Bridgid  and  her 
numerous  altars  was  extended,  has  always  been  mentioned,  though 
on  the  sole  authority  of  Giraldus  Cambrensis,  that  perpetual  Fire, 
at  Kildare,  over  which,  through  successive  ages,  the  holy  virgins  are 
said  to  have  kept  constant  watch  ;  and  which,  so  late  as  tlie  time  of 
Giraldus,  about  six  hundred  years  from  the  date  of  St.  Brigid,  was, 
as  he  tells  us,  still  unextinguished.  Whether  this  rite  formed  any 
part  of  the  Saint's  original  institution,*  or  is  to  be  considered  but  as 
an  innovation  of  later  times,  it  is,  at  all  events,  certain  that  at  the 
time  when  Kildare  was  founded,  the  policy  of  converting  to  the 
purposes  of  the  new  faith  those  ancient  forms  and  usages  which 
had  so  long  been  made  to  serve  as  instruments  of  error,  was  very 
generally  acted  upon  ;  and,  in  the  very  choice  of  a  site  for  St. 
Brigid's  monastery,  the  same  |)rincipal  is  manifest ;  the  old  venerable 
oak,  already  invested  with  the  solemnity  of  Druidical  associations, 
having,  in  this,  as  in  most  other  instances  of  religious  foundation, 
suggested  the  selection  of  the  spot  where  the  Christian  temple  was 
to  rise. 

"Having  lived  to  reap  the  reward  of  her  self-devotion  and  zeal, 
in  the  perfect  success  and  even  ascendency  of  the  institution  which 
she  had  founded,  St.  Brigid  closed  her  mortal  course  at  Rildare, 
about  A.  D.  525,  four  years,  it  is  calculated,  after  the  birth  of  the 
great  Columb-Kille,t  being  herself,  at  the  time  of  her  death,  about 
74  years  of  age.  The  honour  of  possessing  the  remains  of  tliis  holy 
woman  was,  for  many  centuries,  contested  not  only  bj'  different 
parts  of  Ireland,  but  likewise  by  North  Britain  ;  the  Irish  of  Ulster 

magna  revercntia  tarn  Hybernife  et  Scolice.  quam  et  Wallio?  populus  et  clerus 
habere  solent." — Itincr.  Camb.  lib.  i.  cap.  2.  The  same  writer  mentions  the  Cam- 
pana  Fngitiva  of  O'Toole,  the  chieftain  of  Wicklow  ;  and  we  are  informed  by 
Colgan  (in  Triad.)  that  whenever  St.  Patrick's  portable  bell  tolled,  as  a  preserva- 
tive against  evil  spirits  and  magicians,  it  was  heard  from  the  Giant's  Causeway 
to  Cape  Clear,  from  the  Hill  of  Howth  to  the  western  shores  of  Connemara,  "  per 
totam  Hibernian!."     See  note  on  this  subject  in  Hardman's  Irish  Minstrels,  vol.  i. 

*  Dr.  Lanigan  repels  indig-nantly  the  notion  of  Ledwich  and  others,  that  St. 
Brigid,  and  her  sister  nuns  of  Kildare,  were  '•  but  a  continuation  of  heathen  druid- 
esses,  who  preserved  from  remotest  ages  an  inextinguishable  fire."  There  is, 
however,  an  ordinance  of  Scriptural  authority,  in  which  St.  Brigid  may  liave 
found  a  sanction  for  her  shrines.  "  The  fire  upon  the  altar  (of  the  tabernacle) 
shall  be  burning  in  it,  and  shall  not  be  put  out." — Leviticus,  ch.  vi.  ver.  12.  It 
was  for  contemning  this  inextinguishable  fire,  and  using  a  profane  fire  in  its  stead, 
that  the  Levites  Nadab  and  Abihu  were  miraculously  put  to  death.  See  Dr. 
Milner's  Inquiry,  letter  11. 

+  According  to  other  accounts,  he  was  born  about  539, — "  A  date  much  earlier," 
says  Dr.  Lanigan,  "  than  that  of  Mebillon  and  others,  but  much  more  probable." 


353 

contendiii<2;  strenuously  that  she  had  been  buried,  not  at  Kildare,  but 
in  Down  ;*  while  the  Picts  as  strongly  insisted  that  Abernethy  was 
her  resting-place  ;  and  the  British  Scots,  after  annexing  the  Pictish 
territories  to  their  own,  paid  the  most  fervent  homage  to  her  sup- 
posed relics  in  that  city.  Hut  in  no  place,  except  in  Kildare,  was 
her  memory  cherished  with  such  aft'ectionate  reverence  as  in  that  seat 
of  all  saintly  worship,  the  Western  Isles;  whereto  the  patronage  of 
St.  Brigid  most  of  the  churches  were  dedicated  :  by  her  name,  one 
of  the  most  solemn  oaths  of  the  islanders  was  sworn  ;  and  the  first 
of  February,  of  every  year,  was  held  as  a  festival  in  her  honor."! 

St.  Brigid,  the  fame  of  whose  sanctity,  the  number  of  whose  mi- 
racles, and  the  lustre  of  whose  exalted  virtues  acquired  for  her  re- 
spect and  reverence,  not  only  in  her  own  country,  but  on  the  Con- 
tinent of  I^iirope,  was  born  in  the  little  town  of  Faughard,  in  the 
county  of  Louth, j  about  the  middle  of  the  fifth  century.  "  Though," 
says  the  learned  able  M'Geoghcgan,  "  she  was  the  fruit  of  a  criminal 
commerce  between  Dubtach,  a  chieftian  of  Louth,  and  a  young  girl 
whom  he  seduced  ;  God,  who  knows  how  to  draw  the  most  heroic 
virtues  from  imperfection  itself,  atoned  for  the  disgrace  of  her  birth, 
by  such  an  abundance  of  grace,  that  she  became  a  vessel  of  elec- 
tion, and  a  model  of  ])erfection.  She  and  many  more  of  her  com- 
panions received  the  veil  from  the  hands  of  Machilenus,  Bishop  and 
disciple  of  St.  Patrick.  She  then  retired  to  Kildare,  where  she  found- 
ed a  monastery,  in  a  forest  of  oaks,  which  was  the  chief  of  its  order, 
and  where  she  established  a  particular  rule.  Lnmersed  in  this 
retreat,  the  virtues  of  this  female  apostle,  though  exercised  remote 
from  the  giddy  gaze  of  the  world,  and  its  undiscriminating  applause, 
shone  forth  with  a  lustre  that  inspired  by  its  heat,  and  illuminated 
by  its  radiance.  But  the  love  of  God,  and  of  her  neighbour,  seemed 
to  be  the  jn'imiim  mobile  of  all  her  other  virtues.  This  heat  of 
divine  love  may  be  compared  to  the  fire  w hich  she  always  kept  lit  in 
her  monastery,  to  relieve  the  cold  and   the   naked  from  a  portion  of 

•^  The  claims  of  Down  to  the  possession  of  her  remains,  as  well  as  those  of  St. 
Patrick  and  St.  Columba,  are  commemorated  in  the  following  couplet,  cited  by 
Camden  : — 

"  Hi  tres  in  Duno  tumulo  tumulantur  in  uno 
Brigida,  Patricius  atque  Coluniba  pius." 

t  "  From  these  considerations,"  says  IVTacpherson,  "  we  have  reason  to  suspect 
that  the  Western  Isles  of  Scotland  were,  in  some  one  period  or  other,  during  the 
reign  of  popery,  and  perhaps  in  a  great  measure,  appropriated  to  St.  Brigid. — 
Crit.  Dissert. 

In  Gaelic,  the  name  of  Brigid,  is,  according  to  this  writer,  Bride  ;  and  by  He- 
brides, or  Eij-bridcs,  is  meant,  he  says,  the  Islands  of  Brigid. 

t  Faughard,  (or  Fasach-ard,  the  grassy  head-land,)  the  birth  place  of  St. 
Brigid,  is  situated  about  two  miles  and  a  quarter  from  the  town  of  Dundalk,  the 
capitol  of  the  county  of  Louth.  In  G3S,  we  are  informed  by  Archbishop  Usher, 
St.  Monenna  erected  here  a  convent,  to  St.  Brigid,  in  which  she  presided  over  150 
virgins.     The  present  Protestant  church  stands  on  the  site  of  the  convent. 

There  is  a  fine  Rath,  elevating  its  green  summit  to  the  height  of  sixty  feet,  here. 
Faughard  has  been  the  scene  of  memorable  events  of  Irish  history, — for  it  was 
there  Sir  John  Birmincrham  defeated  and  slew  Prince  Edward  Bruce  in  1:^10.  It 
will  also  ever  derive  celebrity  from  its  being  the  battle  field,  in  the  reign  of  Queen 
Elizabeth,  where  the  armies  of  O'Neil,  Earl  of  Tyrone,  and  of  Earl  Mount  Joy, 
the  then  Lord  Deputy  of  Ireland,  desperately  fought  and  struggled  for  victory. 
O'Neil  made  a  valiant  retreat  from  that  place  to  Newry. 
45 


354 

their  miseries.  It  was  called  the  inextinguishable  fire,  from  having 
remained  many  centuries  unextinguished ;  and  though,  on  several 
occasions,  a  great  quantity  of  wood  and  other  combustible  matter 
were  added  to  it,  tlie  ashes  were  never  increased. 

To  this  miracle  Cambrensis  bears  testimony — a  testimony  that  is 
always  given  tremulously  and  partially,  when  Ireland  can  derive  any 
honour  from  its  hesitating  concessions.  It  cannot,  therefore,  be  cre- 
dulity to  believe  in  any  thing  that  Cambrensis  admits  in  favor  of  Ire- 
land, or  its  saints." 

We  translate  into  English  the  Latin  opinion  of  Cambrensis 
(Gerald  Barry,)  on  the  subject  of  the  unextinguishable  fire,  which 
for  ages  burned  in  Rildare  abbey.  "  Many  and  signal  miracles 
performed  at  Kildare,  a  city  of  Leinster,  which  is  rendered  illus- 
trious by  the  glorious  St.  Bridgid,  are  worthy  of  being  consigned 
to  memory.  Amongst  the  first,  we  may  reckon  the  fire  of  St. 
Bidgid,  which  is  said  to  be  unextinguishable,  not  because  it  cannot  be 
extinguished,  but  because  ihe  nuns  and  holy  women  so  carefully 
nourish  and  supply  it  with  new  fuel,  that,  from  the  time  of  that  vir- 
gin, through  a  revolution  of  so  many  ages,  it  has  always  remained 
unextinguished.  And  though  so  great  a  quantity  of  wood  nmst  have 
been  here  consumed,  in  so  long  a  period,  yet  the  ashes  liave  never 
increased." 

This  saint  died  at  Kildare,  according  to  Colgan,  in  A.  D.  521. 
She  was  interred  in  the  abbey  of  Kildare ;  but  some  years  after  her 
death,  her  remains  were  deposited  in  the  grave  of  St.  Patrick  at 
Down. 

So  much  were  her  eminent  virtues  and  saintly  piety  regarded  on 
the  Continent  of  Europe,  and  so  bright  a  halo  of  praise  encircled  her 
fame  there,  that  churches  were  founded  in  honor  of  her  at  Seville, 
in  Spain — at  Lisbon,  in  Portugal — Placentia  (Italy) — at  Tours, 
Besancon,  Namur,  and  Cologne,  (where  one  of  the  principal  churches 
of  the  city  is  dedicated  to  her  name.)  A  church  was  also  dedicated 
to  her  memory  in  London.  Colgan  enumerates  sixty  religious  edi- 
fices that  were  consecrated  to  her  memory  in  the  dioceses  of  Tuam, 
Elphin,  Kildare,  Dublin  and  Lismore. 

"  It  has  been  already  observed  that  the  eminent  Irish  saint,  Co- 
lumbkill,  has  been  often  confounded,  more  especially  by  foreign  wri- 
ters, with  his  namesake,  Cohimba,  or  Columbanus,  whose  fame,  from 
the  theatre  of  his  holy  labours  having  been  chiefly  France  and  Italy, 
has,  among  the  people  of  the  Continent,  obscured  or  rather  absorb- 
ed within  its  own  light  that  of  the  apostle  of  the  Western  Isles. 
The  time  of  the  birth  of  St.  Columbanus  is  placed  about  forty  years 
later  than  that  of  Columbkill,  A.  D.  559;  and  though  not  of  royal 
extraction,  like  his  distinguished  precursor,  he  appears  to  have  been 
of  a  noble  family,  and  also  endowed  by  nature  with  what  he  himsfelf 
considered  to  be  a  perilous  gift,  personal  beauty.  In  order  to  escape 
the  dangerous  allurements  of  the  world,  he  withdrcAV  from  his  native 
province,  Leinster;  and,  after  some  time  passed  in  sacred  studies, 
resolved  to  devote  himself  to  a  monastic  life.  The  monastery  of 
Bangor,  in  Ulster,  already  celebrated  in  Ireland,  by  the  subsequent 
career  of  St.  Columbanus,  rendered  famous  throughout  all  Europe, 


355 

was  the  retreat  chosen  by  this  future  antagonist  of  pontiffs  and  kin^s  ; 
and  at  that  school  lie  remained,  under  the  discipline  of  the  pious  St. 
Congall,  for  many  years.  At  length,  longing  for  a  more  extended 
sphere  of  action,  he  resolved  to  betake  himself  to  some  foreign  land  ; 
and  having,  at  the  desire  of  the  abbot,  selected  from  among  his 
brethren,  twelve  worthy  companions,  turned  his  eyes  to  the  state  of 
the  Gauls,  or  France,  as  requiring  especially  such  a  mission  as  he 
meditated.  By  the  successive  irruptu)ns  of  the  nothern  barbarians 
into  that  country,  all  the  elements  of  civilized  life  had  been  dispers- 
ed, and  a  frightful  process  of  demoralization  was  now  rapidly  taking 
place,  to  which  a  clergy,  indolent  and  torpid,  and  often  even  inter- 
ested in  the  success  of  the  spoilers,  could  oppose  but  a  feeble  check.* 
For  a  missionary,  therefore,  like  Columbanus,  full  of  courage  in  the 
cause  of  Christ,  there  could  not  have  been  selected  a  more  inviting 
or  productive  field  of  enterprise. 

"  Proceeding  to  the  pro\ince  which  has  been  since  called  Franche 
Comte,  one  of  the  first  acts  of  his  ministry  was  to  erect  a  monastery 
on  a  spot  named  Luxeuil,  in  a  thick  part  of  the  forest,  at  the  foot  of 
the  Vosges.  From  hence  so  widely  was  the  fame  of  his  sanctity 
diffused,  and  so  great  the  concourse  of  persons,  of  all  ranks,  but 
more  especially,  as  we  are  told,  of  young  nobles,  who  came  to  profit 
by  his  instructions,  and  devote  themsehes  to  a  religious  life,  that  he 
found  it  necessary  to  establish  a  second  monastery  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood, to  which,  on  account  of  the  abundance  of  its  springs,  he 
gave  the  name  of  Fontaines.!  In  times,  however,  when  the  priest 
alone  could  present  any  effectual  countercheck  to  the  soldier,  so 
active  and  daring  a  mind  as  that  of  the  abbot  of  Luxeuil  could  not 
long  remain  uninvolvedin  public  strife  ;  and  his  courageous  frankness 
in  reproving  the  vices  of  the  young  Thierry,  king  of  Burgundy, 
drew  upon  him  the  enmity  as  well  of  that  prince  as  of  the  fierce 
vindictive  queen-dowager,  Brunehaut.  The  details  of  the  scenes 
and  transactions  in  which,  so  perilously  to  his  own  safety,  the  Irish 
saint  was  brought  into  collision  with  these  barbarian  potentates,  be- 
sides that  they  belong  more  properly  to  foreign  history,  would  usurp 
a  space,  perhaps,  disproportionate   to  their  interest.     They  will  be 

*  This  state  of  things  is  acknowledged  hy  the  saint's  biographer,  Jonas  : — "  Ubi 
tunc  vel  ob  frequentiam  hostiura  cxternorum,  vel  negligentiam  picesulum,  religio- 
nis  virtus  pene  abolita  liabebatur  ;  fides  tantum  remanebat  Christiana.  Nam  poen- 
itentias  medicanientum  et  mortiBcationis  amor  vix  vel  paucis  in  illis  reperiebatur 
locis." — S.  Culumhan  Vita. 

"  The  clergy  of  the  Roman  church,"  says  Mr.  James,  (Hist,  of  Charlemagne, 
Introduct.)  "  thickly  spread  over  every  part  of  Gaul,  without  excepting  the  domin- 
ions of  Aquitaine  and  Burgundy,  had  alreadj'  courted  the  Franks,  even  when 
governed  by  a  heathen  monarch  ;  but  now  that  he  professed  the  same  faith  with 
themselves,  they  spared  neither  exertions  nor  intrigues  to  facilitate  the  progress  of 
his  conquests." 

t  In  speaking  of  this  monastery,  the  Benedictines  say,  "Fontaines  n'est  plus 
aujourdhui  qu'un  Prieure  dependant  de  Luxeu."  On  the  latter  establishment  they 
pronounce  the  following  eulogium  : — "  Les  grands  hommes  qui  en  sortirent  en  bon 
nombre,  tant  pour  gouverner  des  eglises  entieres  que  de  simples  monasteres,  re- 
pandirent  en  tant  d'endroits  le  smaximes  salutairies  de  ce  sacre  desert  que  plusieurs 
de  nos  provinces  parurent  avoir  change  de  face.  Et  a  qui  doit  revcnir  la  prin- 
cipale  gloire  de  tous  ces  avantages,  sinon  a  leur  premier  Institeur  le  B.  Colum- 
ban  ?" 


356 

found  worthy,  however,  of  a  brief,  passing  notice,  less  as  history, 
than  as  pictures  for  the  imagination,  in  which  the  figure  of  the  stern 
but  simple  and  accomplished  missionary  stands  out  to  the  eye  with 
the  more  force  and  dignity  from  the  barbaric  glare  and  pomp  of  the 
scenes  and  personages  around  him. 

"Thus,  on  one  occasion,  when  the  queen-dowager,  seeing  him 
enter  the  royal  court,  brought  fourth  the  four  illegitimate  children 
of  king  Thierry  to  meet  him,  the  saint  emphatically  demanded  what 
they  wanted.  "  They  are  the  king's  children,"  answered  Brunehaut, 
"  and  are  come  to  ask  your  blessing." — "  These  children,"  replied 
Columbanus,  "  will  never  reign  :  they  are  the  otlspring  of  debauch- 
ery." Such  insulting  opposition  to  her  designs  for  her  grandchil- 
dren roused  all  the  rage  of  this  Jezebel,  and  orders  were  issued 
withdrawing  some  privileges  which  the  saint's  monasteries  had 
hitherto  enjoyed.  For  the  purpose  of  remonstrating  against  this 
wrong,  he  sought  the  palace  of  the  king  ;  and,  while  waiting  the  royal 
audience,  rich  viands  and  wines  were  served  up  for  his  refresh- 
ment. But  the  saint  sternly  refused  to  partake  of  them,  saying, 
"  It  is  written,  '  the  JMost  High  rejects  the  gifts  of  the  impious  ;'  nor 
is  it  fitting  that  the  mouths  of  the  servants  of  God  should  be  defiled 
with  the  viands  of  one  who  inflicts  on  them  such  indignities." 

"Another  scene  of  the  same  description  occurred  subsequently  at 
Luxeuil.  The  monastic  Rule  introduced  into  France  by  Columba- 
nus, though  afterwards  incorporated,  or  rather  confounded  with  that 
of  St.  Benedict,*  was  derived  originally  from  the  discipline  estab- 
lished at  the  monastery  of  Bangor,  in  Ireland  ;  and  one  of  the  regu- 
lations most  objected  to,  in  the  system  followed  both  at  Luxeuil  and 
Fontaines,  was  that  by  which  access  to  the  interior  of  these  monas- 
teries was  restricted.  On  this  point,  as  on  many  others,  an  attempt 
was  made,  by  the  revengeful  Brunehaut,  to  excite  a  persecution 
against  the  saint  ;  and  the  king,  envenomed  by  her  representations, 
was  induced  to  join  in  her  plans.  Resolved  to  try  the  right  of  en- 
trance in  person,  he  proceeded,  accompanied  by  a  train  of  nobles,  to 
the  monastery;  and  finding  Columbanus  himself  at  the  gate,  said  as 
he  forced  his  way  in,  "  If  you  desire  to  derive  any  benefit  from  our 
bounty,  these  places  must  be  thrown  open  to  every  comer."  He  had 
already  got  as  fav  as  the  refectory,  when,  with  a  courage  worthy  of  a 
St.  Ambrose,  Colinubanus  thus  addressed  him: — "If  you  endeavour 
to  violate  the  discipline  here  established,  know  that  I  dispense  with 
your  presents,  and  with  every  aid  that  it  is  in  your  power  to  lend  ; 
and,  if  you  now  come  hither  to  disturb  the  monasteries  of  the  ser- 
vants of  God,  I  tell  you  that  your  kingdom  shall  be  destroyed,  and 
with  it  all  your  royal  race."  The  king,  terrified,  it  is  said,  by  this 
denunciation,  immediately  withdrew. 

"A  speech  attributed  to  the  Burgundian  monarch,  on  this  occa- 
sion, betrays  no  want  either  of  tolerance  or  of  the  good  sense  from 

*  See,  for  several  instances,  in  which  the  two  rules  are  thus  confounded,  ITshcr's 
Ecclesiar.  Primord.  1050.  "  Non  quod  una  eademque  esset  utriusque  Regula  ;  sed 
quod  Columbani  scctatores,  niajoris  profectus  ergo,  duas  illas  celeberrinins  asceti- 
cae  vita;  normas  conjun.xissent,  qua;  mediis  liisce  tcniporibus  in  Italia,  Gallia,  et 
Germania  solaj  enitebant  et  apparebant." — Usstr. 


357 

which  that  virtue  springs,  "  I  perceive  you  hope,"  said  he  to  Co- 
lumhanus,  "tliat  I  shall  give  you  the  crown  of  martyrdom  ;  hut  I  am 
not  so  unwise  as  to  commit  so  heinous  a  crime.  As  your  system, 
however,  differs  from  that  of  all  other  times,  it  is  hut  right  that  you 
should  return  to  the  place  from  whence  you  came."  Such  a  sug- 
gestion, from  royal  lips,  was  a  command  ;  but  the  noble  Scot  was 
not  so  easily  to  be  separated  either  from  the  companions  who  had 
followed  his  fortunes  from  home,  or  those  friendships  he  had  formed 
in  a  strange  land.  "  If  they  would  have  me  depart,"  said  he,  "they 
must  drag  me  from  the  cloister  by  force  :" — and  to  these  violent 
means  it  was  found  necessary,  at  last,  to  have  recourse ;  a  party  of 
soldiers  having  been  ordered  by  his  royal  persecutors  to  proceed  to 
Luxeuil,  and  drive  him  from  the  monastery.  The  whole  of  the 
brotherhood  expressed  their  readiness  to  follow  their  abbot  to  any 
part  of  the  world;  hut  none  were  allowed  to  accompany  him  except 
his  own  countrymen,  and  such  few  Britons  as  had  attached  them- 
selves to  the  community.  A  corps  of  guards  was  sent  to  escort  them 
on  their  route  towards  Ireland,  and  it  was  to  the  commander  of  this 
escort,  that,  on  their  arrival  at  Auxerre,  Columbanus  pronounced 
that  terrible  prediction,  as  it  has  been  called,  of  the  union  of  all  the 
crowns  of  France  on  the  single  head  of  Clotaire  : — "Remember 
what  I  now  tell  you,"  said  the  intrepid  monk;  "that  very  Clotaire 
whom  ye  now  despise  will,  in  three  years'  time,  be  your  master." 

"  On  the  arrival  of  the  saint  and  his  companions  at  Nantes,  where 
it  was  meant  to  embark  them  for  Ireland,  a  fortunate  accident  oc- 
cured  to  prevent  the  voyage ;  and  he  was  still  reserved  for  those  fur- 
ther toils  in  foreign  lands  to  which  he  had  felt  himself  called.  Being 
now  free  to  pursue  his  own  course,  he  visited  successively  the  courts 
of  Clotaire  and  Theodobert,  by  both  of  whom  he  was  received  with 
marked  distinction,  and  even  consulted  on  matters  vital  to  the  inter- 
ests of  iiis  kingdom  by  Clotaire.  After  an  active  course  of  mission- 
ary labours  throuiiiiout  various  parts  of  France  and  Germany,  the 
saint,  fearful  of  again  falling  into  the  hands  of  his  persecutors, 
Brunehaut  and  Thierry,  whose  powers  of  mischief  their  late  successes 
had  much  strengthened,  resolved  to  pass  with  his  faithful  compan- 
ions into  Italy;  and,  arriving  at  IMilan,  at  the  court  of  Agilulph, 
king  of  the  Lombards,  received  from  that  sovereign  and  his  distin- 
guished (lueen,  Theodelinda,  the  most  cordial  attentions. 

"  It  is  supposed  to  have  been  during  his  stay  at  IMilan  that  Colum- 
banus addressed  that  spirited  letter  to  Boniface  IV.,  respecting  the 
question  of  the  Three  Chapters,  in  which,  distinguishing  between  the 
Chair  of  Rome  and  the  individual  who  may,  for  the  moment,  occu- 
py it,  he  shows  how  compatible  may  be  the  most  profound  and  im- 
plicit reverence  towards  the  papacy,  with  a  tone  of  stern  and  uncom- 
promising reprehension  towards  the  pope.  Tiie  decision  of  the 
Fifth  General  Council,  held  in  the  year  553,  which  condemned  the 
writings  known  by  the  name  of  the  Three  Chapters,  as  heterodox, 
had  met  with  considerable  opposition  from  many  of  the  Western 
bishops;  and  those  of  Ilistria  and  Liguria  were  the  most  obstinate 
in  their  schism.  The  queen  Theodelinda,  who  had  so  much  distin- 
guished herself  in   the   earlier  ])art  of  her  reign  by  the  vigour  with 


358 

which  she  liad  freed  her  kingdom  from  the  inroads  of  Arianism,  had, 
not  many  years  before  the  arrival  of  Columbanus  at  Milan,  awakened 
the  alarm  of  the  Roman  court  by  treating  with  marked  favour  and 
encouragement  the  schismatic  bishops  of  Histria ;  and  it  was  only 
by  a  course  of  skilful  management  that  St.  Gregory  averted  the 
danger,  or  succeeded  in  drawing  back  this  princess  to  her  former 
union  with  the  church.  It  would  appear,  however,  that,  after  the 
death  of  that  great  pope,  the  Lombard  court  had  again  fallen  off 
into  schism  ; — for  it  was  confessedly  at  the  strong  instance  of  Agi- 
lulph  himself,  that  Columbanus  addressed  his  expostulatory  letter  to 
pope  Boniface  ;*  and  the  views  which  he  takes  of  the  question  in  tliat 
remarkable  document,  are,  for  the  most  part,  those  of  the  schismat- 
ics or  defenders  of  the  Three  Chapters.  Setting  aside,  however,  all 
consideration  of  the  saint's  orthodoxy  on  this  point,!  his  letter  can- 
not but  be  allowed  the  praise  of  unshrinking  manliness  and  vigour. 
Addressing  Boniface  himself  in  no  very  complaisant  terms,  he 
speaks  of  his  predecessor,  pope  Vigilus,  with  bitter,  and,  in  some 
respects,  deserved  reproach;  declaring  that  pope  to  have  been  the 
prime  mover  of  all  the  scandal  that  had  occurred. I  With  na- 
tional warmth,  too,  he  boldly  vindicates  the  perfect  orthodoxy  of 
his  fellow-countrymen,  the  Irish,  assuring  Boniface  that  they  had 
never  yet  swerved  from  the  apostolic  doctrines  delivered  to  them  by 
Rome ;  and  that  there  had  never  been  among  them  any  heretics, 
Jews,  or  schismatics."^ 

"  Having  received  permission  from  king  Agilulph  to  fix  himself  in 
whatever  part  of  the  Lombard  dominions  he  should  think  fit,  Co- 
lumbanus selected  a  retired  spot  amidst  the  Apennines  ;  and,  founding 
there  the  monastery  of  Bobbio,  passed  in  that  retreat  the  brief  re- 
mainder of  his  days;  dying  on  the  21st  of  November,  A.  D.  GI5.|| 

*  Among  other  passages,  to  this  purport,  in  his  letter,  is  the  following: — "A 
rege  cogor  ut  sigillatim  suggeram  tuis  piis  auribus  sui  negotium  doloris.  Dolor 
namque  suus  est  schisma  populi  pro  regina,  pro  filio,  forte  et  pro  se  ipso." 

t  The  Benedictines  thus  account  for  the  part  which  he  look  on  this  question  : — 
"  St.  Columban,  au  reste,  ne  parle  de  la  sorte  dans  cette  lettre  que  parcequ'il  etait 
mal  instruit  de  la  grande  affaire  des  Trois  Chapitres;  et  qu'il  avait  ete  sans  doute 
prevenu  a  ce  sujet  par  Agilulfe,  qui  s'en  etait  declare  le  fauteur,  et  pcut-etre  par 
quelques  uns  des  schismatiques  de  Lombardie." — Hist.  Litt.  de  la  France,  torn.  iv. 

A  letter  of  Pope  Gregory,  on  the  subject  of  this  now-forgotten  controversy,  has 
been  erroneously  supposed  to  have  been  addressed  to  tlie  Irish  : — Gregorins  uni- 
versis  Episcopis  ad  Hiberniam,"  as  the  epistle  is  headed  in  some  old  editions  of 
Gregory's  works.  But  it  is  plain  that  "  Hiberniam"  has  been  substituted,  by  mis- 
take, for  "  Histriam,"  in  which  latter  country  the  schism  on  this  point  chiefly 
raged.     See  Dr.  Lanigan,  chap.  13,  note  57. 

t  Vigila,  quia  forte  non  bene  vigilavit  Vigilius,  quern  caput  scandali  ipsi 
clamant. 

§  NuUus  haereticus,  nullus  Judaeus,  nullus  schismaticus  fuit :  sed  fides  catholica, 
sicut  a  vobis  prinium,  sanctorum  scilicet  apostolorum  succcssoribus,  tradita  est, 
inconcussa  tenetur. 

II  Among  the  poetical  remains  of  Columbanus  are  some  verses  of  no  inconside- 
rable merit,  in  which  he  mentions  his  having  then  reached  the  years  of  an  eighteenth 
Olympiad.  The  poem  is  addressed  to  his  friend  Fedolius,  and  concludes  as 
follows : — 

"  Ha?c  tibi  dictaram  morbis  oppressus  acerbis 
Corpore  quos  fragili  patior,  tristique  senecta  ! 
,  Nam  dum  prcecipiti  labuntur  tempora  cursu, 


359 

"  The  various  countries  and  places  with  which  the  name  of  this 
^reat  saint  is  connected,  have  multipMed  his  lasting  titles  to  fame. 
While  Ireland  boasts  of  his  birth,  and  of  having  sent  forth,  before 
the  close  of  the  sixth  century,  so  accomplished  a  writer  from  her 
schools,  France  remembers  him  by  her  ancient  abbeys  of  Luxeuil 
and  Fontaines  ;  and  his  fame  in  Italy  still  lives,  not  only  in  the 
cherished  relics  of  Bobbio — in  the  cotfin,  the  chalice,  the  holly,  staff" 
of  the  founder,  and  the  strange  sight  of  an  Irish  missal  in  a  foreign 
land* — but  in  the  yet  fresher  and  more  every-day  remembrance  be- 
stowed upon  his  name  by  its  association  with  the  beautifully  situated 
town  of  San  Coiumbano,  in  the  territory  of  Lodi. 

"The  writings  of  this  eminent  man  that  have  come  down  to  us 
display  an  extensive  and  varied  acfjuaintance,  not  merely  with  ec- 
clesiastical, but  with  classical  literature.  From  a  passage  in  his 
letter  to  Boniface,  it  appears  that  he  was  acquainted  both  with  the 
Greek  and  Hebrew  languages;  and  when  it  is  recollected  that  he 
did  not  leave  Ireland  till  he  was  nearly  fifty  years  of  age,  and  that 
his  life  afterwards  was  one  of  constant  activity  and  adventure,  the 
conclusion  is  obvious,  that  all  this  knowledge  of  elegant  literature 
must  have  been  acquired  in  the  schools  of  his  own  country.  Such 
a  result  from  a  purely  Irish  education,  in  the  middle  of  the  sixth  cen- 
tury, is,  it  must  be  owned,  not  a  little  remarkable. t  Among  his  extant 
works  are  some  Latin  poems,  which,  though  not  admissible,  of  course, 
to  the  honours  of  comparison  with  any  of  the  writings  of  a  classic  age, 
shine  out  in  this  twilight  period  of  Latin  literature  with  no  ordinary 
distinction. t  Though  wanting  the  free  and  fluent  versification  of  his 
contemporary  Fortunatus,  he  displays  more  energy  both  of  thoujjht 
and  style  ;  and,  in  the  becoming  gravity  of  his  subjects,  is  distinguish- 
ed honourably  from  the  episcopal  poet.<^     In  his  prose  writings,  the 

Nunc  ad  Olyrapiadis  ter  senos  venimus  annos. 
Omnia  prajtereunt,  fugit  irreparabile  tempus. 
Vive,  vale  laetiis,  tristisque  memento  senectce." 

*  Dr.  O'Connor  supposes  this  missal  to  have  been  brought  from  Luxeuil  to 
Bobbio  by  some  followers  of  St.  Columbanus  : — "  Ad  horum  vagantium  (episcopor- 
um)  usum,  codicem  de  quo  agimus  exaratum  fuisse  vel  inde  patet,  quod  fuerit 
Misale  portabile,  quod  allatum  fueritseculo  viimo,  ex  Hibernorum  monasterio 
Luxoviense  in  Gallia,  ad  Hibernorum  monasterium  Bobiense  in  Alpibus  Cottiis." — 
Ep.  JVunc. 

\  La  Lumiere  que  S.  Columban  repandit  par  son  scavoir  et  sa  doctrine  dans 
tous  les  lieux  ou  il  se  montra  I'a  fait  comparer  par  un  ecrivain  du  meme  siecle  au 
soleil  dans  sa  course  de  I'orient  a  I'occident.  11  continua,  apres  sa  mort,  de  briller 
dans  plusieurs  disciples  qu'il  avait  formes  aux  lettres  et  a  la  piete." — Hist.  Lilt.dc 
la  France. 

The  same  learned  writers,  in  speaking  of  the  letters  of  St.  Columbanus  still  ex- 
tant, say, — "  On  a  peu  de  monuments  des  vi.  et  vii.  siecles  ou  Ton  trouve  plus  d"er- 
udition  ecclesiaslique  qu'il  y  en  a  dans  les  cinque  lettres  dont  on  vient  de  rendre 
compte." 

t  On  voit  effectivement  par  la  lecture  de  son  poeme  a  Fedolius  en  particulier, 
qu'il  possedait  I'historie  et  la  fable.  Quoique  sa  versification  soit  bien  eloignce  de 
la  perfection  dc  celle  des  anciens,  elle  ne  laissie  pas  noanmoins  d'avoir  son  nicrite  ; 
et  Ton  peut  assurer  qu'il  y  a  peu  de  poetes  de  son  temps  qui  aient  mieux  reussi  a 
faire  des  vers." — Hist.  Litt.,  &,~c.  par  des  Rcligieux  Benedictines. 

§  Those  who  are  at  all  acquainted  with  the  verses  of  this  bisliop,  written,  most  of 
them,  "  inter  pocula," — as  he  himself  avows,  in  his  Dedicatory  Epistle  to  Pope 
Gregory, — will  be  inclined  to  agree  that  it  was  not  difficult  to  surpass  him  in 
decorum. 


360 

style  of  Columbanus  is  somewhat  stift'and  inflated  ;  more  especially 
in  the  letters  addressed  by  hiin  to  high  dignitaries  of  the  church, 
where  the  eflort  to  elevate  and  give  force  to  his  diction  is  often  too 
visible  to  be  elective.  In  the  moral  instructions,  however,  written 
for  his  monks,  the  tone  both  of  style  and  thought,  is,  for  the  most 
part,  easy  and  unpretending." 


CHAPTER  LII. 

'The  joint  reign  of  Huoh- Slainc  and  ColmoM, — succeeded  hy  Hugh  Luriodnach. — Ma- 
olcolha-  Clearach  becomes  possessed  of  the  Irish  crown. — His  resignation. — Elec- 
tion of  Suibhrc  Mean. — He  is  defeated  by  Daniel ,  who  succeeds  him. —  War  with 
Cobnan,  King  of  Ulster. — St.  Fcchin,  Cunnall  Claon,  and  his  brother  CeaHach, 
joint  vwnarchs. — Defeated  bij  Dennod  and  Blathmac  rrho  ascend  the  throne. — A 
fatal  plague  in  Ireland. —  The  election  of  Scachnach. —  Ulster  invaded  by  the  Picts. 
— Kinfoaladh  succeeds. — Second  invasion  of  the  Picts. — Fionachta  is  declared 
Monarch  of  Ireland ;  tcho  is  siiccceded  by  Loingseaach,  and  is  slain  in  battle. 
A.  D.  GOO,  and  698. 

The  monarch  Aodh  was  succeeded  by  Aodh-slaine,  the  grandson 
of  Connall;  but  whether  by  the  election  of  the  national  estates,  or  by 
the  force  of  the  sword,  is  not  stated  by  our  historians. 

We  suppose  that  Colman  Rinihidh,  whom  he  associated  with  him 
on  the  throne,  assisted  him  in  ascending  it.  Colman  was  the  grand- 
son of  King  Murtough,  whose  history  we  have  already  narrated. 
We  are  informed  by  the  Annals  of  the  Four  Masters  that,  in  conse- 
quence of  some  difference  which  Colman's  son,  Suine,  had,  with 
Aodh,  that  the  latter  slew  the  former.  To  revenge  the  death  of  his 
brother,  Connall,  the  son  of  Colman,  assassinated  the  monarch.  Col- 
man did  not  long  survive  his  regal  companion  ;  for,  in  the  year  000, 
he  fell  under  the  sword  of  an  assassin.  As  his  successor,  the  na- 
tional estates  elected  Aodh  Uariodnach,  an  appellation  bestowed 
upon  him,  because  he  was  subject,  periodically,  to  be  afflicted  by  a 
violent  pain  in  the  side.  He  was  the  grandson  of  the  monarch 
Murtough,  and  he,  according  to  the  testimony  of  the  Irish  historians, 
was  gifted  with  superior  mental  endowments,  and  other  qualifications 
fitted  to  shed  lustre  on  the  character  of  a  prince.  He  had  not  long 
worn  the  diadem,  when  Angus,  the  son  of  Colman,  and  Connall,  the 
son  of  Aodh-Slaine,  made  an  attempt  to  tear  it  from  his  brow,  by 
entering  into  a  conspiracy,  and  fomenting  a  revolt.  To  cru.sh  this 
insurrection,  the  monarch,  at  the  head  of  an  army,  advanced  to 
Odder,  where,  the  rebels  had  encamped,  and  attacked  them  with 
such  vigour,  that  they  were  annihilated,  and  their  two  chiefs  slain.* 

"  The  Odder  is  a  small  hamlet  town,  situated  in  tlie  barony  of  Skryne,  coun- 
ty of  Meath,  at  the  distance  of  two  miles  south  of  Tara.  The  Barnwali  family 
founded  a  nunnery  there,  dedicated  to  St.  Brigid,  in  A.  D.  1180,  for  reg- 
ular Canonesses,  belonging  to  the  order  of  St.  Augustine.  Pope  Celes- 
tine  III.,  in  \\i)o,  on  being  made  acquainted  with  the  piety,  exemplary   conduct 


361 

But  scarcely  had  the  monarch  returned  to  his  pahice,  to  celebrate 
his  triumph,  ere  another  rebel,  Maolcobha,  Clearach  (or  the  church- 
man) hoisted  the  standard  of  revolt,  which  called  Aodh  again  into 
the  field.  The  contending  parties  came  to  an  engagement  on  the 
\)\innso^  Da-Fcorta,  where,  after  a  desperate  struggle,  the  monarch 
was  defeated  and  slain,  in  A.  U.  GOG.  Of  the  conqueror,  M'Dermott, 
in  his  excellent  history  of  Ireland,  writes,  "the  appellation  o^  Clear- 
ach was  probably  given  to  this  prince,  because  he  was  educated  for 
the  church.  By  the  death  of  Aodh,  he  exalted  himself  to  that  seat 
of  turbulent  power,  which  he  preferred  to  the  milder  sway  and  chaster 
happiness  of  religion. 

He  reigned  three  years.  Some  authorities  say,  that  he  fell,  at  the 
end  of  this  period,  by  the  sword  of  Suibhre,  his  successor  ;  but 
others  assert,  that  he  resigned  the  sovereign  power  to  liis  successor, 
and  passed  the  remainder  of  his  days  in  the  service  of  that  church 
for  which  he  was  first  intended. 

This  account  I  am  inclined  to  credit ;  for,  he  who  has  once  felt 
and  indulged  the  sweets  of  religious  impressions,  will  feel  but  a 
weak  recompense  in  exchanging  tliem  for  the  glitter  of  royalty — a 
glitter  that  is  perpetually  overcast  by  the  fears  and  anxieties  with 
which  it  is  surrounded." 

Suibhre  Mean,  the  son  of  Fiacha,  of  the  royal  dynasty  of  Hy- 
Nial  was  invested  with  the  regal  purple,  which  he  had  not  long  worn, 
before  Daniel,  the  brother  of  Maolcobha,  lighted  up  the  torches  of 
rebellion  and  disaflection. 

In  the  commencement  of  Daniel's  insurrection,  the  monarch  de- 
feated his  forces  in  two  or  three  battles ;  but  the  aspirant  to  the 
throne,  determined  to  succeed  in  his  purpose,  was  so  fortunate  as  to 
form  an  alliance  with  Seangall,  King  of  L  Ister,  who  sent  to  his 
assistance  an  army  of  18,000,  under  the  command  of  his  son  Connall. 
Thus,  reinforced,  he  waged  battle  with  the  monarch,  at  Fraigh- 
breene,  where  he  gained  a  decisive  victory,  and  killed  Suibhre  with 
his  own  hand,  in  A.  D.  623. 

Daniel  ascended  the  throne,  but  not  with  the  wishes  of  the  Irish 
people,  because  he  waded  to  it  through  a  sea  of  blood;  and  yet,  strange 
to  tell,  some  of  our  historians  have  represented  him,  as  "  a  prince  of 
great  piety,  charity,  and  mortifications."  His  reign  was  short:  for 
his  old  friend  of  Ulster,  Connall,  envying  his  power,  and  arrogat- 
ing to  his  father's  troops  and  his  own  prowess,  the  cause  of  placing 
Daniel  on  the  throne,  he  resolved  to  hurl  him  from  that  eminence  of 
royalty  to  which  he  had  helped  to  raise  him.  Connall,  after  setting 
forth  in  a  manifesto,  his  pretensions  to  the  supreme  sceptre  of  Ire- 
land, raised  a  large  army,  at  the  head  of  which  he  marched  towards 
Meath ;  but  was  met  by  the  monarch,  at  a  place  called  Maigh- 
Raith,  on  the  borders  of  the  counties  of  Louth  and  Meath,  where  a 

and  charity  whicli  distinguished  the  friars  and  ngns  of  that  convent,  transmitted 
to  the  Bishop  of  Meatli,  a  bull  confirming  tiiem  in  all  their  possessions,  and 
approving  of  their  rules.  By  letters  patent,  issued  under  the  royal  seal  of  King 
Henry  V.  in  1418,  the  Prior  of  Louth  was  invested  with  the  power  of  nominating 
the  abbess  of  that  nunnery. 
46 


362 

bloody  battle  took  place,  in  which  the  Ultonians  were  totally  defeat- 
ed, and  their  prince,  Connall,  slain. 

In  the  pride  and  power  of  victory,  the  monarch  forcibly  seized 
upon  several  territories,  that  had  been  long  possessed  by  the  descen- 
dants of  Nial  the  Great,  in  the  counties  of  Meath,  Louth,  and  Mona- 
ghan.  The  chiefs  of  the  Hy-Nials,  at  that  juncture,  were  the  sons 
of  Aodh-Slaine,  who,  not  being  able  to  oppose  the  aggressive  inva- 
sion of  the  monarch,  entreated  the  intercession  of  their  kinsman,  St. 
Fechin,  the  abbot  of  Fore,  in  the  county  of  Westmeath. 

In  compliance  with  their  request,  the  saint  waited  on  the  Ring, 
and  remonstrated  with  him  on  his  arbitrary  conduct  to  the  posterity 
of  the  "  hero  of  the  nine  hostages;"  but  his  expostulation  and  en- 
treaties could  not  move  the  mind  of  the  monarch  from  the  path  of 
despotism  to  that  of  justice.  Finding  the  King  inexorable,  and  not 
to  be  diverted  from  his  oppressive  acts,  the  saint,  on  taking  his  leave, 
denounced  the  tyranny  of  Daniel,  and  threatened  him  with  the  ven- 
geance of  heaven. 

"  The  following  night,"  writes  M'Dermott,  "a  great  fall  of  snow 
was  interpiCted  by  the  imperial  troops  into  a  certain  prognostication 
of  the  vengeance  of  heaven  ;  but  an  aurora  borealis,  which  soon 
after  appeared,  completed  their  fears,  so  that  the  panic  became 
general.  Daniel,  whether  he  ascribed  these  appearances  to  natural 
or  supernatural  causes,  knew,  at  least,  that,  with  regard  to  him,  it 
mattered  not  which  ;  and,  therefore,  found  it  necessary  to  make 
peace  with  tiie  enemy,  as  his  soldiers  would  not  lift  a  hand  in  his 
cause.  The  articles  of  reconciliation  were  soon  agreed  upon  be- 
tween him  and  the  Hy-Nial  chiefs ;  but  the  offended  saint  would  not 
be  so  easily  appeased,  so  that  the  monarch  was  obliged  to  make  a 
journey  to  Fore  abbey,  and  to  submit  to  the  most  humiliating  abase- 
ment before  he  obtained  his  forgiveness.  During  the  last  eighteen 
months  of  his  reign,  the  monarch  was  confined  to  his  bed.  In  this 
state  of  debility  he  employed  himself  in  prayers  and  pious  medita- 
tions, till  death  relieved  him  from  his  sufferings,  on  the  last  day  of 
January,  A.  D.  G39." 

Daniel  was  succeeded  by  Claoii,  the  son  of  Maolcobha,  who,  for 
some  reason,  unexplained  by  our  historians,  associated  with  him,  on 
the  throne,  his  brother,  Ceallach. 

Early  in  their  reign,  a  war  was  waged  by  the  Egonachts  of  Muns- 
ter,  and  the  southern  Hy-Nials.  The  cause  of  this  war  arose  from  a 
jealousy  that  was  excited  between  St.  Cartagh,  the  first  bishop  of 
Lismore,  and  the  monks  of  Dunshaghlin,*  in  consequence  of  the 
saint  having,  while  on  a  pilgrimage  in  Meath,  erected  an  abbey  at 
Rathkenny,  near  Navan.  The  piety,  learning,  and  discipline,  which 
gave  so  much  fame  to  the  friars  of  this  abbey,  aroused  the  envy  and 
enmity  of  the  monks  of  Dunshaghlin,  who  applied  to  Blathmac,  the 

*  Dunshaghlin  is  a  pretty  little  village,  situated  in  the  barony  of  Ratoath,  in 
the  county  of  Meath,  at  the  distance  of  fourteen  Irish  miles  from  Dublin.  In 
A.  D.  439,  St.  Seachlin  caused  a  church  and  an  abbey  to  be  built  there.  The  saint 
died  in  November,  448,  and  was  interred  in  the  abbey,  which  is  now  a  pile  of 
venerable  ruins. 

The  country  around  Dunshaghlin  is  highly  cultivated,  and  rich  in  pictuiesque 
representations. 


363 

proprietor  of  Rathkenney  to  eject  St.  Cartagh  and  his  monks  from 
their  establishment.  Blathmac  acceded  to  their  request,  and  ex- 
pelled the  saint  and  his  brethren  from  their  house.  The  Muiister 
princes,  resenting  the  indignity  offered  to  the  saint,  who  was  of  the 
family  of  O'Connor  Kerry,  marched,  at  the  head  of  an  army,  into 
Meath  to  punish  Blathmac  for  the  insult  offered  to  the  saintly  bishop, 
as  well  as  his  breach  of  hospitality. 

The  contending  belligerents  came  to  an  engagement,  at  a  place 
called  Carnconuil,  in  which,  after  a  brave  struggle,  Cuan,  the  son 
of  Amhalgaid,  king  of  Munster — Cuan  of  the  race  of  Finghin,  or 
O'Sullivan — and  the  prince  of  Mi-Liathan,  were  slain,  and  their 
forces  annihilated.  The  two  victorious  brothers  flushed  with  the 
pride  and  ambition  with  which  this  victory  elated  them,  came  to  the 
determination  of  making  war  on  the  monarch  of  Ireland,  in  the  hope 
of  wresting  the  diadem  from  his  brow.  Their  resolution  was  strength- 
ened by  the  death  of  Ceallach,  the  brother  of  the  monarch,  Connall, 
who  had,  shortly  after  their  late  victory,  been  drowned  near  Trim, 
in  the  river  Boyne.  At  the  head  of  a  numerous  army,  they  march- 
ed into  IMealh,  and  attacked  the  forces  of  Connall ;  obtained  a  signal 
victory  over  them,  and  slew  the  king  in  the  battle.  This  conflict 
took  place  in  A.  D.  G5G.  The  victors  ascended  the  Irish  throne. 
"In  their  reign,"  writes  M'Dermott,  "an  invasion  took  place  from 
Britain,  and  a  battle  was  fought  at  Pancti,  where  the  greater  part 
of  the  invading  army  was  slain  in  the  engagement  with  their  com- 
mander in  chief  and  thirty  principal  officers.  But  though  the  Irish 
nation  had  thus  warded  ofl' the  threats  of  foreign  power,  they  were 
threatened  with  a  more  dangerous  visitation  from  the  j)lagne — an 
enemy  that  would  neither  be  subdued  by  power,  nor  softened  by 
entreaty. 

Numbers  were  swept  off  by  its  fatal  virus,  and  the  whole  kingdom 
was  menaced  with  desolation  ;  nor  did  the  monarchs  themselves 
escape.  It  was  called  the  "  bhiddhe  chomdl,''''  or  yellow  plague,  as 
all  who  were  attacked  by  it,  appeared  jaundiced. 

This  plague  is  spoken  of  by  Bede,  but  it  would  appear  from  his 
account  of  it,  that  it  readied  Ireland  from  Britain,  while  our  iviss. 
give  room  to  think  that  it  first  raged  in  Ireland,  and  afterwards 
passed  over  to  Britain." 

The  contemporary  provincial  kings  who  swayed  their  power  dur- 
ing the  joint  reign  of  I31athmac  and  Dermod,  were  the  following: — 
In  Munster  the  sceptre  was  wielded  by  Feardonilmarli  or  Ferdinand, 
the  son  of  Dioma  ;  and  Amhalgaid,  of  the  Eugenian  line,  exercised 
the  sovereignty  of  South  Munster.  Cuan,  to  whom  we  before  alluded, 
as  fallen  in  the  battle  of  Carnconuil,  was  the  son  of  the  prince  of 
South  Munster,  who  was  succeeded  on  the  throne  by  his  grandson, 
Aimleadha.  At  the  same  period,  Fiachna  held  the  reins  of  princely 
power  in  Ulster,  Ronan,  the  son  of  Colman,  in  Leinster  ;  and  in 
Connaught,  Ragallarh,  the  son  of  Uutach.  In  Scotland,  the  Irish 
prince  Eocha,  occupied  the  throne. 

After  the  death  of  the  monarch,  Blathmac,  his  son  Seachnach 
was  crowned  king  of  Ireland.  Shortly  after  his  succession  to  the 
throne  of  Ireland,  the  Picts  invaded  Ulster,  through  which  province 
they  carried  rapine  and  devastation.     But  their  destructive  progress 


3«M 

was  at  length  arrested  by  the  Irish,  who  attacked  them  at  Feirt, 
county  of  Armagh,  and  ojjtained  so  dear-bought  a  victory  over  them, 
that  the  greater  part  of  the  Irish  forces  fell  in  the  sanguinary  field. 
The  defeated  and  discomfited  remains  of  the  Picts  fled  to  their  ships, 
and  hastily  bore  away  for  their  own  country.  "  We  are  not  inform- 
ed," says  M'Dermott,  "who  commanded  the  Irish  army  in  this  en- 
gagement, whence  I  am  inclined  to  think,  that  only  a  small  party  of 
the  Picts  made  a  descent  to  plunder  some  particular  district,  instead 
of  invading  the  country  with  a  powerful  army,  as  Dr.  O'Halloran 
would  have  it.  The  cause  he  assigns  for  this  powerful  invasion  is 
utterly  improbable — namely  to  weaken  the  Caledonian  Irish,  whose 
settlements  were  continually  extending  in  Scotland,  from  the  sup- 
port which  they  received  from  their  allies  in  Ulster.  The  Picts  must 
have  been  blind  indeed,  to  all  sound  policy,  not  to  perceive,  that  a 
powerful  army  would  be  better  employed  in  rooting  out  of  the  coun- 
try the  Irish  settlers,  against  whom  they  might  have  some  hopes  of 
success,  than  in  wasting  it  against  the  force  of  an  entire  nation,  to 
whose  assistance  alone  the  Irish  Dalriada  were  enabled  to  keep 
their  ground  in  Scotland.  They  could  have  little  hopes  of  success 
against  Ireland,  if  they  were  unable  to  cope  with  a  few  Irish  settlers 
in  their  own  country.  Soon  after  this  engagement,  though  it  does 
not  appear  that  he  was  concerned  in  it,  his  brother,  Rinfoaladh,  was 
elected  monarch.  During  the  early  part  of  his  reign,  the  Picts 
made  another  descent  on  the  northern  coast  of  Ireland,  where  they 
committed  the  most  licentious  excesses.  They  ravaged  and  robbed 
the  abbey  of  Bangor,  in  the  county  of  Down,  and  slew,  it  is  said,  a 
thousand  monks.  Scarcely  had  the  Picts  been  expelled  from  Ulster, 
ere  Prince  Fionachta,  a  daring  chief,  revolted  against  the  monarch, 
and  raised  a  formidable  army  which  he  led  towards  the  royal 
residence.  King  Kinfoaladh  mustered  all  his  force,  and  marched 
towards  his  enemy.  They  came  to  battle  ;  the  result  of  which,  was 
the  defeat  of  the  royal  army,  and  the  death  of  the  monarch.  The 
victor  Fionachta,  consequently  obtained  the  crown.  As  soon  as  he 
mounted  the  throne,  he  determined  to  exact  by  force  of  arms,  the 
Boroihnc,  or  Leinster  tribute. 

The  people  of  Leinster  feeling  justly  indignant  at  the  iniquitous 
demand  of  the  monarch,  resolved  to  resist  it.  They  collected  a  large 
force,  with  which  they  opposed  the  despotic  claims  of  the  king. 
A  battle  took  place  near  Kells,  in  the  county  of  ]Meath,  in  which  the 
king's  forces  were  completely  defeated.  "In  this  age,"  writes 
M'Dermott,  "  not  only  in  Ireland,  but  over  the  greater  part  of  Eu- 
rope, the  weak  had  no  security  against  the  lawless  hand  of  tyranny 
and  oppression,  but  in  the  protection  of  the  clergy,  to  whose  voices 
even  despots  and  tyrants  were  generally  obsequious.  Scachnach 
fell  by  the  sword  of  Dubh-Duin  of  Aneoil  Cairbre,  A.  D.  674." 

At  this  juncture,  St.  Moling,  Bishop  of  Ferns,*  possessed  great  in- 
fluence  arising   from    his   piety,  learning,  and   exemplary  conduct ; 

*  Ferns,  in  the  county  of  Wexford,  tliough  now  a  decayed  village  was,  for 
ages,  the  royal  residence  of  tlie  kings  of  Leinster.  The  first  bishop  of  the  see 
was  St.  Edan,  who  flourished  in  the  sixth  century.  In  a  future  note  we  will 
give  a  more  comprehensive  de.scription  of  Ferns. 


365 

and  in  order  to  prevent  the  repetition  of  the  tragic  occurrences  to 
which  the  exaction  of  the  Leinster  trihute  gave  birth,  he,  accompani- 
ed by  all  his  clergy,  repaired  to  the  camp  of  the  monarch  and  re- 
monstrated with  him  on  the  aggression  and  injustice  of  his  enforcing 
the  payment  of  so  oppressive  a  tax.  "  Tiie  monarch,"  says  one  of 
our  historians,  "  who  was  a  prince  of  great  piety,  acknowledged  the 
justice  of  the  saint's  appeal,  and  declared  that  the  Lagenians  should 
be  thenceforth  exonerated  from  the  payment  of  the  tribute.  Shortly 
after  he  formed  a  resolution  of  abdicating  the  throne,  and  assuming 
the  monastic  habit,  but  he  was  persuaded  to  relinquish  this  design, 
and  to  enter  into  a  religious  confraternity,  by  which  he,  at  once,  pre- 
served the  crown,  and  indulged  his  propensity  for  religious  exercises. 
The  kingdom,  however,  derived  no  advantage  from  the  virtues  and 
moderation  of  the  monarch.  The  Welsh,  taking  an  advantage  of  his 
aversion  for  war,  invaded  tiie  country,  A.  D.  6S2  ;  and  before  a  suffi- 
cient force  could  be  collected,  they  destroyed  and  plundered  several 
churches  and  monasteries,  and  succeeded  in  carrying  off  their  booty 
with  impunity.  Two  years  after,  the  Northumbrian  Saxons,  under 
the  command  of  Britus,  spread  desolation  and  ruin  over  a  great 
part  of  t!ie  country.  Their  progress,  however,  was  checked  at  Rath- 
more,  county  of  Meath  ;  here  an  engagement  took  place  betv.een 
them  and  the  Irish,  in  which,  after  much  bloodshed,  they  were  de- 
feated ;  and  those  who  escaped  were  obliged  to  make  a  speedy 
retreat  to  their  ships,  and  quickly  fly  the  kingdom.  Fionachta  fell 
in  battle,  on  the  fourteenth  of  November,  which  was  afterwards 
held  as  a  festival,  in  honor  of  him,  by  the  Irish  church.  Adamanus 
tells  us,  that  during  his  reign,  Gaul,  Italy,  Britain,  and  Ireland, 
were  visited  by  a  dreadful  plague." 

To  the  throne,  left  vacant  by  the  death  of  Fionachta,  succeeded 
Loingseaach,  his  cousin-german.  In  the  first  year  of  his  reign,  A.  D. 
698,  a  combined  army  of  Picts  and  Welsh  eftected  a  landing  in  Ulster, 
where  they  committed  great  depredations  and  ravages,  and  succeed- 
ed in  carrying  off  immense  spoils  to  their  ships.  Emboldened  by  the 
success  of  their  late  predatory  incursion,  they  again,  in  the  year 
704,  made  another  descent  on  the  northern  coast ;  but  the  Ultonians 
marched  forward  to  oppose  them,  and  gallantly  attacked  them  at 
Magh  Cullin,  in  the  county  of  Antrim,  and  defeated  the  invaders 
with  so  great  a  slaughter,  that  but  few  of  them  escaped  from  the 
terrible  conflict. 

At  this  era,  prince  Congall,  of  the  dynasty  of  Nial  the  Great, 
entered  into  a  league  with  Ceallach  of  Connaught,  to  dethrone  the 
monarch  Loingseaach.  Ceallach,  being  a  valiant  and  skilful  general, 
took  the  chief  command  of  the  allied  army  against  the  forces  of 
Loingseaach,  over  whom  he  gained,  at  Corrnin,  in  Meath,  a  signal 
victory.  The  monarch  lost  his  life  in  the  engagement,  and  his 
crown  was  bestowed,  by  the  victor,  to  his  associate,  Congall. 

At  this  period,  A.  D.  706,  the  reigning  provincial  princes  of  Ire- 
land, were  Eidirseoil  in  Munster,  JJairche  in  Ulster,  Bran  Mac 
Connall  in  Leinster,  and  Ceallach  in  Connaught. 


CHAPTER  LIII. 

Disputes  respecting  the  Paschal  Computation. 

Mr.  Moore,  in  his  history  of  a  famous  and  memorable  contro- 
versy, which  so  long  and  violently  agitated  the  Christian  world,  has 
displayed  such  deep  antiquarian  research,  and  illustrated  and  illu- 
minated the  abstruse  subject  with  so  refulgent  a  blaze  of  knowledge 
and  learning,  that  we  are  proud  we  can  enrich  our  history  with  so 
inestimable  a  fund  of  information. 

"  On  the  question  respecting  the  time  of  keeping  Easter,  which, 
about  the  beginning  of  the  seventh  century,  produced  such  a  contest 
between  the  British  and  Irish  clergy  on  one  side,  and  the  church  of 
Rome  and  her  new  missionaries  in  Britain  upon  the  other,  some  let- 
ers  were  addressed  by  Columbanus  to  the  Gallican  bishops  and  the 
pope  ;  ifi  which,  defending  the  Paschal  system,  as  it  had  been 
always  observed  by  his  countrymen,  he  requests  '  to  be  allowed  to 
follow  the  tradition  of  his  elders,  in  so  far  as  it  is  not  contrary  to 
faith.'  Though  upon  a  point  by  no  means  essential  as  regarded 
either  faith  or  discipline,  yet  so  eagerly  was  this  controversy  entered 
into  by  the  learned  Irish  of  that  day,  and  with  so  much  of  that 
attachment  to  old  laws  and  usages,  which  has  at  all  periods  distin- 
guished them,  that  a  brief  account  of  the  origin  and  nature  of  the 
dispute  forms  a  necessary  part  of  the  history  of  those  times. 

"Very  early  in  the  annals  of  the  Christian  church,  a  diflerence 
of  opinion  with  respect  to  the  time  of  celebrating  Easter  had 
arisen  ;  and  it  was  not  till  the  great  Council  of  Nice,  A.  D.  325,  had 
prescribed  a  rule  by  which  the  day  of  this  festival  was  to  be  fixed, 
that,  throughout  the  Asiatic  and  Western  churches,  a  uniformity  of 
practice  in  the  time  of  celebrating  it  was  observed.  Owing  to  the 
diflerence,  however,  of  the  cycles,  used  by  difterent  churches,  in 
making  their  calculations,  it  was  soon  found,  that  to  preserve  this 
desired  uniformity  would  be  a  matter  of  much  difficulty.  By  the 
decree  of  the  Council  of  Nice  it  was  fixed,  that  a  Paschal  festival 
should  be  held  on  the  Sunday  next  after  the  fourteenth  day  of  the 
first  lunar  month.  In  determining  this  time,  hov/ever,  the  church 
of  Rome  and  the  church  of  Alexandria  differed  materially ;  the 
former  continuing  to  compute  by  the  old  Jewish  cycle  of  eighty-four 
years,  while  the  latter  substituted  the  cycle  of  nineteen  years,  as 
corrected  by  Eusebius  ;  and  the  consequence  was  a  difference,  some- 
times of  nearly  a  montii,  between  the  Alexandrian  and  Roman 
calculations. 

"  When  St.  Patrick  came  on  his  mission  to  Ireland,  he  introduced 
the  same  method  of  Paschal  computation,  namely,  by  the  cycle  of 
eighty-four  years,  which  was  then  practiced  at  Rome,  and  which  the 
apostle  taught  as  he  had  learned  it  in  Gaul  from  Sulpicius  Severus, 
by  whom  a  change  only  of  the  mode  of  reckoning  the  days  of  the 
moon  was  introduced  into  it.  To  this  method  the  Irish  as  well 
as  the   British   churches   continued  to  adhere,  until  subsequently  to 


367 

the  arrival  of  Augustine  upon  his  mission  to  Britain.  In  the  mean 
time,  the  Romans,  having  in  vain  endeavoured,  by  conference  and 
concession,  to  adjust  the  differences  between  the  Alexandrian  cal- 
culations and  their  own,  thought  it  advisable,  for  the  sake  of  peace, 
to  try  a  new  method ;  and  the  cycle  of  Dionysius  Exiguus,  framed 
about  525,  being  in  agreement  with  the  Alexandrian  method  and 
rules,  was  adopted  by  them  about  the  middle  of  the  sixth  century. 

"  From  the  little  communication  that  took  place  between  the 
churches  of  the  British  Isles  and  Rome — owing  to  the  troubled  state 
of  the  intervening  nations,  and  the  occupation  of  the  coasts  of 
Britain  by  the  Saxons — nothing  was  known  in  these  countries  of  the 
adoption  of  a  new  cycle  by  Rome ;  and,  accordingly,  when  Augus- 
tine and  his  brethren  arrived,  they  found  both  the  British  and  the 
Irish  in  perfect  ignorance  of  the  reformation,  which  had,  in  the  in- 
terim, been  made,  and  computing  their  Easter  by  the  old  cycle  of 
eighty-four  years,  as  formerly  practiced  at  Rome.  In  one  particu- 
lar alone,  the  change  introduced  by  Sulpicius,  did  the  Irish  church 
— to  which  my  remarks  shall  henceforward  be  confined — difler  from 
the  system  originally  pursued  by  the  Romans;  and  this  difference, 
which  was,  in  reality,  rather  a  correction  of  the  old  Roman  cycle 
than  a  departure  from  it,  consisted  in  their  admission  of  the  four- 
teenth day  of  the  month,  as  fit  for  the  celebration  of  Easter,  in  fal- 
ling on  a  Sunday.  The  fourteenth  day  had  long  been  in  disrepute 
throughout  Christendom,  both  as  being  the  day  on  which  the  Jews 
always  celebrate  their  Pasch,  and  as  having  been  also  the  time  cho- 
sen for  that  festival  by  the  Quartodeciman  heretics.  But  there  was 
this  material  difference  between  their  practice  and  that  of  the  Irish, 
that,  while  the  Jews  and  Asiatic  heretics  celebrated  Easter  always 
on  the  fourteenth  day  of  the  moon,  let  it  fall  on  whatever  day  of  the 
week  it  might,  the  Irish  never  held  that  festival  on  the  fourteenth, 
unless  it  were  a  Sunday.  The  Roman  missionaries,  however,  chose 
to  keep  the  essential  difference  out  of  sight ;  and  unjustly  confound- 
ing the  Easter  of  the  Irish  with  that  of  the  Judaising  Quartodeci- 
mans,  involved  in  one  common  charge  of  heresy  all  who  still 
adhered  to  the  old  Roman  rule. 

"With  their  usual  fondness  for  ancient  usages,  the  Irish  persisted 
in  following  the  former  rule ;  and,  in  the  spirit  with  which  Colum- 
banus,  as  we  have  seen,  took  up  the  question  against  the  Gallican 
bishops,  he  faithfully  represented  and  anticipated  the  feelings  of  his 
fellow-countrymen.  The  first  we  hear,  however,  of  the  dispute,  in 
Ireland,  occurs  on  the  occasion  of  a  letter  addressed,  in  009,  by 
Laurence,  the  successor  of  Augustine  and  his  brother  missionaries, 
to  the  Irish  bishops  or  abbots.  In  this  Exhortatory  Epistle,  as  Bede 
styles  it,  Laurence  expresses  the  disappointment  felt  by  himself  and 
his  fellow  bishops  on  finding  that  the  Scots,  equally  with  the  Brit- 
ains,  had  departed  from  the  universal  custom  of  the  church.  The 
warmth  with  which  the  dispute  was,  at  this  time,  entered  into  by 
some  of  the  clergy  of  Ireland,  appears,  from  a  circumstance  men- 
tioned in  this  letter,  of  an  Irish  bishop,  Dagon,  who,  on  visiting  the 
Roman  missionaries,  refused  not  only  to  eat  in  company  with  them, 
but  even  under  the  same  roof. 


368 

*'  From  this  period  the  question  seems  to  have  been  left  open  for 
more  than  twenty  years  :  some  few  among  the  clergy  of  Ireland 
being  not  unwilling,  as  it  seems,  to  adopt  the  new  Roman  discipline  ; 
while  others  thougiit  it  suflicient  to  conform  so  far  to  Rome,  as  to 
substitute  the  16th  day  of  the  moon,  in  their  Paschal  Canon,  for 
the  14th  ;  and  the  great  bulk  of  the  clergy  and  people  continued 
attached  to  their  old  traditional  mode.  At  length,  the  attention  of 
the  Roman  See  was,  in  the  year  630,  drawn  to  the  dispute;  and  a 
letter  was  addressed  by  Honorius  to  the  nation  of  the  Scots,  in 
which  he  earnestly  exhorts  them  'not  to  consider  their  own  small 
number,  placed  in  the  utmost  borders  of  the  earth,  as  wiser  than  all 
the  ancient  and  modern  Churches  of  Christ  throughout  the  world; 
nor  to  continue  to  celebrate  an  Easter  contrary  to  the  Paschal  calcu- 
lation and  to  the  synodical  decrees  of  all  the  bishops  upon  earth.' 
In  consequence  of  this  admonitory  letter,  a  synod  was  held  in  Campo- 
lene,  near  Old  Leighlin,  where  it  was  agreed,  after  some  strenu- 
ous opposition  from  St.  Fintan  Munnu,  of  Taghmon,  that  Easter 
should,  in  future,  be  celebrated  at  the  same  time  with  the  universal 
church.  This  decree,  however,  having  been  rendered  abortive  by 
some  subsequent  intrigue,  it  was  resolved  by  the  elders  of  the 
church,  that,  in  pursuance  of  an  ancient  canon,  by  which  it  was 
directed  that  every  important  ecclesiastical  aftair  should  be  referred 
to  the  Head  of  Cities,  some  wise  and  humble  persons  should  be,  on 
the  present  occasion,  sent  to  Rome,  '  as  children  to  their  mother.' 
A  deputation  was  accordingly  despatched  to  tliat  city,  who,  on  their 
return  within  three  years  after,  declared  that  they  had  seen,  in  the 
see  of  St.  Peter,  the  Greek,  the  Hebrew,  the  Scythian,  and  the 
Egyptian,  all  celebrating  the  same  Easter  day,  in  common  with  the 
whole  Catholic  world,  and  diflering  from  that  of  the  Irish  by  an 
entire  month.  In  consequence  of  this  report  of  the  deputies,  which 
must  have  been  received  about  the  year  633,  the  new  Roman  cycle 
and  rules  were,  from  that  period,  universally  adopted  throughout 
the  southern  division  of  Ireland. 

"  However  disproportioned  to  the  amount  of  discussion  which  it 
occasioned,  was  the  real  importanee  of  the  point  of  discipline  now  at 
issue,  the  effects  of  the  controversy,  in  as  far  as  it  promoted  scien- 
tific inquiry,  and  afforded  a  stimulant  to  the  wits  of  the  disputants, 
on  both  sides,  could  not  be  otherwise  than  highly  favorable  to  the 
advancement  of  the  public  mind.  The  reference  to  the  usages  of 
other  countries  to  which  it  accustomed  the  Irish  scholars  tended,  in 
itself,  to  enlarge  the  sphere  of  their  observation  and  proportionally 
liberalize  their  views ;  nor  was  it  possible  to  engage  in  the  discus- 
sion of  a  question  so  closely  connected  both  with  astronomy  and 
arithmetic,  without  some  proficiency  in  those  branches  of  know- 
ledge by  which  alone  it  could  be  properly  sifted  or  judged.  Accord- 
ingly, while,  on  one  side  of  the  dispute,  St.  Columbanus  supported 
eloquently  the  cause  of  his  countrymen,  abroad,  adducing,  in 
defence  of  their  practice,  no  less  learned  authority  than  that  of 
Anatolius,  bishop  of  Laodicea  ;  at  home,  another  ingenious  Irishman, 
St.  Cummian,  still  more  versed  in  the  studies  connected  with  this 
subject,  produced,  on  the  Roman  side  of  the  question,  such  an  array 


369 

of  learning  and  proofs  as  would,  in  any  age,  have  entitled  liis  j)er- 
tbrinance  to  respect,  if  not  admiration.  Enforcing  tlie  great  argu- 
ment derived  from  the  unity  of  the  church,  which  he  supports  by  the 
authority  of  all  the  most  ancient  fathers,  Greek  as  well  as  Latin,  he 
passes  in  review  the  various  cyclical  systems  that  had  previously 
been  in  use,  pointing  out  their  construction  and  defects,  and  showing 
himself  acquainted  with  the  chronological  characters,  both  natural 
and  artificial.  The  various  learning,  indeed,  which  this  curious 
tract  displays,  implies  such  a  focility  and  range  of  access  to  books, 
as  proves  the  libraries  of  the  Irish  students,  at  that  period,  to  have 
been,  for  the  times  in  which  they  lived,  extraordinarily  well  fur- 
nished. 

"  This  eminent  man,  St.  Cummian,  who  had  been  one  of  those 
most  active  and  instrumental  in  procuring  the  adoption  of  the  Roman 
system  by  the  Irish  of  the  south,  and  thereby  incurred  the  serious 
displeasure  of  the  Abbot  and  Monks  of  Hy,  under  whose  jurisdiction, 
as  a  monk  of  their  order,  he  was  placed,  and  who  continued  longer 
tlian  any  other  of  their  monastic  brethren  to  adhere  to  the  old  Irish 
method,  in  conse«pience  of  its  having  been  observed  by  their  venera- 
ble founder,  St.  Columba.  In  defence  of  himself  and  those  who 
agreed  with  him  in  opinion,  St.  Cummian  wrote  the  famous  treatise 
just  alluded  to,  in  the  form  of  an  Epistle  addressed  to  Segienus, 
Abbot  of  Hy ;  and  the  learning,  ability,  and  industry  with  which  he 
has  executed  his  task,  must,  even  by  those  most  inclined  to  sneer  at 
the  literature  of  that  period,  be  regarded  as  highly  remarkable. 

"  Though  the  southern  half  of  Ireland  had  now  received  the  new 
Roman  method,  the  question  continued  to  be  still  agitated  in  the 
nortliern  division,  w  here  a  great  portion  of  the  clergy  persisted  in 
the  old  Irish  rule ;  and  to  the  influence  exercised  over  that  part  of 
the  kingdom  by  the  successors  of  St.  Columba,  this  perseverance  is, 
in  a  great  measure,  to  be  attributed.  It  is  worthy  of  remark,  how- 
ever, that  notwithstanding  the  intense  eagerness  of  the  contest,  not 
merely  in  Ireland,  but  wherever,  in  Britain,  the  Irish  clergy  preached, 
a  spirit  of  fairness  and  tolerance  was  mutually  exercised  by  both 
parties ;  nor  was  the  schism  of  any  of  those  venerable  persons  who 
continued  to  oppose  themselves  to  the  Roman  system,  allowed  to 
interfere  with  or  at  all  diminish  the  reverence  which  their  general 
character  for  sanctity  inspired.  Among  other  instances  of  this 
tolerant  spirit  may  be  mentioned  the  tribute  of  respect  paid  publicly 
to  St.  Fintin  Munnu,  by  his  zealous  adversary,  Laserian,  in  the 
course  of  their  contest  respecting  the  new  Paschal  rule.  A  yet  more 
historical  instance  is  presented  in  the  case  of  Aidan,  the  great  apostle 
of  the  Northumbrians,  who,  though  a  strenuous  opponent  of  the 
Roman  Paschal  system,  continued  to  be  honored  no  less  in  life  and 
after  death,  by  even  those  persons  who  had  the  most  vehemently 
differed  with  him. 

"  The  connexion  of  this  venerable  Irishman,  St.  Aidan,  with  the 
Anglo-Saxon  king,  Oswald,  illustrates  too  aptly  the  mutual  relations 
of  their  respective  countries,  at  this  period,  to  be  passed  over  with- 
out some  particular  notice.  During  the  reign  of  his  uncle  Edwin, 
the  young  Oswald  had  lived,  an  exile,  in  Ireland,  and  having  been 
47 


370 

instructed,  while  there,  in  the  doctrines  of  Christianity,  resolved,  on 
his  accession  to  the  throne,  to  disseminate  the  same  hlessing  among 
his  suhjects.  AVith  this  view  he  applied  to  the  Elders  of  the  Scots, 
among  whom  he  had  himself  heen  taught,  desiring  that  ihey  would 
furnish  him  with  a  hishop,  through  whose  instruction  and  ministry 
the  nation  of  the  English  he  had  been  called  to  govern,  might  re- 
ceive the  Christian  faith.  In  compliance  with  the  royal  desire,  a 
monk  of  Ily,  named  Aidan,  was  sent ;  to  whom,  on  his  arrival,  the 
king  gave,  as  the  seat  of  his  see,  tlie  small  island  of  Lindisfarne,  or, 
as  it  has  been  since  called.  Holy  Isle.  In  the  spiritual  labors  of  the 
Saint's  mission,  the  pious  Oswald  took  constantly  a  share  ;  and  it 
was  often,  says  Bede,  a  delightful  spectacle  to  witness,  that  when 
the  bishop,  who  knew  but  imperfectly  the  English  tongue,  preached 
the  truths  of  the  Gospel,  the  king  himself,  who  had  become  master 
of  the  Scotic  language  during  his  long  banishment  in  Ireland,  acted 
as  interpreter  of  the  word  of  Cod  to  his  commanders  and  ministers. 
From  that  time,  continues  the  same  authority,  numbers  of  Scotish, 
or  Irish,  poured  daily  into  Britain,  preaching  the  faith,  and  admin- 
istering baptism  through  all  the  provinces  over  which  king  Oswald 
reigned.  In  every  direction  churches  were  erected,  to  which  the 
people  flocked  with  joy  to  hear  the  word.  Possessions  were  granted, 
by  royal  bounty,  for  the  endowment  of  monasteries  and  schools,  and 
the  English,  old  and  young,  were  instructed  by  their  Irish  rnasters 
in  all  religious  observances.* 

"  Having  now  allo«  ed  so  long  a  period  of  Irish  history  to  elapse, 
without  any  reference  whatever  to  the  civil  transactions  of  the  coun- 
try, it  may  naturally  be  expected  that  I  should  for  a  while  digress 
from  ecclesiastical  topics,  and,  leaving  the  lives  of  ascetic  students, 
and  the  dull  controversies  of  the  cloister,  seek  relief  from  the  tame 
and  monotonous  level  of  such  details  in  the  stirring  achievements  of 
the  camp,  the  feuds  of  rival  chieftains,  or  even  in  the  pomps  and 
follies  of  a  barbaric  court.  But  the  truth  is,  there  exist  in  the  Irish 
annals  no  materials  for  such  digression, — the  Church  forming, 
throughout  these  records,  not  merely,  as  in  the  history  of  most  other 
countries,  a  branch  or  episode  of  the  narrative,  but  its  sole  object 
and  theme.  In  so  far,  indeed,  as  a  quick  succession  of  kings  may 
be  thought  to  enliven  history,  there  occurs  no  want  of  such  variety 
in  the  annals  of  Ireland  ;  the  lists  of  her  kings,  throughout  the  whole 

*  Exin'  ccepere  plures  per  dies  de  Scotorum  regione  venire  Britanniam  atque 
illis  Anglorum  provinciis,  quibus  regnavit  rex  Osvald,  magna  devotione  verbum 
Dei  prDBdicare. — Bcdc,  lib.  iii.  cap.  3.  "  As  these  preachers,  (says  Dr.  Lanigan) 
came  over  from  the  land  of  the  Scots  to  Britain,  it  is  plain  that  they  came  from  Ire- 
land ;  for  the  land  of  the  British  Scots  was  itself  in  Britain  ;  and  accordingly 
Lloyd  states,  (chap.  v.  §  5.)  that  these  auxiliaries  of  Aidan  '  came  out  of  Ireland.' 
Thus  also  Fleury,  (lib.  xxxviii.  §  19.)  calls  them  '  INIissionaires  Irelandois.'  " — 
Ecdesiast.  Hist.  chap.  xv.  note  103. 

It  was  hardly  worthy  of  Doctor  Lingard's  known  character  for  fairness,  to  fol- 
low the  example  so  far  of  Dempster,  and  other  such  writers,  as  to  call  our  eminent 
Irish  missionaries,  at  this  period,  by  the  ambiguous  name  of  Scotish  monks,  with- 
out at  the  same  time  informing  his  readers  that  these  distinguished  men  were  Scots 
of  Ireland.  The  care  with  which  the  ecclesiastical  historians  of  France  and  Italy 
have  in  general  marked  this  distinction,  is  creditable  alike  to  their  fairness  and 
their  accuracy. 


371 

course  of  the  Milesian  monarchy,  exhibiting  but  too  strongly  that 
unerring  mark  of  a  low  state  of  civilization.  The  time  of  duration 
allowed  by  Xewton,  in  his  Chronology,  to  the  reigns  of  monarchs  in 
settled  and  civilized  kingdoms  is,  at  a  medium,  as  much  as  eighteen 
years  for  each  reign.  In  small,  uncivilized  kingdoms,  liowever,  the 
medium  allowed  is  not  more  than  ten  or  eleven  years;  and  at  this 
average  were  the  reigns  of  the  kings  of  Northumbria  under  the  Saxon 
heptarchy.*  What  then  must  be  our  estimate  of  the  political  state 
of  Ireland  at  this  period,  when  we  find  that,  froui  the  beginning  of 
the  reign  of  Tuathal,  A.  D.  533,  to  the  time  of  the  great  plague,  CG4, 
no  less  than  fifteen  monarchs  had  successively  filled  the  Irish  throne, 
making  the  average  of  their  reigns,  during  that  period,  little  more 
than  eight  years  each.  With  the  names  of  such  of  these  princes  as 
wielded  the  sceptre  since  my  last  notice  of  the  succession,  which 
brought  its  series  down  to  A.  D.  599,  it  is  altogether  unnecessary  to 
encumber  these  pages  ;  not  one  of  them  having  left  more  than  a 
mere  name  behind,  and,  in  general,  the  record  of  their  violent  deaths 
being  the  only  memorial  that  tells  of  their  ever  having  lived. 

"  In  order  to  convey  to  the  reader  any  adequate  notion  of  the 
apostolical  labors  of  that  crowd  of  learned  missionaries  whom  Ire- 
land sent  forth,  in  the  course  of  this  century,  to  all  parts  of  Europe, 
it  would  be  necessary  to  transport  him  to  the  scenes  of  their  respec- 
tive missions  ;  to  point  out  the  ditficulties  they  had  to  encounter,  and 
the  admirable  patience  and  courage  with  which  they  surmounted 
them  ;  to  show  how^  inestimable  was  the  service  they  rendered, 
during  that  dark  period,  by  keeping  the  dying  embers  of  learning 
awake,  and  how  gratefully  their  names  are  enshrined  in  the  records 
of  foreign  lands,  though  but  faintly,  if  at  all,  remembered  in  their 
own.  It  was,  indeed,  then,  as  it  has  been  ever  since,  the  peculiar 
fate  of  Ireland,  that  both  in  talent,  and  the  fame  that  honorably  re- 
wards it,  her  sons  prospered  far  U)ore  triumphantly  abroad  than  at 
home  ;  for  while,  of  the  many  who  confined  their  labors  to  their  na- 
tive land,  but  few  have  left  those  remembrances  behind  which  con- 
stitute fame,  those  who  carried  the  light  of  their  talent  and  zeal  to 
other  lands,  not  (uily  founded  a  lasting  name  for  themselves,  but 
made  their  country  also  a  partaker  of  their  renown,  winning  for  her 
that  noble  title  of  the  Island  of  the  Holy  and  the  Learned,  which, 
throughout  the  night  that  overhung  all  the  rest  of  Europe,  she  so 
long  and  jiroudly  wore.  Thus,  the  labors  of  the  great  missionary, 
St.  Cohimbanus,  were,  after  his  death,  still  vigorously  carried  on, 
both  in  France  and  Ital^',  by  those  disciples  who  had  accompanied 
or  joined  him  from  Ireland ;  and  his  favorite  Gallus,  to  whom,  in 
dying,  he  bequeathed  his  pastoral  staflT,  became  the  founder  of  an 
abbey  in  Switzerland,  which  was  in  the  thirteenth  century  erected 
into   a   princed(jm,  while   the  territory  belonging  to  it  has,  through 

*  To  judjTe  from  the  following'  picture,  however,  their  state  was  little  better 
than  that  of  the  Irish  : — ■'•  During  the  last  century,  (the  eiijhth)  Northumbria  had 
exhibited  successive  instances  of  treachery  and  murder  to  which  no  oth'^r  country 
perhaps  can  furnish  a  parallel.  Within  the  lapse  of  a  hundred  years,  fourteen 
kings  had  assumed  the  sceptre,  and  yet  of  all  these,  one  only,  if  one,  died  in  the 
peaceable  possession  of  royalty  :  seven  had  been  slain,  six  had  been  driven  from 
the  throne  by  their  lebellious  subjects." 


372 

all  changes,  borne  the  name  of  St.  Gall.*  From  his  great  assiduity 
in  promulgating  the  Gospel,  and  training  up  disciples  capable  of 
succeeding  him  in  the  task,  this  pious  Irishman  has  been  called,  by 
a  foreign  martyrologist,  the  Apostle  of  the  Allemanian  nation.  An- 
other disciple  and  countryman  of  St.  Coluinbanus,  named  Deicola, 
or  in  Irish  Dichuill,  enjoyed,  like  his  master,  the  patronage  and 
friendship  of  the  monarch  Clotaire  II.,  who  endowed  the  monastic 
establishment  formed  by  him  at  Luthra,  with  considerable  grants  of 
land. 

"  In  various  other  parts  of  France,  similar  memorials  of  Irish 
sanctity  may  be  traced.  At  the  celebrated  monastery  of  Centula, 
in  Ponthied,  was  seen  a  tomb,  engraved  with  golden  letters,  telling 
that  there  lay  the  remains  of  the  venerable  priest,  Caidoc,  "  to  whom 
Ireland  gave  birth,  and  the  Gallic  land  a  grave."!  The  site  of  the 
hermitage  of  St.  Fiacre,  another  Irish  Saint,  was  deemed  so  conse- 
crated a  spot,  that  to  go  on  a  pilgrimage  thither  was,  to  a  late  period, 
a  frequent  practice  among  the  devout ;  and  we  are  told  of  the  pious 
Anne  of  Austria,  that  when,  in  1G41,  she  visited  the  shrine  of  this 
Saint,  so  great  was  the  humility  of  her  devotion,  that  she  went  the 
whole  of  the  way,  from  Monceau  to  the  town  of  Fiacre,  on  foot. 
Among  the  number  of  holy  and  eminent  Irishmen  who  thus  extended 
their  labours  to  France,  must  not  be  forgotten  St.  Fursa,t  who,  after 
preaching  among  the  East  Angles,  and  converting  many  from  Pa- 
ganism, passed  over  into  France  ;  and,  building  a  monastery  at 
Lagny,  near  the  river  l\Iarne,  remained  there,  spreading  around  him 
the  blessings  of  religious  instruction,  till  his  death. 

"In  like  manner,  through  most  of  the  other  countries  of  Europe, 
we  hear  of  the  progress  of  some  of  these  adventurous  spirits,  and 
track  the  course  of  their  fertilizing  footsteps  through  the  wide  waste 
of  ignorance  and  paganism  which  then  prevailed. §     In  Brabant,  the 

*  In  speaking  of  the  learning  displayed  by  St.  Cummian  in  his  famous  Letter 
on  the  Paschal  question,  I  took  occasion  to  remark  on  the  proof  wliicli  it  affords 
of  the  existence  of  libraries,  at  that  period,  in  Ireland,  and  by  no  means  ill  or  scan- 
tily furnished.  From  a  circumstance  mentioned  by  the  ecclesiastical  historians  of 
an  Irish  bishop,  named  Mark,  who  visited  the  monastery  of  St.  Gall,  about  the 
middle  of  the  ninth  century,  it  would  appear  that  the  Irish  were,  at  that  time,  even 
able  to  contribute  to  the  libraries  of  their  fellow  countrymen  on  the  Continent.  - 

t  Mole  sub  hac  tegitur  Caidocus  jure  sacerdos, 

Scotia  quern  genuit,  Gallica  terra  tegit. 

The  burial-place  of  this  Saint,  who  died  at  Centula,  towards  the  middle  of  the 
seventh  century,  was  repaired  by  Angilbert,  abbot  of  that  monastery,  in  the  reign 
of  Charlemagne,  when  the  epitaph  from  which  the  above  couplet  is  cited,  was  in- 
scribed upon  the  tomb. 

t  This  Saint  was  of  royal  descent: — "  Erat  autem  vir  ille  de  nobilissimo  genere 
Scotorum." — Bcde,  1.  iii.  c.  19.  In  the  same  chapter  will  be  found  an  account  of 
those  curious  visions  or  revelations  of  St.  Fursa,  which  are  supposed  by  the  Bene- 
dictines to  have  been  intended  to  shadow  forth  the  political  and  moral  corruption 
of  the  higher  orders  in  Ireland: — "On  s'appercoit  sans  peine  qu'clles  tendent  a 
reprimer  les  desordres  qui  regnoient  alors  parmi  les  Princes,  les  Eveques,  et  les 
autres  ecclesiastiques  d'Hibernie,  ou  le  saint  les  avoit  eues.  Elles  taxent  princi- 
palement  leur  avarice,  leur  oisivete,  le  peu  de  soin  qu'ils  prenoient  de  s'instruire 
et  d'instruire  les  autres." 

§  "  In  the  fifth,  sixth,  and  seventh  centuries  (says  Macpherson),  religion  and 
learning  flourished  in  Ireland  to  such  a  degree,  that  it  was  commonly  stj'led  the 
mother   country  of  Saints,  and  reputed  the  kingdom  of  arts  and   sciences.     The 


373 

brothers  of  St.  Furso,  Ultan  and  Foillan,  founded  an  establishment 
which  was  long  called  the  IMonastery  of  the  Irish  ;  and  the  elegant 
scholar,  St.  Livin,  whom,  by  his  own  verses,  we  trace  to  the  tomb 
of  St.  Bavo,*  in  Ghent,  proceeded  from  thence,  on  a  spiritual  mis- 
sion, tiirough  Flanders  and  Brabant,  prepared  at  every  step  for  that 
crown  of  martyrdom,  which  at  length,  from  the  hands  of  Pagans  he 
suflered.  With  the  same  enterprising  spirit  we  find  St.  Fridolin, 
surnamed  the  Traveller, — a  native  it  is  supposed,  of  Connaught, — 
exploring  the  Rhine  for  some  uninhabited  island,  and  at  length  fix- 
ing himself  upon  SecUingen,  where  he  founded  a  church,  and  a  re- 
ligious house  for  females,  which  he  lived  to  see  prosper  under  his 
own  eyes.  Next  to  the  generous  self-devotion  of  these  holy  adven- 
turers, thus  traversing  alone  the  land  of  the  infidel  and  the  stranger, 
the  feeling  of  gratitude  with  which  after-ages  have  clung  to  tiieir 
names,  forms  one  of  the  most  pleasing  topics  of  reflection  which 
history  aflords;  and  few,  if  any,  of  our  Irish  missionaries  left  behind 
them  more  grateful  recollections  than,  for  centuries,  consecrated 
every  step  of  the  course  of  Fridolin  the  Traveller,  through  Lorraine, 

Alsace,  Germany,  and  Switzerland. 

****** 

"  Bede  mentions  also,  in  the  number  of  sufferers  by  the  plague, 
some  natives  of  England,  both  noble  and  of  lower  rank,  who  had 
retired  to  Ireland,  as  he  expresses  it,  "  to  pursue  a  course  of  sacred 
studies,  and  lead  a  stricter  life."  It  is  in  mentioning  this  interest- 
ing fact,  that  the  historian  adds,  so  honorably  to  the  Irish,  that  they 
most  cheerfully  received  all  these  strangers,  and  supplied  them  gra- 
tuitously with  food,  with  books,  and  instruction. f 

"  While  thus  from  England  such  numbers  crowded  to  these  shores, 
and  either  attached  themselves  to  a  monastic  life,  or  visited  the  cells 
of  the  different  monasteries  in  pursuit  of  general  knowledge,  Irish 
scholars  were,  with  a  similar  view,  invited  into  Britain.  The  Island 
of  Hy,  which  was  inhabited  by  Irish  monks,  furnished  teachers  to 
all  the  more  northern  regions  ;  and  the  appointment  of  three  na- 
tives of  Ireland,  in  succession,  to  the  new  see  of  Lindisfarne,  proves 
how  grateful  a  sense  of  the  services  of  that  nation  the  Northumbri- 
an princes  of  tliis  period  entertained.  At  the  time  we  are  speaking 
of,  the  bishop  of  this  see  was  Colman,  a  monk  of  the  Columbian 
order,  who  had  been  sent  from  Ireland  for  the  j)urpose  of  filling  that 
high  dignity.  Like  all  the  rest  of  the  clergy  of  his  order,  he  ad- 
hered to  the  Irish  mode  of  celebrating  Easter,  and  the  dispute  res- 
pecting that  [)oint  received  a  new  recruitment  of  force  from  his  ac- 

Saxons  and  Angles  sent  thither  many  of  their  princes  and  princesses  to  liave  the 
benefit  of  a  pious  and  learned  education.  It  ought,  likewise,  to  be  acknowledged, 
that  some  of  the  most  eminent  teachers  of  NortJi  Britain  received  their  instruction 
at  the  Irish  seminaries  of  literature  and  religion." 

*  The  epitaph  which  this  Saint  wrote  upon  St.  Bavo,  and  the  epistle  addressed 
by  him  to  his  friend  Florbert,  in  sending  him  the  epitaph,  may  botii  be  found  in 
Usher's  Vet.  Epist.  lliberniarum  Sylloge.  Of  these  two  poems.  Dr.  Lanigan  re- 
marks, that  tliey  "  are  vcrj'  neat  compositions,  and  do  great  honour  to  the  classi- 
cal taste  of  the  Irish  schools  of  that  period,  while  barbarism  prevailed  in  the  great- 
est part  of  AV^estern  Europe." — Chap.  vi.  §  12. 

t  On  this,  Ledwich  remarks  : — "  So  zealous  and  disinterested  a  love  of  learning 
is  unparalleled  in  the  annals  of  tlie  world." 


374 

cession,  as  well  as  from  the  scruples  of  the  intelligent  Alchfrid,  son 
of  king  Oswin,  who,  while  his  father,  a  convert  and  pupil  of  tlie 
Irish,  "saw  nothing  better,"  says  Bede,  "than  what  they  taught," 
was  inclined  to  preler  to  their  traditions  the  canonical  practice  now 
introduced  from  Rome.*  In  consequence  of  the  discussions  to 
which  this  difference  gave  rise,  a  memorable  conference  was  held 
on  the  subject,  at  Whitby  ;  where,  in  the  presence  of  tlie  two  kings, 
Oswin  and  Alchfrid,  the  arguments  of  each  party  were  temperately 
and  learnedly  brought  forward  ;  the  bishop  Colman,  with  his  Irish 
clergy,  speaking  in  defence  of  the  old  observances  of  their  country, 
while  Wilfrid,  a  learned  priest,  who  had  been  recently  to  Rome, 
undertook  to  prove  the  truth  and  universality  of  the  Roman  method. 
The  scene  of  the  controversj  was  in  a  monastery,  or  nunnery,  over 
which  Hilda,  a  distinguished  abbess,  presided, — herself  and  all  her 
community  being  favourers,  we  are  told,  of  the  Irish  system.  The 
debate  was  carried  on  in  Irish  and  Anglo-Saxon,  the  venerable  Cead, 
an  English  bishoj),  acting  as  interpreter  between  the  parties  ;  and 
the  whole  proceeding  but  wanted  a  worthier  or  more  important  sub- 
ject of  discussion  to  render  it,  in  no  ordinary  degree,  striking  and 
interesting.f 

"After  speeches  and  replies  on  both  sides,  of  which  Bede  has  pre- 
served the  substance,  the  king  and  the  assembly  at  large  agreed  to 
give  their  decision  in  favour  of  W  ilfrid  ;  and  Colman,  silenced  but 
not  convinced,  resolving  still  to  adhere  to  the  tradition  of  his  fathers, 
resigned  the  see  of  Lindisfarne,  and  returned  to  his  home  in  Ireland, 
taking  along  with  him  all  the  Irish  monks,  and  about  thirty  of  the 
English,  belonging  to  that  establishment.}' 

"  The  great  mistake  which  pervaded  the  arguments  of  the  Roman 
party,  upon*  this  question,  lay  in  their  assumption — whether  wilfully 
or  from  ignorance — that  the  method  of  computation  which  they  had 
introduced  was  the  same  that  Rome  had  practised  from  the  very 
commencement  of  her  church  ;  whereas,  it  was  not  till  the  middle 
of  the  fifth  century  that  the  Romans  themselves  were  induced,  for 
the  sake  of  jieace  and  unity,  to  exchange  their  old  cycle  of  eighty- 

*  An  edifying  instance  of  tiie  tolerance  of  that  period  is  afforded  in  the  follow- 
ing fact,  mentioned  by  Bede  : — Tlie  Queen  of  Eanfled.  who  had  lived  in  Kent, 
and  who  had  with  her  a  Kentish  priest,  named  Romanus,  followed  the  Roman 
Easter,  while  the  King  Oswin  celebrated  the  Irisli  Easter;  and  it  sometimes  hap- 
pened, says  Bede,  that  while  tlie  king,  bishop,  &c.  were  enjoying  the  Paschal  fes- 
tivity, the  queen  and  her  followers  were  still  fasting  the  Lent. 

t  Among  other  persons  present  at  the  discussion,  was  Agilbert,  a  native  of 
France,  who,  for  the  purpose  of  studying  the  Scriptures,  as  Bede  tells  us,  had 
passed  a  considerable  time  in  Ireland.  •■  Venit  in  proviiiciam  de  Hibernia  pontifex 
quidam,  nomine  Agilberctus,  natione  qnidem  Gallus.  sed  tunc  legendarum  gratia 
Scripturarum  in  Hibernia  non  parvo  tempore  demoratus." — Lib.  iii.  c.  7. 

t  To  the  monastery  built  by  Colman  for  his  English  followers,  at  Mayo,  (Bede, 
1.  iv.  c  4.)  a  number  of  other  monks  of  that  nation  attached  themselves;  and,  in 
tlie  time  of  Adamnan,  towards  the  close  of  the  seventh  century,  there  were  about 
one  hundred  Saxon  or  English  saints  at  that  place,  which,  from  thence,  was  called 
by  the  name  of  Mainh-eona-Sasson,  or  Mayo  of  the  iMiijlish.  For  this  fact,  Usher 
refers  to  the  book  of  Ballimote  : — "  Quo  in  loco,  uti  Bedis,  a?late  grande  Anglorum 
fuisse  monasterium  audivimus,  itaetiam  S.  Cormari,et  Adamnani  tempore  centum 
Saxonicorum  Sunctorum  fuisse  habitaculum,  libri  Balliinotensis  collector  confirmat." 
— Ecclcs.  Primord. 


375 

four  years  for  a  new  Paschal  system.  By  another  gross  error  of  the 
same  party,  whicli  seems  also  liable  to  the  sus|)icion  of  liaving  been 
wilful,  the  Easter  of  the  Irish  was  confounded  with  the  Quartodeci- 
nian  Pasch,  though  between  the  two  observances,  as  we  have  already 
seen,  there  was  an  essential  ditlerence.*  But  the  fundamental  error 
of  both  parties  in  the  contest  was,  the  importance  attached  unduly 
by  each  of  them  to  a  point  of  mere  astronomical  calculation,  uncon- 
nected with  either  faith  or  morals;  and  while  the  Irish  were,  no 
doubt,  censurable  for  persisting  with  so  much  obstinacy  in  a  prac- 
tice which,  besides  being  indifferent  in  itself,  was  at  variance  with 
the  general  usage  of  Christendom,  their  opponents  were  no  less  to 
be  blamed  for  their  want  of  charity  and  good  sense  in  raising,  on  so 
slight  a  point  of  dift'ercnce  and  discipline,  the  cry  of  iieresy  and 
schism. 

"  A  dispute  of  a  still  more  trifling  nature,  and  bordering  closely, 
it  must  be  owned,  on  the  ridiculous,  was,  by  the  Finglish  followers 
of  the  Roman  missionaries,  mixed  up,  throughout,  with  the  Paschal 
question,  and,  in  a  subordinate  degree,  made  to  share  its  fortunes. 
Tins  dispute  related  to  the  tonsure,  or  mode  of  shaving  the  head, 
practised  respectively  by  the  Roman  and  Irish  clergy  :  the  former 
of  whom  shaved  or  clipi)ed  the  crown  of  the  head,  leaving  the  hair 
to  grow  in  a  circle  all  round  it ;  while  the  Irish,  allowing  the  hair  to 
cover  the  back  of  the  head,  shaved  or  clipped  it  away,  in  the  form 
of  a  crescent,  from  the  front.  Both  parties,  with  equal  confidence 
and,  it  may  be  added,  ignorance,  appealed  to  antiquity  in  support 
of  their  respective  tonsures;  while,  on  the  part  of  the  Irish,  the  real 
motive  for  clinging  so  fondly  to  their  old  custom  was,  that  it  had 
been  introduced  among  them,  with  all  their  other  ecclesiastical  rules 
and  usages,  by  the  national  apostle,  St.  Patrick.  According  as  their 
Paschal  rule,  however,  gave  way,  this  form  of  the  tonsure  followed 
its  fate  ;  and  in  a  Canon,  the  date  of  which  is  supposed  to  be  about 
the  seventh  or  eighth  century,  we  find  an  order  for  the  observance 
of  the  Roman  tonsure." 


CHAPTER  LIV. 


77(C  accession  of  Congall.  son  of  Fcargns,  to  the  Throne  ; — succeeded  hij  Fcarghalif 
who  demands  the  Lcinstcr  tribute,  and  < ndcurours  to  exact  its  jjayment  bij  force  of 
arms, — is  defeated  and  hilled  in  buttle  bij  the  Leinsterians. —  The  reign  of  Fo- 
gartach,  who  abdicates  the  throne,  and  retires  to  a  Monastery. — His  successor 
Jiodh  Ollah. —  The  synod  of  FiidaJgus. — Battle  of  Athseamtigh. — Accession  of 
Daniel  III. — The  Picis  invade  Leinster  ; — A  war  icaged  between  Minister  and 
Leinster. — The  reign  of  JVial  II; — he  is  succeeded  by  Donachad. 

Congall  was  elevated  to  the  throne,  in  consequence  of  the  victory 
which  he   and    his  ally  Ceallach    obtained   over   the   late   monarch, 

*  Inheriting  fully  the  same  perverse  feeling  against  the  Irish,  Dr.  Ledwich  has, 
in  the  same  manner,  misrepresented  them  on  this  subject;  endeavouring  to  make 
out  that  St.  Columba  and  his  successors  were  all  Quartodecimans.  See  an  able 
refutation  of  his  views  on  this  point  by  Dr.  Lanigan,  chap.  xii.  note  236. 


376 

Loingseaacli.  Some  of  our  historians  represent  him  as  an  oppressor 
of  his  people,  and  a  persecuter  of  the  church,  while  others  paint  his 
character  in  tlie  hrilliant  colours  of  mercy,  justice,  and  clemency. 
The  English  historian  of  Ireland,  Dr.  Warner,  in  allusion  to  the 
events  occurring  in  the  reign  of  that  monarch,  says,  with  a  show  of 
reason  and  truth,  that  "  one  would  imagine  as  Christianity  had  been 
planted,  then,  in  Ireland  almost  three  centuries,  and  had  met  with 
marvellous  success,  that  a  Pagan  could  scarcely  have  been  found 
among  men  of  rank  and  education,  in  any  part  of  the  Island.  Much 
less  would  one  imagine  that  a  Pagan  prince  should  have  any  chance 
of  mounting  the  throne  of  Ireland,  where  the  monarch  was  elected, 
without  any  regard  to  primogeniture,  and  hereditary  right, — and 
where  the  mass  of  the  people  had  long  been  christians."  The  opin- 
ion of  Dr.  Warner  is  founded  on,  we  think,  strong  grounds  of  pro- 
bability ;  for  Congall  might  be  a  christian  prince,  and  yet  be  stimu- 
lated by  the  lust  of  avarice,  and  the  pride  of  power,  to  plunder  ab- 
beys, and  to  exercise  despotism  over  the  clergy.  At  this  period  of 
piety  and  religious  devotion,  it  should  be  considered,  when  the  power 
of  tlie  Catholic  clergy  reached  the  very  acme  of  an  overwhelming 
influence  in  Ireland,  it  is,  in  our  opinion,  indeed  extremely  impro- 
bable that  Congall  should  have  dared  to  despoil  abbeys,  or  oppress 
priests.  Dr.  Keating  characterises  him  as  a  cruel  tyrant,  and  a  fe- 
rocious oppressor  of  the  ministers  of  the  gospel ;  but  he  does  not 
charge  him  with  paganism. 

After  a  reign  of  seven  years,  Congall  died  a  peaceable  and  natu- 
ral death.  He  was  succeeded  by  prince  Feargliall,  of  the  dynasty 
of  Heremon.  In  the  early  part  of  his  reign,  the  AVelsh  and  Picts 
invaded  the  northern  coast  of  Ireland  ; — but  before  they  had  time  to 
commit  many  predatory  excesses,  they  were  bravely  attacked  by 
the  Ultonians,  at  a  place  called  C/ogh-3Iimiure,  in  the  County  of 
Derry,  and  completely,  after  a  fierce  contest,  overthrown  and  put  to 
flight.     That  invasion  took  place,  A.  D.  713. 

The  next  event  of  the  reign  of  Fearghall  that  demands  commem- 
oration, is  the  attempt  made  by  this  prince,  in  contravention  of  the 
compact  entered  into  by  his  predecessor,  Fionachta,  with  St.  Mo- 
ling, to  exact  the  payment  of  the  Leinster  tribute.  Murrogh  Mac 
Brian,  the  then  King  of  Leinster,  indignantly  refused  the  requisition 
of  the  monarch,  and  resolved  to  try  the  fortune  of  a  war.  The  con- 
lending  parties  consequently,  came  to  battle,  at  Almhuin,  in  the 
County  of  Wicklow,  in  which  the  forces  of  the  monarch  was  van- 
quished and  himself  slain.  The  next  monarch  was  Fogartach,  who 
had  scarcely  reigned  a  year  when  he  fell  in  battle  by  the  hand  of 
his  successor,  Cionaoth,  who  in  his  turn,  was  killed,  A.  D.  724,  by 
his  successor,  Flabhertach,  at  the  conflict  of  Drom  Curan.  Ulster, 
at  this  epoch  of  our  history,  was  subject  to  prince  Aodh  Roin,  who 
made  himself  abhorred  and  execrated  by  the  nefarious  acts  of  per- 
secution, plunder,  and  sacrilege,  which  he  committed  on  his  princi- 
pality. 

"  The  consecrated  vessels,"  writes  McDermott,  "  were  sacrile- 
giously torn  out  of  the  churches  by  his  adherents,  till  Aodh  Ollah,  a 
religious  prince,  stimulated  by  his  confessor,  Congus,  who  was  then 


377 

primate  of  all  Ireland,  espoused  the  cause  of  the  church,  lie  in- 
vaded Ulster,  and  engaged  the  forces  of  Aodh-Roin,  at  Murtheimne, 
in  the  County  of  liOuth,  where  the  king  of  Ulster  was  defeated,  and 
slain  on  the  field  of  battle."  After  the  monarch  Fluhhertach  had 
wielded  the  sceptre  for  a  period  of  seven  years,  he  became  a  reli- 
gious devotee,  and  impelled  by  his  pious  zeal,  he  abdicated  his 
throne  in  favour  of  his  cousin,  Aodh-Ollah,  the  conqueror  of  the  im- 
pious king  of  Ulster,  and  retired  to  the  abbey  of  Armagh,  to  conse- 
crate the  remainder  of  his  days  to  prayer  and  penance.  Here  he 
resided  for  twenty-six  years  of  his  life  of  sanctity  and  devotion,  and 
died  in  A.  D.  700. 

At  the  lapse  of  two  years  after  the  accession  of  Aodh-Ollah,  an 
ecclesiastical  synod  was  convened  at  Firdaglas,  (the  country  of  the 
two  greens)  County  of  Tipperary,*  which  the  monarch  attended,  as 
well  as  Cathal,  king  of  JNIunster,  and  several  other  princes. 

"  The  object  of  this  meeting,"  writes  one  of  the  Irish  historians, 
"was  to  enforce  the  regular  payment  of  those  church  dues,  which 
were  known  throughout  Europe,  by  the  name  of  '  Pctcr''s  pcncci' 
but  which,  in  Ireland,  were  j)aid  to  the  See  of  Armagh;  The  pay- 
ment of  these  dues  were  neglected  for  a  considerable  time,  but  were 
now  established  under  the  sanction  of  the  ecclesiastical  and  civil 
powers." 

In  the  course  of  two  years  after  the  meeting  of  that  synod,  a  war 
broke  out  between  the  kings  of  Leinster  and  Munster.  What  the 
subject  of  hostilities  was,  has  not  been  transmitted  to  us  by  the  Irish 
historians  ;  let  it,  however,  suffice  to  state,  that  both  parties  agreed 
to  abide  by  the  result  of  a  battle  which  was  fought  at  Ballach-Feile, 
in  Upper  Ossory,  Queen's  County.  Victory  declared  itself  for  the 
Mamonians,  or  people  of  Munster.  The  monarch,  ungenerously 
taking  advantage  of  the  feebleness  to  which  defeat  and  distress  had 
reduced  the  king  of  Leinster,  marched  against  him,  at  the  head  of  a 
formidable  force.  They  came  to  an  engagement  at  Athseanuigh, 
in  the  County  of  Wexford,  in  which  the  troops  of  the  king  of  Lein- 
ster were  cut  to  pieces,  and  himself,  while  gallantly  leading  on  his 
guards,  slain.  It  was,  however,  a  dear-bought  triumph  for  Aodh- 
Ollah,  as  several  thousands  of  his  army  were  killed,  amongst  whom 
was  his  son  Aodh.  The  loss  which  the  monarch  sustained,  in  this 
bloody  battle,  encouraged  prince  Daniel,  the  son  of  Mortough,  and 
the  eleventh  in  descent  from  "  Nial  of  the  nine  hostages,"  to  raise 
the  banner  of  insurrection,  and  to  assail  the  forces  of  Aodh-Ollah 
with  the  fiercest  elements  of  war.  In  the  battle  which  ensued,  the 
monarch  was  vanrpiished  and  killed,  which  paved  the  way  for  Daniel 
to  the  throne,  which  he  ascended  A.  D.  743. 

Daniel  is  known,  In  our  annals,  as  the  third  Irish  King  of  that 
name.  "  During  his  reign,"  writes  Dr.  O'Halloran,  "Leinster  was 
invaded  by  the  Picts,  under  the  command  of  Cathasagh,  son  of  Olli- 
olla,  their  king.     The   Lagenians   engaged   them    in   the  battle   of 

*  Firdaglas  is  situated  in  the  barony  of  lower  Onnand,  County  of  Tipperary, 
in  the  mitlst  of  a  fine  and  fertile  country.  An  abbey  was  erected  here,  in  the  be- 
ginning of  the  seventh  century,  by  St.  (I^olman,  the  first  Bishop  of  Cloyne,  in  the 
County  of  Cork.     The  abbey  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  the  year  1140. 

48 


378 

Rath-Beotach,   where   ihe   Picts  were   defeated,  and   their  General 
slain. 

Hostilities  were  soon  after  commenced,  once  more,  between  the 
Lagenians  and  Mamonians,  and  a  battle  fought  at  Tob-air-Fionn, 
(the  white  well)  and  so  great  was  the  carnage,  on  both  sides,  that 
the  spring,  with  the  road  and  lake  adjoining,  was  discoloured  with 
blood, — whence  tlie  site  of  the  battle  was  afterwards  known  by  the 
name  of  Cathbeallagh-cro,  or  the  conflict  of  the  sanguinary  way. 
The  monarch  seems  to  have  been  a  tame  and  inactive  spectator  of 
these  bloody  scenes; — and  given  up  to  a  religious  turn,  attended 
more  to  litanies  and  processions,  than  to  feats  of  arms.  After  a  rule 
of  twenty  years,  he  made  a  pilgrimage  to  the  abbey  of  Hy-Iona,  in 
Scotland,  where  he  ended  his  days  in  great  piety  and  resignation." 

He  was  succeeded,  on  the  throne,  by  Nial,  the  second  son  of  the 
monarch,  Fearghall,  in  the  year  763.  "  This  reign,"  observes  Mc- 
Dermott,  "  was  distinguished  by  three  miraculous  showers  ; — one  of 
blood,  at  Magh-Laighion, — one  of  honey,  at  Fothan-beg, — and  one 
of  silver,  at  Fothaninore.  These  showers  are  mentioned  in  the  book 
of  reigns,  and  in  the  annals  of  Tighernach,  written  in  the  eleventh 
century,  and  Mac  Curtain,  who  was  not  forty  years  dead,  when  O'- 
Halloran  wrote  his  history  of  Ireland,  aflirms,  that  bits  of  fine  silver, 
called  twelve  grain  pennies,  were  then  in  being,  and  supposed  to  be 
part  of  this  money."  Although  we  are  an  enthusiastic  advocate  for 
our  historical  system, — a  system  so  healthy  and  flourishing  in  the 
full  bloom  of  truth  and  reason,  that  the  few  funguses  of  bardic  fiction, 
which  grow  upon  its  massy  and  majestic  trunk,  cannot  debase  or  de- 
cay it, — yet  we  must  candidly  avow  that  we  do  sincerely  think  that  the 
above-mentioned  preternatural  showers  never  fell  on  the  Irish  soil  ; 
for  any  man  of  reasoning  inquiry  will  ascribe  such  an  unnatural 
phenomenon  to  its  true  source — poetic  imagination.  But  we  concur 
in  the  justness  of  the  opinion  expressed  by  the  Roman  annalist,  Sal- 
lust,  that  it  is  the  duty  of  every  historian  to  relate  and  record  such 
occurrences  as  his  predecessors,  in  the  chair  of  history,  have  put 
forth  on  the  ground  of  facts.  It  is  under  the  impression,  therefore, 
of  the  Roman  historian's  opinion,  that  we  deem  it  our  duty  to  quote 
Dr.  O'Halloran's  remarks  on  the  supernatural  subject  just  alluded 
to.  He  says,  "  very  many  uncommon  phenomena  seemed  to  pre- 
dict the  approaching  miseries  of  Ireland.  In  the  reign  of  Aodh 
Slaine,  the  appearance  of  fleets  and  armies  was  seen  in  the  skies ; 
in  those  of  his  immediate  successors,  monstrous  serpents  seemed  to 
float  in  the  air.  The  fall  of  blood  in  the  present  time,  seemed  to 
announce  their  nearer  approach  ;  this  was  followed  by  dreadful 
earthquakes  in  different  parts  of  the  kingdom, — and  to  these  suc- 
ceeded so  great  a  famine,  as  to  carry  oft' numbers  of  the  inhabitants. 
The  good  monarch,  shocked  at  such  accumulated  miseries,  resigned 
the  crown,  and  retired  to  the  abbey  of  Ily,  where,  after  eight  years 
spent  in  remarkable  piety  and  austerity,  lie  resigned  his  life  for  a 
better,  and  was  interred  there,  in  the  same  vault  with  his  prede- 
cessor." 

The  successor,  on  the  throne,  to  Nial,  was  Donachad,  the  son  of 
the    monarch  Daniel.      Of  tlie  events  of  his   reign,  which  lasted 


379 

twenty-seven  years,  we  Imve  no  liistorical  relation.  It  is  conjec- 
tured by  our  most  creditable  historians,  that  the  manuscript  which 
narrated  the  transactions  of  Donachad's  regal  sway,  was  burned, 
with  many  other  of  our  national  records,  by  the  devastating  Danes, 
whose  barbarous  and  Gothic  policy  it  was  to  destroy  every  memo- 
rial of  Milesian  greatness  and  grandeur,  and  to  "  obliterate  every 
trace  and  recollection  of  ancient  times."  On  the  death  of  Donachad 
A.  D.  797,  his  cousin,  Aodh  the  VI.,  was  elected  monarch  of  Ireland. 
The  history  of  his  memorable  reign  will  occupy  one  of  our  future 
chapters. 


CHAPTER   LV. 


The  question  discussed, — whether  the  Catholic  Religion,  established  by  St.  Patrick, 
icns  the  same  in  principle,  tenor ,  and  doctri7ie,  as  that  now  professed  and  prac- 
ticed by  the  Roman  Catholics  of  Ireland  ? 

We  think  that  there  never  was  written  an  abler  or  a  more  con- 
vincing refutation  of  the  absurd  and  unfounded  assertions  of  those 
who  have  endeavoured  to  maintain  the  groundless  opinion,  that  the 
religion  first  introduced  into  Ireland,  by  St.  Patrick,  was  not  under 
the  ecclesiastical  control  of  the  Pope,  than  that  which  M'Dermott 
furnishes  in  the  following  observations, — observations  that  are  not 
only  powerful  in  argument,  luminous  in  diction,  but  forcible  in  logi- 
cal deduction,  and  overwhelming  in  their  invincible  array  of  un- 
questionable facts. 

He  says,  "  in  taking  a  retrospective  view  of  the  state  and  pro- 
gress of  religion  in  Ireland  since  the  e.stablishraent  of  Christianity  by 
St.  Patrick;  we  are  aware  that  to  the  generality  of  readers,  ecclesi- 
astical has  much  less  of  interest  and  importance  than  civil  history. 
Yet  as  both  seem  to  be  so  intimately  blended,  that  we  cannot  be 
perfectly  acquainted  with  the  one  while  we  are  totally  ignorant  of 
the  other.  The  history  of  a  people,  at  least  that  part  of  it  which 
makes  us  acquainted  with  their  manners,  habits,  and  opinions,  is 
best  collected  from  a  knowledge  of  their  religion.  He  who  holds 
with  the  Epicurean  moralist,  that  this  is  the  reign  of  pleasure  and 
enjoyment,  and  he  who  believes  with  the  christian  divine,  that  it  is 
only  a  passage  to  a  future  state,  where  our  happiness  or  misery  is 
to  be  determined  by  our  merits  or  demerits  on  earth,  will  not  only 
act  and  think  differently,  but  present  to  the  historian  a  political  as- 
pect, shaded  by  colours  that  are  perfectly  distinct  and  different  from 
each  other. 

It  has  been  asserted  by  Archbishop  Usher,  and  Dr.  Ledwich,  that 
the  Catholic  religion  was  not  that  originally  preached  and  estab- 
lished in  Ireland.  The  arguments  urged  by  Usher  in  determining 
this  question  have  been  examined  and  rejected  by  F.  Malone,  a  co- 
temporary  writer  ;  in  this  controversy,  Malone  was  so  successful  in 
proving    his    point,   that    the  R.  .Tame.i   Tosher,  a  dei^cendant  of  the 


380 

Archbishop,  afterwards  became  a  proselyte  to  the  Catholic  religion, 
by  the  perusal  of  his  work.  We  shall,  however,  state  the  arguments 
made  use  of  by  Usher  and  Ledwich  on  the  one  side,  and  by  Dr. 
Milner,  who  maintains  that  the  Catholic  religion  was  the  first  estab- 
lished in  Ireland,  on  the  other,  and  thus  enable  the  reader  to  form 
his  own  opinion  on  the  merits  of  the  question. 

"  In  treating,"  says  Dr.  Milner,  "of  the  important  subject  of  an- 
tiquity, which  I  announced  at  the  conclusion  of  my  last  letter,  I 
have  to  combat  two  principal  adversaries  ;  persons  of  very  different 
characters,  attainments,  and  systems,  but,  nevertheless,  combined 
together  in  the  same  cause,  that  of  robbing  the  Irish  Catholics  of 
their  ancient  faith.  These  j)ersons  are  Archbishop  Usher  and  Dr. 
Ledwich.  They  both  maintain,  that  the  original  Christianity  of  Ire- 
land was  not  Catholic,  but  rather  the  reverse  of  it.  They  are,  how- 
ever, very  ditierent  and  inconsistent  in  their  stories  with  respect  to 
the  source  and  nature  of  this  Christianity,  as  will  appear  from  the 
following  abstract  of  their  respective  systems.  What  Archbishop 
Usher  says  is,  in  substance,  this  :  '  Unquestionably  there  was  a 
missionary  from  Rome,  of  the  name  of  Patrick,  who,  together  with 
his  disciples,  converted  the  greater  part  of  our  Irish  ancestors  from 
paganism  to  Christianity,  about  the  middle  o(  the  fifth  century.  All 
history  attests  it,  and  it  would  be  madness  to  deny  it.  But  I  can 
prove  from  the  very  acts  of  this  apostle,  from  venerable  Bede,  and 
other  ancient  doctors  of  the  church,  that  the  religion  then  imported 
by  St.  Patrick  was  difterent  in  its  essential  parts,  from  that  professed 
by  the  Catholics  at  the  present  time.'  On  the  other  hand,  Dr.  Led- 
wich exclaims:  'Away  with  the  phantoms  invented  by  confederated 
monks  of  the  ninth  century,  in  imitation  of  Mars,  Minerva,  and 
Juno.  There  never  was  such  a  man  at  all  as  St.  Patrick,  the  apos- 
tle of  Ireland ;  and  it  is  certain  that  the  Irish  were  converted  to  a 
religion  the  very  reverse  of  popery,  by  some  unknown  preachers 
from  Asia,  long  before  the  fifth  century,  when  he  is  supposed  to 
have  lived  ;  which  pure  religion  continued  in  Ireland  down  to  the 
year  1152.  As  to  Ware,  Harris,  and  Primate  Usher,  they  had  not 
even  a  tolerable  idea  of  our  original  episcopacy  ;*  and  when  they 
ajjpeal  to  the  testimony  of  Bede  and  the  English  Saxon  church,  in 
opposition  to  popery,  they  appeal  to  acknowledged  papists.'  I 
shall  first  pay  attention  to  the  arguments  of  the  Archbishop,  as  they 
are  detailed  by  Harris  :  after  which  I  shall  again  notice  the  decla- 
mations of  Ledwich  :t  the  occasion,  however,  requires  that  I  should 
compress  both  the  former  and  the  latter,  together  with  my  answers, 
into  the  narrowest  compass  possible. 

"  l.  It  is  urged  by  Usher,  that  the  Christianity  which  prevailed  in 
the  age  of  St.  Patrick,  and  a  considerable  time  afterwards,  could 
not  be  the  religion  of  modern  Catholics,  because  the  poet  Sedulius, 
in  the  fifth  century,  and  our  venerable  Bede  in  the  eighth,  strongly 
recommended  the  reading  of  the  holy  scriptures.  But  does  the 
Catholic   church,  in   these   limes,  forbid  the  reading  of  them  ?     So 

*'  See  Antiquit.  p.  87. 

t  See  a  Dissertation  annexed  to  the  Life  of  St.  Patrick. 


381 

far  from  that,  she  imposes  a  strict  obHgation  of  reading  them  upon 
all  her  clergy,  and  she  interdicts  the  practice  to  none  of  iier  chil- 
dren ;  she  only  expresses  a  desire,  that  they  who  apply  to  it,  may 
have  some  small  previous  tincture  of  literature,  or,  at  least,  that 
they  may  be  possessed  of  docile  and  humble  minds,  so  as  to  be  wil- 
ling to  admit  her  interpretation  of  the  many  things  hard  to  be  ttndcr- 
stoud,*  which  occur  in  them.  In  the  mean  time,  I  might  quote 
whole  volumes  of  passages  from  the  fatherst  and  councils|  of  the 
church,  belonging  to  the  ages  in  question,  by  way  of  proving  that 
they  admitted  certain  unwritten  apostolical  traditions  as  the  word 
of  God,  equally  with  the  written  bible,  and  that  they  unanimously 
rejected  from  their  communions,  as  heathens  and  publicans,  all  those 
who  refused  to  hear  the  church  in  her  decisions. §  II.  It  is  objected 
by  Usher,  that  what  is  called  St.  Patrick's  purgatory  was  not  insti- 
tuted by  the  saint  of  that  name.  This  I  readily  grant  •,||  but  if  he 
argues  from  thence,  that  St.  Patrick  and  the  early  christians  did  not 
believe  in  a  middle  state  of  souls  after  death,  which  may  be  assisted 
by  the  prayers  of  living  christians,  he  is  guilty  of  an  error  both  in 
reasoning  and  in  fact.  It  will  be  seen  in  this  saint's  second  coun- 
cil, that  he  forbids  the  holy  sacrifice  to  be  ofiered  up  for  those  per- 
sons after  their  death  who  had  rendered  themselves  unworthy  to 
have  it  offered  up  for  them  in  their  lifetime.^  It  will  not  be  dis- 
puted that  the  writings  of  Bede  abound  with  testimonies  in  favour 
of  prayers  for  the  dead,  of  purgatory,  &c.**  and  it  is  a  fact  that  he 
himself,  when  he  came  to  die,  earnestly  desired  that  prayers  and 
masses  might  be  offered  up  for  him. ft  III.  It  is  said  that  St.  Pat- 
rick condemned  the  worship  of  images.  True,  he  condemned  and 
extirpated  the  use  of  pagan  idols  ;  but  here  is  not  the  shadow  of  an 
argument  to  shew  that  he  deviated  from  the  received  doctrine  and 
practice  of  the  universal  church,  with  respect  to  the  paying  a  proper 
reverence  to  the  cross  of  Christ,  his  image,  or  the  images  or  relics 
of  the  martyrs  and  saints,  or  with  respect  to  the  })ious  usage  of  de- 
siring  the  saints  to  offer  up  prayers  for  us.     At  the  time  when  St. 

*  2  Pet.  iii.  10. 

\  See  in  particular  aniontrst  St.  Patrick's  contemporaries,  St  Basil,  Lib.  de 
Spir.  S.  c.  27.  St.  John  Clirys.  in  Orat.  4.  in  Epist.  ad  Thesal.  and  St.  V^incent  of 
Lerins,  in  the  whole  of  his  golden  work,  called,  "  Commonitoriuni  adversus  pro- 
fanas  Haeroseon  nnvitatcs." 

X  See  in  particular  the  speech  of  St.  Wilfrid,  commended  by  Bede,  Hist.  1.  iii. 
c.  27.  also  the  decrees  of  the  synods  of  Herudford,  1.  iv.  c.  5.  and  of  Hedfield,  1.  vi. 
c.  17.  Sir  Richard  Musnfrave,  referring  to  the  assertions  of  Usher,  which  he  re- 
commends to  the  consideration  of  Catholics,  takes  upon  himself  to  asseit,  that 
"  until  Archbishop  Anselin's  time,  (namely,  the  12tli  conturj')  the  Irish  clergy 
were  totally  ignorant  of  the  councils  of  the  church,  and  derived  their  knowledge 
of  Christianity  for  near  800  years  from  no  other  source  but  the  bible.  Memoirs  of 
the  Rebellion,  p.  2.  It  is  not  by  way  of  enterinof  into  a  controversy  upon  ecclesi- 
astical matters  with  Sir  R.  Musgrave  that  1  notice  this  revolting  falsehood,  but 
only  by  way  of  shewing  Sir  Richard's  propensity  to  assert  with  the  utmost  confi- 
dence facts  of  which  he  is  totally  ignorant. 

§   Mat.  xviii.  17. 

II  It  was  set  on  foot  by  an  Abbot  Patrick  several  ages  later,  and  was  once  sup- 
pressed by  an  order  of  the  Pope,  namely,  in  1497. 

H  2  Concil.  S.  Patricii,  cap.  12.  Spelman.  Concil.  p.  57. 

**  Hist.  1.  iv.  c.  22.  1.  ii.  c.  19. 

tt  Cuthbert  in  Vit.  Bed.  Act.  Bened.  torn.  iii. 


382 

Patrick  arrived  in  Ireland,  he  saw  the  cross  of  Christ  exalted  upon 
the  imperial  standards,  and  he  left  the  great  doctors  of  Christianity, 
a  Chrysostome,  an  Augustine,  a  Prosper,  and  a  Leo,  hearing  am|)le 
testimony  to  the  piety  and  utility  of  all  these  practices.*  He  him- 
self is  recorded  as  bringing  over  relics  into  these  islands, t  as  Usher 
acknowledges  St.  Palladius  did  before  him.|  With  respect  to  our 
native  historian  and  theologian,  venerable  Bede,  whom  Usher  ap- 
peals to,  he  describes  St.  Atigustine  of  Canterbury  preaching  the 
gospel  to  king  Ethelbert,  with  the  cross  for  an  ensign,  and  the  ligure 
of  Christ  for  an  emblem  ;v^  he  represents  the  same  saint  consecrating 
pagan  temples  with  holy  water  and  relics, ||  and  offering  up  homage 
to  God  by  the  sacrifice  of  the  mass.^]  With  respect  to  images  in 
particular,  venerable  Bede  proves  that  God  did  not  interdict  the 
total  use  of  them,  by  his  commanding  the  figures  of  cherubim  and 
oxen  to  be  placed  in  the  temple  :  '  for  certainly,'  he  adds,  '  if  it 
was  lawful  to  make  twelve  oxen  of  brass  to  support  the  brazen  sea, 
it  cannot  be  amiss  to  paint  the  twelve  apostles  going  to  preach  to 
all  nations.'**  IV.  We  are  told  that  the  liturgy  of  St.  Patrick  dif- 
fered from  that  of  the  Roman  church.  It  is  not,  however,  jiroved 
to  have  diftered,  in  the  smallest  tittle,  from  that  which  was  followed 
at  Rome  when  St.  Patrick  received  his  mission  ;  nnich  less  is  it 
proved  to  have  deviated  in  any  point  which  is  essential  to  the  nature 
of  the  sacraments  and  sacrifice  of  the  church  in  all  ages  and  coun- 
tries. That  the  Catholic  liturgies  of  all  times  and  countries  have 
been  essentially  the  same  in  this  respect,  is  abundantly  proved  by 
divines  and  canonists. tt  Nevertheless,  it  is  to  l)e  remarked  that  a 
certain  latitude  in  mere  ceremonies  and  particular  devotions,  has 
always  been  allowed  to  great  or  national  churches,  under  the  regu- 
lation of  their  head  pastors.  St.  Gregory  permitted  our  apostle,  St. 
Augustine,  to  adopt  any  usages  of  this  nature  for  the  infant  church 
of  the  English,  which  he  might  choose  to  borrow  from  the  French 
or  other  Catholic  nations  ;i::|:  and  the  court  of  Rome,  at  the  present 
day,  so  far  from  requiring  the  orthodox  Greeks,  who  have  colleges 
there,  to  conform  to  her  ritual  in  these  unessential  points,  obliges 
them  to  adhere  to  their  own.  V.  It  appears  that  the  mass  was 
sometimes,  in  former  ages,  said  by  the  Irish  clergy  at  night.  So  it 
was,  in  the  same  ages,  and  on  the  same  occasions,  namely,  on  the 
eves  of  certain  great  festivals,  by  the  clergy  of  every  other  Catholic 
country.  It  is  still  said  by  us  at  midnight  on  Christmas  night.  In 
the  mean  time,  we  learn  from  Bede,  that  nine  of  the  clock  in  the 
morning  was  the  usual  time  of  saying  it.*^§  VI.  Bede  and  Cogito- 
sus  speak  of  '  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  body  and  blood  :'  whence 
it  appears  that  the  sacrament  was  in  ancient  times  administered  in 
both  kinds.  I  answer,  that  the  Catholics  use  the  same  language  at 
the   present  day,  though  the  laity  receive  the  sacrament  only  under 

*  See   the  Liturgy  of  St.  Chrysost.  Aug.  Serm.  25,  de  Sanctis,  &c.  Prosper  de 
Vita  Contemplat.  c.  4.  Leo  Serin,  de  S.  Vine. 

+  Jocelin,  cap.  IGG.  t  Primord,  p.  812.  §    Lib.  i.  c.  25. 

II  Lib.  i.  c.  2(i.  IT  Lib.  i.  c.  30.  **  De  Teinplo  Salom.  cap.  19. 

It   See  Explication  de  la  Messe,  par  le  Brun.  Goarius,  Marinus,  &c. 

U  Hist.  Eccl.  1.  i.  c.  27.  §  §   Hora  tertia.  Hist.  Eccl.  1.  iv.  c.  22. 


383 

oiie  kind;  that  tlie  ditVerence  of  receiving  it  under  one  or  under 
both  kinds,  is  a  mere  point  of  discipHiie,  wiiich  may  be,  and  has 
been,  changed,  as  the  circumstances  of  time  and  place  required  ; 
and  that,  nevertheless,  the  present  practice  of  tiie  church,  in  com- 
municating to  the  laity  under  the  form  of  bread  alone,  was  the  prac- 
tice of  our  infant  English  cluirch,  as  appears  from  Bede  himself.* 
In  the  mean  time,  we  are  to  observe  that  this  illustrious  doctor  of 
the  English  church,  at  the  beginning  of  tlie  ninth  century,  expressly 
teaches,  not  only  that  the  mass  is  a  true  sacrifice,  in  which  Christ  is 
truly  and  really  present,  but  also,  that  a  true  and  proper  change  or 
transubstantiation  of  the  bread  and  wine  into  the  body  and  blood  of 
Christ  takes  place  in  it.  I  will  transcribe  his  words  in  the  margin, 
and  I  defy  the  subtlety  of  the  most  ingenious  conlrovertist  of  your 
acquaintance  to  give  them  any  other  meaning  than  that  which  I  have 
assigned. t  VII.  Archbishop  Lanfranc  complains,  that  the  Irish 
neglected  the  use  of  chrism  in  baptism,  or  did  not  make  use  of  it  in 
a  proper  manner,  and  that  a  single  bishop  amongst  them  was  accus- 
tomed to  consecrate  another  bishop,  w  itliout  the  presence  of  two 
others,  as  the  council  of  Nice  requires.  But  what  trifling,  Sir,  is 
this  !  For  since  it  is  evident  that  Lanfranc  did  not,  on  this  account, 
deny  the  validity  of  the  Irish  baptisms  and  orders  ;  and  since  both 
Catholics  and  Protestants  are  agreed  that  chrism  is  not  essential  to 
baptism,  nor  the  presence  of  three  bishops  to  consecration,  it  is  plain 
that  the  diversity  in  question  neither  was,  nor  was  considered  to  be, 
a  sufficient  ground  for  the  rest  of  the  church  to  break  off  communion 
with  the  prelates  of  this  island.  VIII.  In  order  to  prove  that  the 
clergy  were  permitted  in  ancient  times  to  marry,  and  that  therefore 
the  church  then  was  upon  a  different  footing  from  what  it  is  now, 
Archbishop  Usher  mentions  that  St.  Patrick  was  the  son  of  the  dea- 
con Calphurnius,  who  himself  was  the  son  of  the  priest  Potitus.  I 
answer,  that  if  the  learned  primate  had  acted  fairly  by  his  readers, 
he  would  have  informed  them  that  the  same  author  who  mentions 
these  particulars  concerning  St.  Patrick's  family,  expressly  tells  us 
that  the  children  of  Calphurnius  and  Potitus  were  hovn  previously  to 
their  fathers'  ordination. 

*  See  tlie  History  of  the  Sons  of  Sabereth,  1.  ii.  c.  5. 

\  "  Lavat  nos  (Christus)  a  peccatis  nostris  quotidie  in  sanguine  suo,  cum  ejus- 
dem  bcatoD  passionis  memoria  ad  altare  replicatur,  cum  panis  et  vini  creaturam 
sacramentum  carnis  et  sanguinis  ejus,  ineffabili  spiritus  sanctificatione  TRANS- 
FERTUR  :  sicque  corpus  et  sanguis  illius  non  infidelium  manibus  ad  peiniciem 
ipsorum  funditur,  et  occiditur,  sed  fideiium,  ore,suam  sumitur  ad  salutem."  Bed. 
Hom.  in  Epiph.  torn.  7.  As  the  doctrine  of  the  eastern  church  is  particularly  im- 
plicated in  the  present  controversy,  1  shall  select,  from  among  scores  of  other  tes- 
timonies relating  to  it,  a  passage  from  the  catechetical  discourses  of  a  holy  father 
who  was  bishop  of  the  primitive  church  of  Jerusalem  in  the  fourth  century  :  "  Tlie 
bread  and  wine  of  the  eucharist,  before  the  invocation  of  the  adorable  Trinity, 
were  mere  bread  and  wine  ;  but  that  invocation  having  taken  place,  the  bread  be- 
comes the  body  of  Christ,  and  the  wine  becomes  the  blood  of  Christ.  Since,  then, 
Christ  thus  declares  concerning  the  bread  :  THIS  IS  MY  BODY,  who  can  doubt 
any  longer.'  And  since  he  confirms  what  he  said,  and  declares  THIS  IS  MY 
BLOOD,  who  will  dare  to  hesitate,  and  affirm  that  it  is  not  his  blood  .'"  He  once 
changed  water  into  wine,  which  resembles  blood,  at  Cana  in  Galilee  :  and  is  he 
not  worthy  to  be  believed,  when  he  says  that  he  changes  wine  into  blood  .'"  «&;c. 
St.  Cyril  of  Jerusal.  Catech.  Mystagog.  i.  See  also  the  Liturgy  of  St.  Basil,  and 
of  St.  Chrys.  in  Le  Brun,  «&c. 


384 

To  prevent  being  obliged  to  return  again  to  tbe  same  subject,  I 
shall  take  notice  here  of  some  of  tbe  extravagant  assertions  of  Dr. 
Ledwicb,  on  tbe  subject  of  clerical  and  monastic  celibacy.  He  as- 
serts, tbat  tbe  ancient  Irisb  ascetics,  called  CuJdees,  were  married;* 
and  be  appeals  to  an  authority  in  support  of  bis  assertion.  But 
what,  Sir,  do  you  think,  is  tliis  authority  ?  It  is  the  bare  word  of 
the  profligate  and  deistical  writer  of  tbe  last  century,  Toland  !  Such 
is  the  '  enlightened  criticism  '  of  this  vaunting  anti(juary  of  Ireland  ! 
To  be  sure,  a  monastery  of  3000  monks,  as  was  tbat  of  Bencbor 
under  St.  Comgall,t  with  each  one  a  wife  and  family,  was  admirably 
calculated  for  the  observance  of  those  austere  rules  of  obedience,  si- 
lence, abstemiousness,  poverty,  &c.  which  Dr.  Ledwicb  admits  them 
to  have  practised  ;  having  borrowed  them,  he  tells  us,  not  from  the 
christian  monks  of  Egypt,  but  from  the  more  ancient  heathen  priests 
of  Egypt!  So  desirous  is  he  of  making  a  confused  medley  of  Chris- 
tianity and  paganism  !|  Three  thousand  monks  in  a  monastery 
with  their  wives  and  families !  How  far  will  the  impositions  of 
some  men  go,  and  the  credulity  of  others  !  He  says,  however,  tbat 
'  when  it  came  to  their  turn  to  officiate,  they  did  not  cohabit  with 
their  wives  ;  as  by  tbe  28tb  canon  of  the  African  code,  subdeacons, 
who  handle  the  holy  mysteries,  deacons,  priests,  and  bishops  are  di- 
rected, at  their  several  terms,  to  abstain  from  their  wives  :  a  prac- 
tice derived  from  Egypt  to  tbe  Jews,  and  from  them  adopted  by  the 
christians.  Celibacy  was  unknown  for  tbe  first  three  hundred  years 
of  the  church. '>§  What  a  mass  of  misrepresentation  and  falsehood 
is  here  heaped  together  !  In  tbe  first  place,  by  Ledwich's  own  ac- 
count, the  monks  in  general,  and  tbe  Culdees  in  particular,  'had  no 
office  in  tbe  church  ;  even  the  abbots  had  not  priesthood  till  the  l'2th 
century.'ll  St.  Columba  is  mentioned  as  an  exception  to  this  rule. 
Hence  their  '  turn  to  officiate,  according  to  this  author  himself, 
never  came  round.'  The  writer  equally  imposes  upon  those  who 
trust  to  him,  in  what  he  says  about  tbe  derivation  of  clerical  conti- 
nency  from  pagan  priests.  If  those  illustrious  prelates  who  framed 
the  African  code,  Aurelius,  St.  Augustine,  St.  Alypius,  «Sf  c.  to  whose 
authority  he  has  just  now  appealed,  are  to  be  believed,  this  observ- 
ance is  derived  from  the  apostles." 

"Having  undertaken  so  desperate  a  cause,  as  that  of  proving  the 
religion  of  St.  Patrick  and  his  converts  not  to  have  been  tbe  Catho- 
lic, no  wonder  Archbishop  Usher,  with  all  his  talents,  should  have 
failed  in  it  ;  no  wonder  bis  adversary  F.  Malone,  having  the  works 
of  the  fathers  at  his  elbow,  should  have  gained  so  decided  a  victory 
over  him,  and  that  tbe  perusal  of  their  respective  writings  should 
have  determined  the  Archbishop's  descendant,  the  reverend  James 
Usher,  to  become  a  Catholic,  as  I  have  related  in  one  of  my  first  let- 
ters to  you.  The  most  important  however,  of  Usher's  objections,  re- 
mains to  be  examined  :  he  denies  that  St.  Patrick  and  bis  disciples 
acknowledged  the  Pope's  spiritual  primacy.  If  this  be  true,  un- 
doubtedly their  religion  was  not  Catholic;  for  it  is  their  union  with 
the  successor   of  St.   Peter,  as   their  visible  head  here   upon  earth, 

*  Antiq.  p.  111.        t  Ibid.  p.  90.        X  Ibid.         §  Ibid.  pp.  Ill,  112.       ||  Ibid. 


3S5 

which  does  keep,  and  ever  has  kept  the  members  of  the  ^reat  CathO' 
lie  or  universal  church,  spread  as  it  is  all  over  the  universe,  iu  one 
faith  and  one  communion- 
Let  us  now  see  how  far  tliis  objection  is  confonuable  or  opposite 
to  historical  documents.  I  shall  refer  to  the  primate  himself  in  his 
learned  works  called  Dc  Briiannicarum  Ecclesiarvm  Primordiis, 
and  his  Index  Chronologic  us,  when  I  can  do  so  ;  because  it  may  save 
me  some  little  trouble,  and  because  uothin«-  is  more  satisfactory  than 
an  adversary's  (»wn  confc's>ion.  In  a  word,  I  mean  to  convict  Arch- 
bishop Usher,  the  Controveriist,  upon  the  evidence  of  Archbishop 
Usher,  the  Aniiquari/.  The  followinir  facts  then  are  admitted  and 
distinctly  stated  by  him,  to<rctlier  with  the  authorities  on  which  they 
rest,  relative  to  the  connection  which  subsisted  in  ancient  times  be- 
tween the  churches  of  these  islands  and  the  See  of  Rome. 

In  ;i'J7  St.  Albeus,  an  Irishman  by  birth,  was  consecrated  bishop 
by  the  Pope,  and  afterwards  returned  into  Ireland.  In  AQ'l  two 
other  Irishmen,  SS.  Declan  and  Kieran,  after  studying  at  Rome, 
were  consecrated  bishops  by  the  Pope,  and  sent  to  preach  the  gos- 
pel iu  their  own  country.*  The  same  account  is  given  of  St.  Ibarus, 
another  celebrated  Irish  bishop.  He  was  sent  from  Rome  to  Ire- 
land in  the  year  420.f  In  431  Palladius,  a  deacon  of  the  Roman 
church,  was  consecrated  by  Pope  Celesline  bishop  of  the  Scots,  and 
sent  by  him  to  the  Scots  of  Ireland;  but,  being  discouraged  by  the 
opposition  he  there  met  with,  he  passed  over  to  the  British  Scots  in 
the  Highlands,  and  is  acknowledged  as  their  apostle.  In  432,  St. 
Patrick,  after  residing  long  at  Rome,  and  learning  his  religion  there, | 
is  sent  to  preach  the  gospel  in  Ireland  by  the  above-mentioned  Pope 
Celestine.  In  434  Secundinus,  Auxilius  and  Isernus  are  ordained 
bishops,  and  sent  from  Rome  to  the  assistance  of  St.  Patrick.  In 
462  St.  Patrick  goes  to  Roni(>,  to  give  an  account  of  his  mission  in 
Ireland,  and  to  obtain  from  Pope  Hilarius  a  confirmation  of  what 
he  had  settled  there.  About  the  latter  end  of  the  fifth  century,  it 
was  the  custom  of  the  Irish  to  go  in  crowds  to  Rome  upon  pilgrim- 
ages of  devotion. 5i  In  540  St.  Finian  of  Clonard,  the  master  of  so 
many  eminent  Irish  scholars,  was  consecrated  bishop  at  Rome.  In 
580  SS.  Columbanus  and  Gallus  pass  over  to  the  continent,  where 
they  are  received  by  the  bishops  and  princes  of  France  and  Italy  as 
illustrious  and  orthodox  doctors  of  the  Catholic  faith.  In  594  Pope 
Gregory  the  Great  writes  different  letters,  to  the  bishops  of  Ireland, 
in  answers  to  questions  which  they  had  proposed  to  him  concerning 
baptism,  the  Nestorian  errors,  and  other  matters.  In  these  be 
writes  in  the  style  of  a  superior  to  his  inferiors. ||  In  the  year  609, 
St.  Augustine's  successor  in  the  see  of  Canterbury,  St.  Laurence, 
exercises  this  authority  by  writing  separately  to  the  Irish  and  Welsh 
bishops,  exhorting  them  to  conform  to  the  rest  of  the  church  in  the 
observance  of  Easter. ^f     In   628  the   southern  Irish  are  reclaimed 

*  Primord,  p.  CGI,  ed.  1039.  t   Ibid.  p.  bOO. 

t  "  Patricius  Romanis  disciplinis  eruditus."     Girald.  Camb.  cited  by  Usher. 
§    Girald.  Camb.  in  Vita  S.  David,  quoted  by  Usher. 
II  Vide  Epistolas  S.  Greg.  1.  ii.  ep.  36,  et.  1.  ix.  ep.  61. 
^  Ibid.  1.  ii.  c.  4. 

49 


8SG 

from  their  erroneous  practice  by  Pope  Honorius.  In  630  a  deputa- 
tion of  learned  and  lioly  men  were  sent  by  the  bishops  of  Ireland  to 
"  the  fountain  of  their  baptism,  like  ciiildren  to  tlieir  mother,"*  to 
confer  with  the  Apostolic  See  concerning  the  observance  of  Easter 
and  other  matters.  Amongst  these  was  St.  Lasrean,  who  was  con- 
secrated bishop  by  Pope  Honorius,  and  appointed  his  legate  in  Ire- 
land.i  In  C40  Tomianus,  Archbishop  of  Armagh,  and  other  Irish 
prelates,  still  anxious  about  the  right  observance  of  Easter,  write  to 
consult  Pope  Severinus,  and  receive  an  answer  to  their  letter  from 
his  successor  Pope  John.  In  648  St.  Foillan,  an  Irish  ecclesiastic, 
goes  to  receive  episcopal  consecration  from  Pope  Martin,  with  au- 
thority to  preach  the  faith  amongst  infidels.  In  686  St.  Killian,  an 
Irish  bishop,  goes  to  Rome  on  the  same  errand.  About  this  time, 
and  during  a  long  time  after,  England  continued  to  be  supplied  with 
bishops  and  learned  doctors  from  Ireland,  who  diftered  in  nothing 
from  the  Roman  missionaries,  except  as  to  the  time  of  keeping 
Easter,  and  the  form  of  their  clerical  tonsures.  In  680  St.  Wilfrid, 
archbishop  of  York,  assisted  at  the  first  great  lateran  council  of  125 
bishops  under  Pope  Agatho,  in  which  he  bore  testimony  to  the  or- 
thodoxy of  the  churches  of  Ireland,  as  well  as  of  Britain.  In  the 
eighth  and  ninth  centuries  the  Irish  continued  to  flock  to  the  conti- 
nent more  than  ever,^  where  they  were  received,  not  only  as  breth- 
ren, but  also  as  masters,  by  the  most  zealous  partizans  of  the  See  of 
Rome,  such  as  St.  Boniface,  Archbishop  of  Mentz,  and  Pepin,  King 
of  France.  One  of  these,  St.  Virgil,  bishop  of  Salsburg,  who  died 
in  784,  having,  at  different  times,  certain  controversies  with  his  me- 
tropolitan, the  above-mentioned  St.  Boniface,  the  decision  of  them 
was,  in  every  instance,  referred  to  the  Pope.§  At  the  beginning  of 
the  ninth  century,  Dumgal,  an  Irish  doctor,  wrote  a  book,  which  he 
dedicated  to  the  Emperor  Lotharius,  in  defence  of  the  cross  and 
pious  images,  against  the  innovater  Claude,  bishop  of  Turin  ;1|  and 
at  the  end  of  this  century,  those  three  hardy  scholars  mentioned  in 
a  former  letter  came  over  from  Ireland,  to  the  pious  and  learned  King 
Alfred  in  a  boat  made  of  ttco  bullocks  hides  and  a  half.  Their  busi- 
ness, after  staying  some  time  with  Alfred,  was  to  perform  a  journey 
of  devotion  to  Rome.^]  At  this  time,  it  was  the  practice  for  metro- 
politans to  take  an  oath  of  canonical  obedience  to  the  Pope,  as  it 
was  the  practice  of  other  bishops  to  take  such  an  oath  to  them.** 
Hence,  as  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  ever  since  the  commission 
of  St.  Gregory  the  Great  to  St.  Augustine,  had  legatine  jurisdiction 
in  Ireland,  so  we  find  the  Irish  prelates  taking  such  an  oath  to  the 
English  primates  in  the  11th  century.tt     I  now  meet  with  another 

*  See  Usher,  also  Epist.  Cummieni  in  Sylog.  and  an  abstract  of  it  in  Ware's 
Writers  of  Ireland.     Art.  Cinnmienus. 

t  This  is  expressly  stated  by  Usher,  Primord.  p.  938. 

X  This  appears  by  the  testimony  of  Erric  of  Auxerre,  quoted  above  in  my  second 
letter.  §   Ware's  Descript.  &c.  ||  Ibid. 

IT  Chron.  Sax.  Ethelward. 

**  Vide  De  Marda  Concordan.  Sacerd.  et.  Imper.  Thomassin,  de  Discip.  Van 
Espon.  Jus.  Canon,  &c. 

t+  See  one  of  these  made  by  Patrick,  the  other  by  Donatus,  successively  Arch- 
bishops of  Dublin  to  Lanfranc,  Arclibishop  of  Canterbury,  Anglia  Sacra,  vol.  i.  p. 


387 

anecdote  to  my  purpose  in  Usher's  own  lucubrations.  In  109G  the 
people  of  Waterl'urd  being  desirous  of  having  a  bishop  for  that  flour- 
ishing city,  applied  for  this  purpose  to  St.  Ansehn,  archbishop  of 
Canterbury,  being  the  Lcgatus  Natus,  as  canonists  express  it,  of  all 
the  British  islands.*  The  same  primate  understanding  that  Samuel, 
archbishop  of  Dublin,  caused  the  cross  to  be  borne  before  him,  in 
the  same  manner  as  if  he  had  been  possessed  of  legatine  jurisdiction, 
reprehended  him  in  the  terms  which  are  to  be  seen  below. t 

Here,  Sir,  is  a  chain  of  facts,  the  greater  part  of  them  being  re- 
corded by  Usher  himself,  which  carry  up  the  acknowledgment  of  the 
Pope's  spiritual  supremacy  in  Ireland  from  the  middle  of  the  12th 
century,  (the  pretended  a;ra  of  its  commencement)  clearly  up  to  the 
first  prelates  of  Ireland  at  the  end  of  the  fourth  century.  I  could 
strengthen  this  chain  by  adding  many  collateral  links  to  it,  if  it  were 
not  already  sufficiently  strong. 

I  come  now  to  consider  the  system  which  is  peculiar  to  Dr.  Led- 
wich  on  the  present  subject.  In  fact  it  is  such  as  never  did  enter, 
and  is  never  likely  to  enter  into  the  conception  of  any  other  man  of 
letters  whomsoever.  Having  vainly  attempted  to  give  an  Asiatic 
origin  to  the  Christianity  of  Ireland,  totally  unconnected  with,  and 
in  direct  opposition  to  the  Christianity  which  prevailed  at  Rome,  in 
England,  and  other  places;  he  endeavours  to  shew  a  continuation 
of  this  newly  discovered  religion  down  to  the  12th  century, J  amongst 
an  order  of  pious  monks,  called  Culdees.  He  tells  us,  that  their 
founder,  St.  CoIumba,§  was  a  quartodeciman  ;||  that  "  they  did  not 
adopt  the  corruptions  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  church,  or  the  supersti- 
tions which  contaminated  Christianity  ;''^|  that  "  they  adhered  to 
the  ancient  faith,  and  abhorred  Roman  innovations  ;"**  that  "  Cum- 
ntiian,  a  Culdee,  apostatized  and  listened  to  Roman  emissaries  ;"tt 
that  "at  length  Adamnan,  the  Culdean  abbot  of  Hy,  likewise  apos- 
tatized."||  These  are  the  few,  among  the  many  glaring  errors, 
which  this  "  cultivator  and  destroyer  of  antiqiiity,"  as  I  have  else- 
where called  him,  has  fallen  into  in  speaking  of  the  Culdees. 

In  the  first  place,  these  Colidci  or  loorshippers  of  God,  were  not  a 
distinct  order  of  monks  founded  by  St.  Columba,  and  confined  to 
the  island  of  Hy  ;  but  this  was  a  general  name  for  all  the  ancient 
Scotch  and  Irish  monks,  or  rather  canons  regular,  as  we  are  assured 
by   unquestionable    authority. §^     2dly,  St.  Columba  and  his  monks 

80.  Tlie  following  is  an  e.xtract  from  the  former  :  "  Ego  Patricius  ad  regendam 
Dublinam,  Metropolcm  Hibernia?,  electus,  tibi  Rev.  Pater  Lanfrance  Biitnnnia- 
rum  Prhnns,  et  S.  Dorobernensis  Ecclesiae  Archiepiscope,  profcssionis  mesj  cliar- 
tam  porrigo  ;  nieque  tibi,  tuisque  successoribus  in  omnibus  quae  ad  Chrislianam 
religionem  pertinent  obtemporaturum  esse  promitto." 

*  Index  Chron.  add  dictum  Ann.  et  Primord.  See  also  Eadmer.  Hist.  Novo- 
rum,  c.  3(5. 

t  '•  Prceterea  audivi  quia  facis  portari  crucem  ante  te  in  via.  Quod  si  verum  est, 
mando  tibi  ne  amplius  hoc  facias  :  quia  non  pertinet  nisi  ad  Archiepiscopum  a  Ro- 
mano Pontifice  pallio  confirmatum."     Epist.  Ansehn.  1.  iii.  ep.  72.  1.  iv.  ep.  27. 

t  Antiq.  p.UG.  §   Ibid.  p.  103.  ||  Ibid.  p.  107.  IT  P.  Ibid. 

**  P.  100.  i\  P.  108.  U  P.  HI- 

§§  Giraldus  calls  them  "  Caelibes,  quos  Caehcolas  vel  CoHdcos  vocant."  To- 
pograph. Hib.  Dist.  ii.  c.  4.  Hector  Boetius,  lib.  vi.  Hist.  Scot,  says,  that  the  name 
became  so  common,  tliat  priests  in  general,  almost  down  to  his  own  time,  were 
called  "  Culdei,"  that  is  to  say,  "  Cultores  Dei." 


3S3 

of  Hy,  were  not  quartodecimans,  if  Bede,  who  knew  tliem  so  well, 
may  be  credited  in  wliat  he  affirms  concerning  them.  3dly,  The 
Ctildees  had  no  other  faith,  or  ecclesiastical  discipline,  excejit  as  to 
the  mode  of  computing  the  festivals  of  Easter,  than  the  English 
church,  and  all  the  other  churches  of  the  same  ages  had.  For  does 
Dr.  Ledwich  himself  believe,  that,  if  they  had  denied  the  real  pre- 
sence of  Christ  in  the  blessed  Eucharist,  or  the  utility  of  praying 
for  the  dead,  or  of  de!^iring  the  prayers  of  the  saints,  or  the  Pope's 
supremacy,  or  had  even  rejected  the  use  of  pious  pictures  in  their 
churciies,  or  of  holy  water,  and  such  like  things,  which  we  are  sure 
the  English  Saxons  adopted,  they  would  have  been  invited  to  join 
with  the  Roman  missionaries  in  lorming  our  infant  church,  in  edu- 
cating its  youth,  and  in  governing  it  in  quality  of  bishops  1  Would 
their  virtues  have  been  so  highly  extolled  by  Bede,  and  the  Catholic 
hogiographers  in  general,  as  they  are,  and  would  the  names  of  their 
saints  be  inscribed  upon  the  churches,  and  in  the  martyrologies  of 
Rome,  and  of  all  the  Catholics  of  Christendom  ?  4thly,  It  is  evi- 
dent, that  what  Dr.  Ledwich  writes  concerning  the  ancient  religion 
and  Roman  innovations,  ought  to  be  inverted  :  for  nothing  is  more 
certain,  than  that  the  ancient  British  prelates  originally  followed  the 
practice  of  Rome  and  the  other  churches  with  respect  to  the  time 
of  keeping  Easter,  as  well  as  in  other  particulars  ;  and  that  the  error 
which  they  and  the  Irish  prelates  fell  into  upon  this  point  was  an 
innovation,  comparatively  of  a  late  date.  Of  this  we  have  positive 
proofs:  for  the  chief  bishops  of  the  British  church  were  present  at, 
and  subscribed  to  the  council  of  Aries,  as  I  observed  to  you  before  ; 
the  very  first  canon  of  which  appoints  the  time  of  Easter  to  be  kept 
on  the  same  day  throughout  the  world,  and  that  the  Pope  should 
give  general  notice  of  that  day. 

This  canon  was  confirmed  in  the  oecumenical  council  of  Nice,  and 
the  emperor  Constantine  wrote  a  circular  letter  to  all  the  churches 
of  the  christian  world,  informing  them  of  what  had  been  decreed  in 
that  ])articular,  and  exhorting  the  several  bishops  to  subscribe  to  it.* 
In  this  letter  he  testifies,  that  our  British  provinces  were  amongst 
those  which  agreed,  as  to  the  time  of  celebrating  Easter,  with  Rome 
and  the  remainder  of  the  west,  as  also  with  the  south,  the  north,  and 
a  great  part  of  the  east  ;  in  opposition  to  a  certain  part  of  the  east, 
namely,  Syria  and  Mesopotamia.  It  is  evident,  then,  that  the  ob- 
servance of  the  British  churches  was  conformable  to  that  of  Rome 
in  this  particular,  at  least  down  to  the  year  325,  when  the  aforesaid 
letter  was  written  ;  and  there  cannot  be  a  doubt  that  they  continued 
in  the  same  observance,  as  long  as  the  Pope,  agreeably  to  the  an- 
cient custom,  and  the  decree  of  the  council  of  Aries, t  had  had  a  fa- 
cility of  writing  to  them,  and  giving  them  notice  of  the  right  day  of 
keeping  Easter;  that  is  to  say,  until  the  Britons  were  crushed  by 
the  Saxons,  and  driven  into  the  mountains  of  Wales  and  Cornwall. 
This  catastrophe  was  complete  about  the  year  500  ;  at  which  tint^e 
we  may  suppose  that,  attempting  to  calculate  the  vernal  equinox, 
and  the   time  of  the  moon,  for  themselves,  instead  of  receiving  the 

*  Euseb.  on  Vit.  Constant.  1.  iii.  c.  17.  t  Can.  i. 


3S9 


calculations  of  Rome  and  Alexandria,*  they  fell,  not  indeed  into  the 
practice  of  the  Jews  and  quaitodecimans,  which  consisted  in  keep- 
ing the  Pasch  on  the  14th  day  of  the  moon  next  after  the  vernal 
equinox,  whatever  day  of  the  week  that  happened  to  be,  but  into  a 
peculiar  error  of  their  own,  by  keeping  Easier  on  the  14th  day  when 
It  fell  upon  a  Sun<hiy  ;  w  hereas  the  churches  on  the  continent,  in 
this  case,  waited  till  the  ensuing  Sunday.  Tiiis  erroneous  calcula- 
tion the  Britijh  prelates  seem  to  have  communicated  to  those  of  Ire- 
land and  Scotland.  Tiie  error  in  question,  though  attended  with 
great  inconveniences,!  yet  not  being  formally  condemned  by  the 
church,  like  that  of  tlie  ((uartodecimans,  was  tolerated  by  the  Ro- 
man See  and  the  prelates  in  communion  with  it,  until  the  christians 
of  these  islands  becoming  sensible  of  it,  gradually  relinquished  it. 
Now  this  rectifying  of  an  acknowledged  error.  Dr.  Ledwi-ch  repeat- 
edly terms  apo^lacij.  But  to  what  system  did  the  British  churches 
apostatize  ?  To  that  which  was  common  to  all  christians  except 
themselves  ;  to  that  which  their  fathers  had  followed,  and  subscribed 
to  in  a  great  council  ;  in  short  to  that  which  Dr.  Ledwich  himself, 
with  all  those  of  his  communion,  adopt  at  the  present  day  !  See, 
Sir,  into  what  disorders  and  contradictions  this  bewildered  antiqua- 
ry has  plunged,  in  order  to  prove  that  Catholicity  was  not  the  an- 
cient religion  of  Ireland  !" 

The  reader  will  hardly  think  it  necessary  to  ask  my  opinion  on 
the  subject  of  the  foregoing  controversy,  as  he  must  perceive  that  if 
I  believed  with  Dr.  Ledwich  and  Archbishop  Usher,  that  Protestant- 
ism was  the  first  system  of  christian  worship  established  in  Ireland, 
I  should  not  have  brouglit  forward  such  incontro\ertible  arguments 
on  the  part  of  the  Catholics  as  Dr.  ]\lilner  has  advanced.  I  have 
not  done  so,  however,  thiough  a  spirit  of  partiality  or  prepossession, 
but  because  I  found  it  my  duty  to  state  the  arguments  of  the  ablest 
writers  on  both  sides  of  the  question,  and  thus  place  the  reader  on 
the  most  elevated  ground,  whence  he  could  view  with  more  clear- 
ness, and  judge  uitli  more  certainty  of  the  subject  in  debate.  If, 
however,  any  person  slnjuld  tell  me  that,  in  agitating  this  question, 
I  was  influenced  only  by  a  wish  to  exalt  the  Catholic  at  the  expense 
of  the  Protestant  church,  and  if  he  should  thence  conclude  that  I 
am  not  that  impartial  writer  which  I  profess  to  be  in  the  title  of  my 
work,  I  can  only  reply,  that  if  the  Catholic  religion  was  the  first  re- 
ligion established  in  Ireland,  I  would  be  a  very  prejudiced  and  bi- 
gotted  writer  to  leave  my  readers  under  an  impression  that  it  was 
not,  and  he  who  would  require  of  me  to  do  so,  and  to  pass  the  ques- 
tion by  unnoticed,  would  fipenly  avow  himself  to  be  what  I  disclaim, 
a  religious  bigot.  I  shall  be  always  happy  to  do  justice,  not  only 
to   Protestants,  but  to  all  mankind,  whenever  I  can  do  it  with  can- 

*  St.  Leo  testifies  that  the  calculation  was  made  at  Alexandria,  (which  city  was 
famous  for  astronomical  studies)  and  being  notified  to  the  Pope,  was  by  him  pro- 
multrated  tliroujrhoiit  Christendom. 

t  Venerable  Bede  furnishes  us  with  a  strikina:  instance  of  this  inconvenience 
with  respect  to  hintr  Oswy,  who  followed  the  British  computation,  and  his  queen 
Eanfeld,  who  adopted  that  of  the  continent.  It  Jiappened  on  one  occasion,  that 
the  king  was  celebrating  his  Easter  with  halleluiahs  and  flesh  meat,  while  the 
queen  was  beginning  her  holy  week  with  lamentations  and  fasting.     L.  iii.  c.  2Ti. 


390 

dour,  but  the  spirit  of  conciliation  shall  never  carry  ine  so  far,  as  to 
forget  what  I  owe  to  truth  and  honesty.  For  my  part  I  must  con- 
fess, that  if  1  were  a  Protestant,  I  would  begin  to  suspect  my  reli- 
gion if  it  stood  in  need  of  so  weak  a  proof  as  that  by  which  Usher 
and  Ledwich  endeavour  to  support  it,  namely,  that  it  was  the  ancient 
religion  of  Ireland  ;  and  that  the  Catholic  religion  was  only  an  inno- 
vation, an  intrusion  upon  it ;  for  if  the  established  religion  be  the 
true  religion,  or,  (grant  with  most  Protestant  writers  that  no  religion 
is  free  from  error,)  if  it  be  the  most  acceptable  to  God,  surely 
it  must  be  equally  true,  equally  acceptable,  though  the  first  creed  es- 
tablished in  Ireland  was  downright  heresy  ;  but  if  it  be  not  the  true 
or  the  acceptable  religion,  can  it  be  rendered  so  by  proving  it  the 
same  with  that  which  was  first  preached  in  Ireland.  Can  a  Protest- 
ant then  take  a  more  effectual  way  of  bringing  his  religion  into  sus- 
picion than  by  weakly  endeavouring  to  prove  it  to  be  what  it  never 
was — the  same  with  that  taught  by  St.  Patrick  and  his  successors, 
and  which,  though  it  even  were,  would  be  rendered  neither  more  nor 
less  perfect  by  it  than  if  it  were  not — for  in  either  case  it  should  ul- 
timately rest  on  its  own  merits.  It  is  to  be  lamented  that  Protestant 
writers  who  argue  with  so  much  logical  accuracy  on  every  other  sub- 
ject, and  who  display  a  grasp  of  mind  equal  to  any  thing  that  comes 
properly  within  the  sphere  of  human  investigation,  should  betray 
such  poverty  of  talent,  and  so  contracted  a  view  of  their  subject, 
when  they  come  to  treat  of  religion.  Doctor  Warner,  who  evinces 
more  impartiality  than  any  other  English  writer  who  has  treated  of 
Irish  history,  forgets  his  wonted  good  sense  and  candour  when  he 
touches  on  religion  :  Endeavouring  to  prove  with  Usher  that  the 
Catholic  was  not  the  first  christian  religion  of  Ireland,  he  leads  us 
through  an  inextricable  labyrinth,  from  which  even  the  wings  of  De- 
dalus  Could  not  extricate  us.  Believing,  however,  that  the  question 
has  been  sufficiently  discussed  already,  I  shall  not  enter  the  lists 
with  Dr.  Warner  on  the  subject,  but  merely  quote  two  passages  from 
the  seventh  hook  of  his  History  of  Ireland,  in  which  he  affirms  and 
denies  the  self-same  propositions.  After  giving  such  a  view  of  primi- 
tive Christianity  in  Ireland  as  he  thought  would  prove  it  not  to  be 
the  Catholic  religion,  he  thus  concludes,  "  It  was  necessary  to  give 
the  reader  this  abstract  of  the  religion  of  the  ancient  Irish  ;  which, 
under  that  title,  he  may  find  treated  of  in  a  book  by  archbishop 
Usher,  if  he  desires  to  see  it  more  at  large,  and  in  which  the  authori- 
ties that  he  goes  upon  are  particularly  cited.  This  sketch,  however, 
is  sufficient  to  convince  us  that  tlie  reformation  made  no  other  change 
in  the  cliurch  of  Ireland  than  to  bring  it  back  again  to  its  ancient 
state  before  the  court  of  Rome  had  usurped  an  authority  over  it,  and 
corrupted  it  with  innovations  as  contrary  to  scripture  as  to  common 
sense.  In  short,  it  will  remove  one  of  the  main  pillars  on  which 
they  rest  their  arguments  against  Protestants,  that  we  had  no  other 
church  before  Luther  but  the  church  of  Rome.  For  from  hence  it 
hath  appeared  that  during  the  first  seven  hundred  years  after  the  in- 
troduction of  Christianity,  the  Irish  were  so  far  from  owning  the 
authority  of  the  church  of  Rome,  that  they  had  their  own  liturgy 
distinct  from  the  Roman  service — their  own  ecclesiastical  rites  and 


391 

customs,  their  own  metropolitical  power  without  a  pall  even  greater 
than  it  was  after  it."* 

Compare  this  with  what  he  saysa  few  pages  after,  where,  talking 
oftiie  Congress  of  Dromceat,  and  the  influence  exercised  over  it  by 
St.  Colutnba,  he  says:  "  Before  we  take  a  final  leave  of  this  extra- 
ordinary monk,  in  order  to  shew  the  reader  the  state  of  religious 
knowledge  at  that  time  in  Ireland,  it  may  be  proper  to  let  him  know- 
that  every  family  of  the  nobility  and  gentry  throughout  the  kingdom 
which  had  renounced  paganism,  had  a  singular  veneration  for  some 
particular  saint  whose  protection  they  implored,  and  whose  name  they 
invoked  upon  all  occasions  as  the  heathens  did  their  household  gods.  In 
short,  there  was  not  a  country  or  territory  in  the  whole  island  which 
had  not  their  particular  saint,  whom  they  chose  as  the  guardian  of 
their  lives  and  fortunes,  and  these  saints  are  all  recorded  with  the 
provinces  and  families  they  had  the  charge  of  But  these  were  all 
allowed  to  be  of  an  inferior  order  when  compared  with  Patrick,  who 
possessed  the  first  place  in  the  Irish  calendar,  which  he  still  retains, 
as  the  guardian  angel  of  the  whole  island.  Cohim  Rill  was  esteemed 
the  tutelary  saint  of  the  illustrious  tribe  of  O'Neill,  and  to  his  inter- 
est alone  tlie  success  of  their  battles,  in  which  they  were  invincible, 
was  attributed." 

In  the  first  of  these  quotations  we  are  told,  that  "  the  reformation 
made  no  other  change  in  the  church  of  Ireland  than  to  bring  it  back 
again  to  its  ancient  state,"  and  also  that  this  ancient  state  continued 
"  during  the  first  seven  hundred  years  after  the  introduction  of  Chris- 
tianity ;"  but  in  the  last  quotation  we  are  told,  that  in  less  than  a 
century  and  a  half  after  the  introduction  of  Christianity,  namely, 
when  tlie  Congress  of  Dromceat  was  held,  the  Irish  venerated  the 
saitiis,  and  implored  their  protection  as  the  heathens  did  their  household 
gods.  This  surely  was  not  the  doctrine  of  the  reformation,  and  the 
writer  must  have  greatly  forgot  himself  who  made  the  assertion  : 
but  to  demonstrate  beyond  all  possibility  of  contradiction  that  this 
otherwise  impartial  writer  grossly  contradicts  himself,  when  he 
speaks  of  religion,  it  will  be  suflficient  to  shew,  that  he  aflfirms  and 
denies  the  self  same  proposition.  Here  we  see  him  acknowledging 
that  the  Irish  venerated  saints,  and  implored  their  assistance,  but, 
when  at  the  conclusion  of  the  very  same  book  in  which  he  makes 
this  assertion,  he  returned  once  more  to  the  subject  of  proving  that 
the  reformation  made  no  change  in  the  ancient  religion  of  Ireland, 
he  unhesitatingly  asserts,  that  "the  doctrine  of  transubstantiation, 
and  the  worship  of  saints,  were  not  so  much  as  thought  of  at  that 
time." 

From  what  has  been  said  in  this  chapter,  I  presume  every  unbi- 
assed reader  will  he  able  to  form  a  pretty  accurate  idea  of  the  reli- 
gion first  established  in  Ireland  by  St.  Patrick  and  his  successors. 
It  now  remains  to  shew  the  progress  which  this  religion  made  from 
the  time  of  this  apostle  to  the  invasion  of  the  Danes,  and  to  give 
some  account  of  those  Irishmen  to  whom  the  propagation  of  the 
faith,  not  only  in   Ireland,  but  in  other  countries,  is  particularly  in- 

*  Warren's  Ireland,  p.  297. 


392 

debtee! ;  after  which  we  shall  again  resume  our  civil  history  with  the 
invasion  of  the  Danes. 

Of  St.  Patrick  himself  we  have  already  spoken  :  we  shall  there- 
fore begin  with  those  who  co-opeiateil  with  him  in  the  propagation 
of  Christianity,  and  in  the  establishment  of  schools  and  religious 
foundations. 

St.  Albc,  Declan,  and  Kieran,  are  said  to  iiave  preached  the  gos- 
pel in  Ireland  before  the  arrival  of  St.  Patrick,  and  to  have  been  co- 
temporary  with  him.  The  former  founded  the  church  of  Emiy  in 
the  county  of  Tip])erary  in  the  beginning  of  the  fiftli  century.  It 
was  a  school  of  great  repute,  and  produced  St.  Colman  and  St. 
Molna,  the  latter  of  whom  was  son  to  Eocha,  king  of  Munster.  He 
founded  the  church  of  RilJaloe,  or,  perhaps,  more  correctly,  Kill- 
Molua.  About  the  same  time  St.  Declan  founded  churches  and 
schools  in  the  Deasies,  in  the  county  of  W  aterford,  from  which  he 
got  the  name  of  Patrick  of  the  Deasies,  a  name  said  to  have  been 
given  to  him  by  St.  Patrick  himself,  who  also  gave  St.  Molua  the 
name  of  Patrick  of  Munster." 


CHAPTER  LVI. 

The,  Irish  Bishoprics,  and  a  biographical  sketch  of  their  respective  Fou7iders. 

In  our  jireceding  chapters,  in  narrating  the  events  and  incidents 
of  the  life  of  St.  Patrick,  we  gave  an  account  of  the  archbishopric 
of  Armagh.  St.  Albe,  who  was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Munster,  by 
the  Pope,  A.  D.  -501,  is  considered  by  our  annalists,  to  have  been 
the  first  prelate  of  the  arch-diocess  of  Cashel.  It  is  said,  that  before 
the  coming  of  St.  Patrick,  he  was  converted  to  Christianity  by  a 
Roman  missionary.  He  erected  a  Cathedral  and  abbey  atEmly,  in 
the  county  of  Tipperary, — and  died  Archbishop  of  Emly  and  Cashel, 
according  to  Sir  James  Ware,  A.  D.  527. 

The  cathedral  of  Emly,*  was  for  ages,  acknowledged  tlie  metro- 
politan church  of  Munster,  imtil  it  was  united  to  the  archiepiscopal 
See  of  Cashel,  in  the  year  1569.t 

*  Emly,  now  a  poor  village,  exhibiting  only  the  shadows  of  its  ancient  architec- 
tural magnificence,  is  situated  in  the  barony  of  Clanwilbam,  County  of  Tipperary, 
at  the  distance  of  fourteen  miles  West  of  Cashel.  Here  is  still  to  be  seen  a  "  wil- 
derness of  ecclesiastical  ruins,"  worthy  of  the  pen  of  a  Byron,  or  the  pencil  of  a 
Rosa.  In  the  sixth  century  a  University  was  founded  in  Emly,  which  until  the 
city  was  burned  and  plundered  by  the  Danes,  in  the  ninth  century,  afforded,  it  is 
said  by  Colgan,  education  to  fifteen  hundred  students  at  a  time.  So  late  as  the 
reign  of  Henry  VIII.  it  was  deemed  a  city  of  consequence,  and  shortly  after  the 
accession  of  that  tyrant  to  the  English  throne,  Thomas  Hurly,  then  bishop  of 
Emly,  erected  there  a  spacious  college  for  secular  Priests.  A  destructive  fire 
which  occurred  in  1192,  reduced  the  cathedral,  abbeys,  and  public  buildings  of 
Emly  to  ruin  and  desolation.  The  country  around  Emly  is  rich,  picturesque,  and 
beautiful. 

t  In  a  future  chapter  we  will  give  a  full  and  comprehensive  description  of  the 
once  famous  city  of  Cashel,  in  the  County  of  Tipperary, — of  its  regal,  ecclesias- 


393 

The  archiepiscopal  diocess  of  Dublin,  although  a  Bishop's  See 
since  the  days  of  St.  Patrick,  was  not  constituted  into  an  archiepis- 
copal See  until  Cardinal  Paparo,  in  A.  I).  1152,  the  Pope's  legate, 
presented  Gregory,  its  then  bishop,  \vitii  his  Iloliness's  judl,  invest- 
ing that  prelate  with  the  dignity  and  power  of  archbishop  of  Dublin 
and  Glendalogh.  The  Bishopric  of  Glendalogh,*  which  was  founded 
by  St.  Kevin,  in  the  middle  of  the  sixth  century,  remained  from  its 
establishment  a  distinct  and  independent  See  until  archbishop  de 
Londres  obtained  from  Pope  Honorius  III.,  A.  D.  1"213,  a  Bull  for 
annexing  and  uniting  it  to  the  See  of  Dublin.  On  the  return  of 
archbishop  de  Londres  from  Rome,  where  the  Pf)pe  conferred  on 
him  legatine  powers,  he  received  from  King  John,  in  1215,  a  con- 
firmation of  the  Pope's  Bull.  William  Piro,  who  died  in  1228,  was 
the  last  Canonical  bishop  of  Glendalogh. 

"  Notwithstanding  the  Bull  of  the  Pope,  and  the  grant  of  King 
John,"  says  Sir  James  Ware,  "  the  O'Tooles,  chiefs  of  Fir-Thuathaf, 
continued,  long  after  this  period,  to  elect  bishops  and  abbols  to  Glen<- 
dalogh,  though  thev  had  neither  revenues  nor  authorities,  beyond 
the  district  of  Thuathal,  which  was  the  western  part  of  the  coun- 
ty of  Wicklow,  in  consequence  of  which  the  city  was  sufl'ered  to  de- 
cay, and  became  nearly  a  desert,  in  1497,  when  Denis  White,  the 
last  titular  bishop,  surrendered  his  right,  in  the  Cathedral  church  of 
St.  Patrick,  Dublin." 

The  saintly  founder  of  Glendalogh,  Cormgcn,  (or  Kevin)  was  the 
son  of  one  of  the  princes  of  Wicklow,  and  became,  in  the  maturity 
of  his  age,  as  renowned  for  his  literary  attainments  as  for  his  emi- 
nent piety.  "  He  wrote,"  says  Manner,  "  one  book  on  the  origin 
of  the  British,  and  another  on  the  reigns  of  fleber  and  Heremon." 
He  died  at  Glendalogh,  where  his  remains  were  entombed  on  the 
third  of  June,  A.  D.  618,  when  he  had  attained  the  patriarchal  age 
of  one  hundred  and  twenty  years. 

The  fourth  archiepiscopal  See  of  which  we  would  give  a  history, 
is  TuAM,  in  the  county  of  Galway.t     St.  Jarlath,  the  son  of  Loga, 

tical,  and  feudal  ruins,  which  are  still  standing,  as  decayed  and  dilapidated,  though 
sublime  and  solemn  monuments  of  its  former  greatness  and  grandeur. 

*  Glendalogh  (the  vale  of  the  two  lakes)  once  a  regal  and  episcopal  city,  the 
capital  of  Hymaijlc,  the  principality  of  the  O'Toole's,  is  situated  in  the  barony  of 
Ballinacor,  County  of  Wicklow,  at  the  distance  of  twenty  miles  S.  W.  from  Dub- 
lin. The  venerable  and  affecting  ruins  of  seven  churches  here  rear  their  ivy- 
wreathed  heads.  Before  the  incarnaiion,  this  sequestered  and  gloomy  spot,  se- 
lected by  St.  Kevin,  in  498,  for  his  hermitage,  was  consecrated  to  Druidical  wor- 
ship, and  the  caves  of  their  mysteries,  and  the  remains  of  one  of  their  temples  still 
e.xist  to  give  an  antique  aspect  to  the  scene.  Many  of  the  Kings  of  Ireland  were 
interred  in  Glendalogh,  though  now  (if  we  except  the  mouldering  sepulchre  of 
O'Toole)  there  are  no  vestiges  of  their  tombs  remaining.  Like  the  walls  of  Ilium, 
they  are  mingled  with  the  dust,  and  no  one  can  tell  where  they  once  stood  in  the 
solemn  grandeur  of  sepulchral  architecture.  As  we  will,  in  the  course  of  this  his- 
tory, have  frequent  occasions  to  speak  of  Glendalogh,  we  will  avail  ourself  of  one 
of  them  to  give  a  detailed  description  of  a  place  that  makes  so  loud  and  impressive 
a  sound  in  our  annals,  calling  forth  an  echo  of  historic  association  from  the  mind 
of  every  antiquary. 

t  TuAM,  a  wealthy  and  populous  town,  is  situated  in  the  barony  of  Downamore, 
county  of  Galway,  at  the  distance  of  ninety-three  Irish  miles  from  Dublin.  This 
archiepiscopal  city  of  mouldering  monuments,  presents  us  with  sublime  mementos 

50 


394 

chieftain  of  Galway,  was  the  first  bishop  of  Tuam,  of  which  See  he 
became  the  founder  in  A.  D.  601,  when  he  erected  in  that  town,  a 
magnificent  Cathedral,  and  an  abbey.  Sir  James  Ware,  in  his  lives 
of  the  bishops,  extols  St.  Jarlath  for  iiis  sanctity,  benevolence,  and 
literary  acquirements.  "He  was,"  writes  that  bigoted  Protestant 
author,  "  a  learned  man,  in  whom  piety  and  purity  of  manners  vied 
with  his  extensive  learning.  He  died,  fidl  of  days,  on  the  26th  of 
December,  or  as  others  will  have  it,  the  11th  of  February,  but  in 
what  year  I  cannot  with  all  my  inquiry  find  out.  Certain  prophe- 
cies, wrote  in  Irish,  are  extant  in  his  name,  relating  to  his  successors 
in  the  See  of  Tuam.  His  bones,  long  after  his  death,  were  sought 
for  and  found,  and  put  in  a  silver  shrine  and  deposited  in  a  church, 
from  thence  commonly  called  Tccaiipoll  na  aitan,  or  the  chapel  of 
the  shrine."  St.  Brendan,  the  first  bishop  of  Clonfert,  county  of 
Galway,  studied  classics  and  theology  under  St.  Jarlath.  The  first 
Archbishop  of  Tuam  was  Edan  O'Hoison,  who  received  the  Pope's 
pall  from  Cardinal  Paparo,  in  A.  D.  1152.  The  bishoprics  that 
were  made  subject  by  the  pall  of  Pope  Eugenius  HI,  in  1152,  to  the 
archbishop  of  Tuam,  were  Mayo,  Killala,  Roscommon,  Clonfert, 
Achonry,  in  the  county  of  Sligo,  Clonmacnois,  Ring's  county,  and 
Rilmacduagh,  county  of  Galway. 

The  Bishopric  of  Meath  was  first  established  by  St.  Finian,  in  the 
year  520.  To  the  See  of  Clonard,  which  was  the  original  founda- 
tion of  the  bishopric  of  Meath,  as  all  the  successors  of  St.  Finian 
down  to  the  prelacy  of  Simon  Rochfort,  in  A.  D.  1194,  bore  the  title 
of  bishops  of  Clonard,  were  subject  to  the  little  Sees  of  Duleek, 
Kells,  Trim,  Ardbraccan,  Dunshaghlin,  and  Slane,  all  which  places 
are  in  the  county  of  Meath.  St.  Finian  was  descended  of  a  noble 
Milesian  family.  He  studied  under  the  bishop  of  St.  David's  in 
Wales,  who  ordained  him  a  priest.     On  returning  to  his  native  land, 

of  its  ancient  princely  and  prelatical  greatness  and  grandeur,  with  those  towering 
castles,  now  mantled  in  ivy,  from  which  the  daring  feudal  chieftain  rushed,  in  the 
full  flush  of  chivalric  pride,  to  the  combat  of  the  valiant, — with  relics  of  those  ven- 
erable cathedrals,  where  eloquent  piety  transformed  the  obdurate  sinner  into  the 
repentant  saint; — and  with  those  cloistered  abbeys,  where  sanctity  administered 
profusely  spiritual  consolation  to  the  desponding  christian — and  the  rites  of  hospi- 
tality to  the  traveller,  as  well  as  food  to  the  poor,  and  the  comforts  of  generous 
charity  to  the  hapless  widow,  and  the  destitute  orphan.  Who,  with  a  spark  of 
sensibility  alive  in  his  bosom,  can  view  the  tomb-strewn  aisles  of  an  Irish  Cathedral, 
or  the  ivy-draped  cloisters  of  an  abbey,  without  having  his  mind  impressed  with 
awful  veneration  fcr  the  zeal  and  piety  which  so  peculiarly  distinguished  our  an- 
cient ecclesiastics  ?  Some  of  the  modern  houses  of  Tuam  are  commodious  and 
elegant.  The  Protestant  Cathedral,  which  stands  on  the  site  of  that  which  St. 
Jarlath  erected  in  A.  D.  540,  though  not  imposing  in  architectural  appearance,  is 
yet  a  building  of  solidity  and  magnitude.  The  new  and  magnificent  Catholic  Ca- 
thedral, lately  erected  there,  is  an  honour  to  the  taste  and  liberalit}'  of  the  Roman 
Catholics  of  Connaught.  Harris  and  Ware  say  that  Tuam  was  a  great  metropoli- 
tan city,  in  the  sixth  and  seventh  centuries,  during  which  periods  many  Scotch 
and  English  princes  made  liberal  offerings  at  the  shrine  of  St.  Jarlath. 

The  present  Roman  Catholic  Bishop  of  Tuam — a  prelate  on  whom  the  mantle 
of  the  illustrious  Doyle  seems  to  have  fallen,  is  the  Most  Rev.  Dr.  McHale,  a 
gentleman  whose  piety  is  a  brilliant  ornament  gemming  the  Catholic  religion,  and 
whose  intellectual  genius  and  sterling  patriotism  have  kindled  new  and  splendid 
stars  in  the  horizon  of  our  native  country's  fame.  We  will  have  occasion  in  the 
course  of  this  history,  to  say  more  of  Tuam. 


395 

the  fame  of  his  piety  and  eloquence  recommended  him  to  the  Pope, 
who  appointed  hitn  bishop  of  Clonard.  "  Here  he  erected  a  Cathe- 
dral," and,  says  Ware,  "  a  famous  College,  which  by  his  great  care 
and  labours,  bred  many  eminent,  holy,  and  learned  men  ;  some  of 
them  were  the  two  Rierans,  the  two  Brendans,  the  two  Columbesses, 
and  Raudan.  And  as  his  school  was  in  a  manner  a  sacred  seat  of 
all  kinds  of  wisdom,  as  the  writer  of  his  life  observes,  so  lie  obtained 
for  himself  the  name  of  ^  l^inian  the  rcisc.^  Brewer,  the  liberal  and 
enlightened  English  Tourist,  in  the  topographical  sketch  which  he 
gives,  in  his  valuable  work,  entitled  the  'Beauties  of  Ireland,'  writes 
'  St.  Finian  also  founded  at  this  place  an  abbey,  in  which  he  estab- 
lished a  school,  which  became  one  of  the  most  celebrated  academies 
of  Ireland,  at  a  time  when  this  island  was  famed  throughout  neigh 
bouring  countries,  for  the  success  with  which  letters  were  cultivated 
in  the  sanctity  of  its  cloisters.  When  we  reflect  on  the  piety  and 
urbanity  of  the  schoolmen  of  Ireland,  in  tlie  sixth  and  seventh  cen- 
turies, and  recollect,  on  the  testimony  of  Bede,  if  foreign  evidence 
be  wanting,  that  they  received  with  benevolent  hospitality,  aspirants 
after  learning  from  other  countries,  including  Britain,  we  must  needs 
look  back  with  veneration,  and  must  also  regard  with  a  sigh  of  pity 
the  present  humility  of  tiiis  fallen  town  !"* 

St.  Finian  died,  according  to  Ware,  at  Clonard,  about  the  year 
552.  The  diocess  of  Meath  extends  over  parts  of  six  counties, 
namely,  the  two  Meaths,  Longford,  Cavan,  Louth,  and  King's 
county.  An  accomplished  Irish  writer,  in  descanting  on  the  exten- 
sive erudition  and  mental  powers  of  St.  Finian,  observes — "  So  great 
was  the  fame  of  Finian  as  a  commentator  on  sacred  Scripture,  that 
all  the  holy  men  of  Ireland,  came  to  hear  wisdom  from  his  animated 
discourses.  Hither  came  the  twelve  saints  whom  St.  Patrick  con- 
stituted apostles  of  the  island,  the  venerable  Kieran,  of  Saigar,  in 
Ossory,  who,  with  his  hair  whitened  with  the  snows  of  a  hundred 
winters,  did  not  disdain  to  hear  Finian  expound  to  him  the  sublime 
volume  of  holiness, — here  also  carne  Rieran  abbot  of  Clonmacnois, 
who  wore  hmiself  out  in  deeds  of  penance  and  sanctity,  and  died  in 
his  thirty-third  year.  The  two  Colurnbs,  Colnmbkille,  and  Columb 
of  Firdaglas  ; — the  two  Brendans,  Brendan  of  Birr,  and  Brendan  of 
Kerry — Raudan,  abbot  of  Lorrah,  in  the  county  of  Tipperary,  Mo- 
lua  of  Clonfert,  and  others,  as  reported  by  Tosher  and  Colgan  re- 
sorted hither. 

*  Clonard  (which  signifies  in  Irish  the  lonely  retirement)  is  situated  near  the 
bank  of  the  river  Boyne,  in  the  barony  of  Moyfenrath.  county  of  Meath,  at  the 
distance  of  25  Irish  miles  north  of  Dublin.  This  decayed  town  which  was  once 
so  proud  and  populous,  presents  in  its  ruins  a  melancholy  picture  of  the  devasta 
lions  of  war  and  time.  Mr.  Brewer  in  describing  the  architectural  relics  of  Clo 
nard,  says  : — "  The  remains  of  the  buildings  erected  after  the  refoundation  of  the 
abbey,  by  Walter  de  Lacy,  in  A.  D.  1175,  for  canons  regular,  following  the  rule 
of  St.  Augustine,  were,  until  a  lecent  date,  of  some  e.xtcnt,  and  of  considerable 
interest ; — but  we  regret  to  state,  that,  with  indifference  almost  amounting  to  bar- 
barous apathy,  tiipy  have  been  lately  entirely  destroyed,  with  the  e.xception  of  an 
ancient  and  richlv  sculptured  font,  which  is  removed  to  the  modern  church  of 
Clonard,  a  fabric  completed  in  the  year  ISIO."  The  town  of  Clonard  is  ornamented 
by  a  beautiful  vicinage  of  domains  spread  along  the  picturesque  hanks  of  the  river 
Boyne. 


396 

It  would  appear  that  these  pious  men,  while  residing  at  Clonard, 
did  not  allow  their  studies  to  interfere  with  their  bodily  exercises, 
but  that  they  cultivated  the  rich  and  fertile  ground  around  their 
abode,  and  thus  by  invigorating  their  bodies,  enlivened  their  minds, 
and  rendered  them  more  capable  of  enduring  the  mental  toil  at- 
tendant on  the  accumulation  of  great  learning." 

The  first  Protestant  bishop  of  Meath  was  Edward  Staples,  an 
Englishman,  appointed  by  Pope  Clement  VII.  in  1530;  but  who,  to 
retain  the  See,  renounced  the  Catholic  religion,  and  acknowledged 
the  supremacy  of  Henry  VIII.  in  1543,  and  then  married  a  wife. 
Shortly  after  the  accession  of  queen  Mary,  the  archbishops  of  Armagh 
and  Dublin  deprived  him  of  the  bishopric,  to  which  William  Walsh, 
D.  D.  of  Waterford,  was  appointed  by  the  Pope,  A.  D.  1554.  As 
soon  as  Elizabeth  was  seated  on  the  British  throne,  she  caused 
bishop  Walsh  to  be  ejected  from  the  See,  and  banished  to  Spain, 
where  he  died  in  the  Cistercian  College  of  Alcala,  on  the  3d  of  Jan- 
uary, 1577. 

The  See  of  Clonmacnois,*  (tiie  resting  place  of  the  sons  of  the 
chiefs)  in  the  King's  county,  was  founded  by  St.  Rieran  the  younger 
of  the  family  of  the  Ards,  in  the  year  548.  Dermod,  then  monarch 
of  Ireland,  made  to  him  a  grant  of  a  large  tract  of  land,  adjoining 
the  river  Shannon,  on  which  the  Saint  erected  a  Cathedral  and  an 
abbey  ;  but  scarcely  were  the  buildings  completed,  when  the  hand 
of  death  smote  the  pious  and  discreet  founder,  A.  D.  549.  The  re- 
ligious houses  of  Clonmacnois  rose  to  eminent  repute  under  the  suc- 
cessors of  St.  Kieran,  or  Ciaran.  The  monastic  establishment  of 
Clonmacnois  possesses  more  revenues  and  lands  than  any  other  ec- 
clesiastical institution  in  Ireland.  In  the  year  1152,  at  the  Synod 
held  before  Cardinal  Paparo,  Moriertach  O'Melider,  then  bishop 
of  Clanmacnois,  consented  for  himself  and  his  successors,  to  be  sub- 
ject to  the  spiritual  authority  of  the  archbishops  of  Tuam. 

The  first  Protestant  bishop  of  Clonmacnois,  was  Florence  Ge- 
rawan,  who,  in  1542,  conformed  to  the  behest  of  Henry  VHI.,  by 
acknowledging  his  supremacy. 

After  the  decease  of  Peter  Wall,  the  last  prelate  of  Clonmacnois, 
the  See  was,  in  pursuance  of  an  act  of  Parliament,  united  to  that 
of  Meath,  to  which  diocess  it  now  belongs. 

The  See  of  the  city  of  Limerick  was  founded  about  the  middle  of 
the  sixth  century,  by  St.  Munchin,  who  built  there  an  abbey  and  a 
Cathedral,  which  edifices  were  plundered  and  burned  by  the  Danes 
in  the  year  853.  St.  Munchin  died,  according  to  Jocelyn,  in  the 
year  652. 

We  are  told  by  Jocelyn  that  he  was  "  a  very  religious  man,  and 
well  read  in  the  holy  Scriptures."  Ware  in  his  Lives  of  the  Bish- 
ops, writes — "  The  memory  of  the  death  of  this  Munchin,  is  de- 
signed under  the  name  of  '^  Manicheus  the   wise  Irishman,' in   the 

*  The  superb,  venerable,  and  affecting  ruins  of  the  churches,  abbeys,  and  tombs 
of  Clonmacnois,  raise  their  grey  pinnacles,  and  time-tinged  turrets,  on  the  banks 
of  the  river  Shannon,  in  the  north-western  part  of  the  King's  county.  We  will 
speak  more  largely  of  these  awful  and  impressive  relics  of  ecclesiastical  architecr 
lure,  in  a  future  chapter. 


397 


books  de  Mirahilibus  Scripturcey  From  the  period  of  the  death  of 
bishop  Munchin  until  the  year  1110,  when  the  Danes  of  Limerick 
conformed  to  the  christian  creed,  we  have  no  historical  record  of  the 
names  or  lives  of  the  original  prelate's  successors.  In  A.  D.  1110 
Gilbert,  a  learned  and  religious  abbot  of  Ireland,  was  raised  by  the 
Pope  to  the  episcopal  throne  of  Limerick.  Soon  after  his  elevation, 
he  assembled  a  synod  at  a  place  designated  by  Sir  James  Ware, 
Rathhreassail,  "  wherein,  says  that  writer,  (among  other  things)  the 
bounds  and  limits  of  the  bishoprics  of  Ireland  were  described." 
Bishop  Gilbert  must  have  been  very  eminent  for  learning  and  sanc- 
tity, for  the  Pope  appointed  him  his  legate  in  Ireland,  and  in  that 
capacity  he  was  invited  by  Ralph,  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  to  as- 
sist at  the  consecration  of  Bernard,  bishop  of  3Iincvia,  a  ceremony 
which  took  place  at  Westminster,  A.  D.  1115. 

He  was  a  most  accomplished  scholar  in  theology  and  the  classics. 
It  appears  from  Colgan,  that  he  wrote  several  epistles  to  Anselni, 
archbishop  of  Canterbury,  and  a  book  on  the  state  of  the  Irish 
church,  in  his  time,  whicli,  it  is  said,  was  found  in  the  last  century, 
in  Cotton's  library.  This  famous  prelate,  of  whom  St.  Bernard,  in 
his  life  of  iMaiachy,  makes  an  honourable  mention,  died  about  the 
year  1 140. 

William  Casey  was  the  first  Protestant  bishop  of  Limerick  ;  he 
was  raised  tn  that  dignity,  in  A.  D.  15.52,  by  the  order  of  Edward 
VI.  By  the  distribution  of  Sees,  made  by  Cardinal  Paparo,  the  an- 
cient bishopric  of  Aghadoe,  in  the  county  of  Kerry,  was  annexed  to 
Limerick.  In  the  year  1GG3,  the  See  of  Ardfert,  county  of  Kerrv, 
was  also  united  to  that  of  Limerick. 

The  founder  of  the  See  of  Ardfert,  was  St.  Ert,  who  fiourished  in 
the  fifth  century.*  Under  that  prelate  St.  Brendan,  of  Clonfert, 
studied  divinity  and  classics. 

The  See  of  Waterford  was  founded  in  A.  D.  1096,  by  St.  Mal- 
fhus,  whom  the  Pope  appointed  over  the  Danes,  who  at  that  time 
constituted  the  majority  of  the  citizens.  That  prelate  was  conse- 
crated by  Anselm,  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  assisted  by  Gundalph, 
of  Rochester.  History  does  not  tell  us  of  the  time  of  the  first  bishop 
of  Waterford's  death.  Since  the  year  1363,  the  Sees  of  Waterford 
and  Lismore  have  been  united.  The  first  bishop  of  Lismore  was 
St.  Carthag, — he  was  a  native  of  INIunster,  and  became,  in  process 
of  time,  aI)bot  of  Rathkenny,  in  Meath,  from  whence,  as  we  have  re- 
lated in  a  preceding  chapter,  he  was  despotically  expelled  by  King 
JRlathmac.  This  prelate  built  the  famous  university  and  cathedral 
of  Lismore,  about  the  year  635.  "  He  died,"  writes  Sir  James 
Ware,  "  after  many  testimonies  of  his  sanctity,  on  the  14th  of  May, 
638,  and  was  buried  in  his  own  church  of  Lismore,  which  signifies 
the  great  enclosure." 

*'  Ardfert,  (or  the  height  of  miracles)  is  situated  in  the  barony  of  Claninorris, 
in  the  county  of  Kerry,  at  the  distance  of  144  Irish  miles  from  Dublin.  St.  Bren- 
dan, in  the  sixth  century,  erected  a  superb  and  sumptuous  abbey  here,  which  with 
the  cathedral  of  St.  Ert,  was  destroyed  by  an  accidental  fire,  A.  D.  lOh'l).  The 
ruins  of  abbeys  and  churches  now  existing  in  Ardfert,  are  majestic  and  noble  in 
their  decay.  In  the  mouldering  choir  of  the  cathedral,  is  exquisitely  sculptured  an 
alto  relievo  of  St.  Brendan.     March,  183U. 


398 

He  was  succeeded  by  his  coadjutor,  and  lie  and  his  successors,  to 
the  ninth  century,  acquired  for  the  university  such  lofty  fame,  as 
''  induced,"  snysBai'thol  3Io7-an,  "  men,  in  quest  of  learning,  to  flock 
thither  in  great  numbers  from  far  and  near."  Miler  Magrath  was 
the  first  Protestant  bishop  of  Waterford  and  Lismore,  appointed  by 
Queen  Elizabeth  in  the  year  1585. 

We  come  now  to  treat  of  the  united  Sees  of  Cork  and  Ross.  The 
bishopric  of  Cork  owes  its  establishment  to  St.  Finbar,  who  became 
its  first  prelate,  in  the  seventh  ceiitury.  Soon  after  obtaining  the 
mitre  of  that  diocess,  he  caused  a  spacious  and  elegant  cathedral  to 
be  erected  in  the  city  of  Cork,  which,  after  his  death,  was  solemnly 
dedicated  to  liis  memory.  The  original  cathedral  of  St.  Finbar  is 
represented,  by  our  annalists,  to  have  been  a  building  of  architec- 
tural magnificence,  and  that  all  its  windows  were  composed  of  rich 
and  beautiful  stained  glass.*  In  the  ninth  century,  the  Danes  des- 
poiled and  destroyed  the  cathedral  of  Cork,  and  carried  off"  the  silver 
shrine  of  its  saintly  founder.  The  cathedral  was  rebuilt,  in  the  be- 
ginning of  the  eleventh  century,  through  the  munificence  of  McCar- 
ihy-morc  (the  great  king  of  Desmond. t)  It  appears  that  the  church 
had  fallen  into  decay,  in  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
when  it  was  found  necessary  to  liave  it  rased  to  the  ground  and  re- 
built in  its  present  form,  between  the  years  of  1725  and  1735,  when 

*  The  art  of  staining  glass  was  carried  to  the  highest  point  of  perfection  by  our 
ancient  artists,  as  the  scanty  hut  elegant  specimens  still  to  be  seen  in  the  cathe- 
drals of  Limerick,  Kilkenny,  Raphoe,  Armagh,  and  several  other  of  our  antique 
ecclesiastic  edifices,  amply  teslif}'.  In  the  infancy  of  the  art,  in  Ireland,  in  the 
fourth  century,  the  process  of  painting  glass  was  very  simple  ;  it  consisted  in  the 
mere  arrangement  of  glass,  tinged  with  different  colours,  in  a  symmetrical  order, 
like  the  dies  delineated  on  a  mosaic  ceiling.  Our  churches  were  adorned  with 
stained  glass  windows,  exhibiting  scriptural  and  martyrological  history,  and  reli- 
gious and  clerical  symbols,  two  centuries  before  the  church  of  St.  Mark  in  Venice 
was  decorated  with  this  species  of  embellishment.  We  are  told  by  Bishop  Burke 
in  the  history  of  the  Irish  abbeys,  that  St.  Kenan's  Cathedral,  built  at  Duleek,  in 
the  county  of  Meath,  A.  D.  480,  was  enlightened  by  stained  glass  windows,  repre- 
senting the  sufferings  of  Christ.  In  the  fifth  and  sixth  century  the  art  made  rapid 
strides  to  perfection  ;  the  painters  became  more  spirited  in  design,  and  more  skilful 
and  exquisite  in  execution  ;  but  though  the}'  delineated  figures  enlightened  with 
their  shades,  yet  they  could  not  fill  up  their  contours  with  fine  groupings,  or 
graphic  elegancies  of  detail.  Wlien  they  were  called  upon  to  adorn  palaces  or 
churches,  tliey  had  glass  of  every  colour  of  the  rainbow,  prepared,  out  of  which 
they  cut  the  pieces  they  wanted  to  fill  up  the  window  frame  or  sash.  But  after  a 
short  time  they  discovered  a  more  improved  method  of  incorporating  the  colours 
in  the  glass  itself,  by  heating  it  in  a  strong  fire  to  the  desired  degree.  We  believe 
that  the  art  is  partially  lost,  for  the  modern  attempts  have  neither  the  boldness  of 
desio-n  nor  the  vivid  freshness  of  colouring  which  our  old  abbeys  and  churches  yet 
exhibit.  The  atrocious  Gothic  myrmidons  of  Cromwell,  after  the  massacre  at 
Drogheda,  proceeded  to  the  once  magnificent  abbey  of  Melefont,  in  the  county  of 
Louth,  and  in  the  rage  of  the  diabolical  spirit  of  their  fanaticism,  broke  and  de- 
molished the  georgeously  stained  glass  windows,  which  even  the  ravaging  Huns 
of  Elizabeth  had  spared.  On  these  windows,  which  were  presented  to  the  abbot 
by  O'Rourke,  prince  of  Breffeny,  A.  D.  IIGD,  were  beautifully  painted,  at  full 
lengths,  the  twelve  apostles,  the  four  evangelists,  and  the  prophets  of  the  Old 
Testament.  Harris  has  asserted  that  if  these  windows  were  in  existence  in  his 
day,  1763,  that  they  would  be  worth  six  thousand  guineas. 

t  Desmond,  (signifying  in  Irish  Deas  Mumhaji)  or  South  Munster,  was  an  an- 
cient principality  of  the  McCarthy's,  which  comprehended  within  its  bounds,  the 
principal  districts  of  the  counties  of  Cork  and  Kerry. 


399 

the  expense  attending  the  erection  of  that  structure,  was  defrayed 
by  an  additional  duty  imposed  on  the  coal  and  culm  consumed  in 
the  city  and  vicina<ie.  Brewer,  in  his  description  of  the  city  of 
Cork,  speaks  thus  of  St.  Finbar's  cathedral  : — "  It  is  quite  unworthy 
of  the  diocess  to  which  it  belongs,  whether  we  consider  its  dimen- 
sions, or  architectural  character.  It  is  a  massy,  but  a  tasteless  and 
dull  pile,  composed  of  stone.  There  is  no  transept,  and  at  the  west 
end  is  a  tower,  surmounted  by  an  octangular  spire,  of  most  inele- 
gant proportions.  The  Doric  order  is  aflected  in  the  body  of  the 
building,  but  the  windows  have  wooden  sash-frames,  and  no  single 
feature  of  the  exterior  is  calculated  to  gratify  either  the  ordinary  or 
the  judicious  examiner.  The  interior  is  distinguished  from  that  of 
a  parochial  church,  suited  to  a  provincial  town,  merely  by  the  throne 
and  stalls,  which  are  in  a  sedate  and  respectable  mode  of  design." 
St.  Finbar  was  a  native  of  Connaught,  and  it  is  conjectured  that  he 
received  his  education  at  the  school  of  Clonard.  After  presiding  for 
seventeen  years  over  the  diocess  with  singular  piety  and  edification, 
he  resigned  it,  and  retired  to  a  cell  in  the  abbey  of  Cloyne,  to  end 
his  life  in  penance,  ^yhere  he  died  on  the  7th  of  October,  but  in  what 
year  is  not  known.  "  His  body,"  writes  Sir  James  Ware,  "  was 
conveyed  to  Cork,  and  there  honourably  buried  in  his  church  ;  and 
his  bones,  I  know  not  how  long  after,  were  put  in  a  silver  shrine." 

According  to  the  authority  of  the  most  creditable  of  our  annalists, 
the  See  of  Ross*  was  founded  in  the  course  of  the  sixth  century  by 
St.  Feachan,  who  was  one  of  those  refulgent  luminaries  tliat  not 
only  irradiated  Ireland  with  learning  and  religion,  but  extended  the 
halo  of  their  glorious  brightness  over  the  mental  darkness  of  Europe, 
in  the  sixtli,  seventh,  and  eighth  centuries. 

St.  Feachan  built  a  cathedral,  an  abbey,  and  a  college  liere,  dur- 
ing his  prelacy.  The  year  of  the  death  of"  this  honest  and  upright 
divine,"  as  Hanmer  designates  him,  has  not  been  handed  down  to 
us  in  history.  It  is  said  that  he  was  succeeded  in  the  bishopric  by 
St.  Connall,  and  by  St.  Brentlan  in  the  university.  The  See  of  Ross 
was  united  to  that  of  Cork,  by  order  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  in  1583. 
The  first  Protestant  bishop  of  Cork  and  Cloyne  (the  latter  See  was 
then  an  adjunct  of  that  bishopric)  was  Dominick  Tirrey,  an  apos- 
tate Catholic  Priest,  whom  Henry  VIII.  appointed  to  that  episcopal 
station  in  consequence  of  his  servility. 

There  is  a  modernized  CRthedvnl  in  Ross,  but  it  possesses  no  archi- 
tective  character  worthy  of  description.  "  On  the  west,"  says 
Brewer,  "  is  a  tower,  surmounted  by  a  spire  of  hewn  stone,  50  feet 
in  height.     This  ornamental  spire  was  recently  added  (in  1827)  by 

*  Ross  Carbery  (anciently  desig-nated  Ross  Mithri,  or  tho  green  of  pilcrrimage) 
is  situated  on  a  rocky  summit,  which  rises  over  the  northern  extremity  of  a  hand- 
some bay,  in  the  county  of  Cork,  is  distant  from  Dublin  152  Irisli  miles.  There 
is  a  fine  and  majestic  pile  of  abbey  ruins  here.  Several  caves,  in  addition  to  those 
mentioned  by  Dr.  Smith,  of  great  extent,  and  divided  into  chambers,  were  discov- 
ed,  near  the  abbey  of  St.  Feachan,  in  17!)1.  The  houses  of  Ross  are  neither  pretty 
nor  commodious  ;  but  the  country  of  groves  and  gardens  in  which  it  is  embosomed, 
and  the  spacious  bay  that  rolls  its  blustering  billows  before  it,  impart  to  it  much 
external  beauty  of  sylvan  scenery. 


400 

Mr.  Michael  ShaMahan,  architect  of  Cork,  under  the  direction  of  the 
Dean  and  chapter." 

The  founder  of  the  See  of  Cloyne  was  St.  Colman,  the  son  of  a 
chieftain  named  Lenin,  who  was  a  disciple  of  St.  Finbar,  the  first 
bishop  of  Cork.  lie  built  at  Cloyne  a  cathedral  and  an  abbey.  He 
died  on  the  4tli  of  November,  A.  D.  604.  St.  Brendan,  abbot  of 
Clonfert,  wrote  his  biography,  in  wliich  he  said  of  Colman  :  "  he 
was  for  learning,  and  a  good  life,  chief  among  the  Irish  saints  of  his 
time. 

On  the  death  of  bishop  Paye,  in  1430,  in  pursuance  of  a  bull  of 
Pope  Martin  V.,  which  was  ratified  by  the  Irish  Parliament,  the 
Sees  of  Cork  and  Cloyne  were  united.*  This  union  was  dissolved 
on  the  accession  of  George  Synge  to  the  See,  in  1C3S;  since  which 
period  Cloyne  has  contirmed  a  distinct  and  independent  bishopric. 
The  Protestant  cathedral,  which  stands  on  the  site  of  the  structure 
of  St.  Colman,  is  a  neat  Gothic  edifice,  which  was  rebuilt  and  re- 
edilied  under  the  direction  of  bishop  Agar,  in  1770.  The  choir  is 
elaborately  decorated  with  Gothic  and  Italian  ornaments. 

To  St.  Kieran  the  elder,  is  to  be  attributed  the  institution  in  A.  D. 
540  of  the  bishopric  of  Ossory,  at  Saiger,  in  the  King's  county, 
where  the  saint  built  a  cathedral.  We  have  already  given  a  biogra- 
phical sketch  of  St.  Kieran.  This  See  was  translated  to  a  place 
called  Aghaboe,  in  the  Queen's  county,  where  St.  Canice  or  Kenny 
erected  a  monastery  in  the  latter  end  of  the  sixth  century.  St. 
Canice,  who  acquired  such  eminence  for  sanctity  and  learning,  was 
the  son  of  Laidee,  a  poet  famed  for  his  genius  and  mental  powers. 
This  saint  died  at  Aghaboe,  in  the  year  599.  It  is  conjectured  that 
the  removal  of  the  chair  of  the  bishops  of  Ossory  from  Sa'ger  to 
Aghaboe,  happened  in  the  year  A.  D.  1052.  Of  the  successors  of 
St.  Canice  in  the  See  of  Ossory,  there  is  only  an  account  extant  of 
four  prelates  of  the  name  of  Carthaeus,  of  one  Sedna,  of  two  Cor- 
macs,  the  elder  of  whom  died  in  A.  D.  807,  and  the  younger  in  997. 
In  1178,  Donald  O'Fogarty  died  bishop  of  Ossory,  after  exercising 
the  episcopal  functions  for  twenty  years.  To  him  succeeded  Felix 
O'Dullany.  By  the  permission  of  the  court  of  Rome,  bishop  O'Dul- 
lany,  shortly  after  his  accession,  removed  his  episcopal  throne  from 
Aghaboe  to  Kilkenny,  where  he  laid  the  foundation  of  the  cathedral, 
which  he  dedicated  to  St.  Kenny,  whose  remains  he  caused  to  be 
enshrined  in  it.t     This   j)relate  died   in  1202,  and  his  body  was  in- 

*  The  pleasant  and  rural  town  of  Cloyne,  is  situated  on  a  summit,  that  rises 
above  a  vale,  in  the  barony  of  Imo-Killy,  county  of  Cork,  at  the  distance  of  twelve 
miles  from  the  city,  one  from  the  sea,  and  ten  from  the  town  of  Youghal.  In  the 
cemetery  which  surrounds  the  ruins  of  St.  Colman's  abbey,  are  several  sepulchral 
erections,  which  are  marked  with  a  very  antique  character.  Coi>tiguous  to  the 
church  is  a  magnificent  round  tower,  whicii  rises  to  the  elevation  of  ninety-two 
feet.  In  a  disquisition  on  ancient  Irish  architecture,  which  we  will  write  as  soon 
as  we  shall  have  brought  down  our  history  to  the  eleventh  century,  we  will  amply 
treat  of  the  round  towers,  as  well  as  of  the  other  ancient  monuments  with  which 
Ireland  abounds. 

t  We  extract  the  following  spirited  description  of  the  cathedral  of  Kilkenny, 
from  Mr.  Brewer's  work  : — "  The  cathedral  of  St.  Canice  is  an  extensive  and 
commanding  pile,  seated  on  a  gentle  eminence,  whence  are  obtained  fine  views 
over  the  city,  and  along  the  winding  banks  of  the  river  Nore.     This  church  is  of  a 


401 

tt-rrcd  in  a  frrand  tomb  in  St.  Mary's  monastery,  at  Jeiipont  abbey, 
county  of  Kilkenny. 

This  diocess,  accordin<;  to  the  statistical  survey  of  the  late  Dr. 
Beaufort,  is  36  miles  in  length,  and  23  in  breadth.  It  is  a  remarka- 
ble fact  in  the  history  of  the  bishopric  of  Ossory,  that  two  of  its  j)re- 
lates  were  Lord  Justices  of  Ireland, — four  Lord  Chancellors;  three 
Lord  Treasurers;  three  translated  to  archbishoprics  ;  one  an  Am- 
bassador ;  and  one  a  Chancellor  of  the  Exciiequer. 

The  first  Protestant  bishoj)  of  the  See  of  Ossory,  was  John  Bale, 
a  degraded  English  Carmelite,  to  whom,  in  the  year  1552,  as  a  re- 
ward for  his  abjuration  of  his  religion,  the  ministry  of  Edward  VI. 
presented  the  mitre  of  Ossory  ;  but  he  was  not  in  the  enjoyment  of 
his  episcopal  dignity  more  than  six  montlis,  when  Queen  Mary  as- 
cended the  throne  of  her  ancestors,  and  ordered  his  expulsion  from 
the  See. 

The  bishopric  of  Derry  was  founded  by  St.  Eugene,  after  he  hfid 
been  consecrated  by  St.  Patiick,  in  A.  D.  545.  This  saint  erected 
the  primitive  cathedral  of  the  diocess  of  Derry,  at  Ard-sraih,  in  the 
county  of  Antrim.* 

*'  St.  Eugene,"  says  Sir  James  Ware,  "  was  a  great  and  industri- 
ous preacher,  and  born  of  the  blood  royal  of  Leinster."     This  emi- 

cruciform  shape,  surmounted  with  a  low  tower.  The  lengtli  from  east  to  west  is 
2"2ti  feet,  in  the  clear  ;  and  the  breadth  of  the  cross,  from  north  to  south,  123  feet ; 
"  dimensions,"  writes  ]Mr.  Harris,  "  which  are  believed  to  exceed  those  of  any 
other  church  in  Ireland,  except  St.  Patrick's  and  Christ  church,  Dublin."  In  tiie 
north  transept  is  a  chapel  dedicated  to  St.  Mary,  long  used  as  the  parish  church. 
In  the  same  transept  may  also  be  noticed  the  remains  of  a  fixed  stone  seat,  locally 
called  the  chair  of  St.  Kieran. 

The  eastern  part  of  the  church,  comprising  the  choir  and  chancel,  is  seventy- 
seven  feel  in  length.  The  bisho])'s  throne,  tlie  seats,  and  the  gallery  are  of  var- 
nished oak  ;  the  whole  being  conspicuous  for  a  sedate  simplicity.  At  the  cast 
end  is  a  very  lofty  window,  divided  into  three  lights  of  the  lancet  form  on  the  ex- 
terior, but  each  compartment  finishing,  internally,  with  a  trefoil  head.  We  are 
informed  by  Ware,  that  bishop  Lcdrcd,  soon  after  the  year  1318,  expended  large 
sums  in  embellishing  his  cathedral,  and  particularly  in  filling  the  windows  with 
stained  glass.  His  liberality  was  eminently  displayed  in  this  eastern  window,  the 
paintings  of  which  represented  the  history  of  Christ,  from  the  birth  to  the  ascen- 
sion. Rinuncini,  legate  to  the  Catholics  of  Ireland  during  the  troubles  of  the 
seventeenth  century,  is  said  to  have  offered  £700  for  the  glass  of  this  window, 
which  offer  was  declined  ;  but,  unhappily,  the  glass  was  destroyed,  in  KiSO,  by  the 
fanatics  of  that  gloomy  period.  Some  mutilated  fragments  were  afterwards  col- 
lected by  bishop  Pococke,  and  placed  in  two  ovals  over  the  western  door. 

The  nave  is  divided  from  its  side  aisles  by  pointed  arches,  unornamented,  and 
supported  by  pillars  composed  of  black  marble.  The  side  aisles  are  litrhted  by 
pointed  windows,  and  the  body  of  the  church  by  windows  of  quatrefoil  shape, 
placed  in  a  clerestory.  In  the  side  aisles,  and  between  the  pillars,  are  numeroua 
altar-monuments.  The  long  succession  of  these  sepulchral  memorials  adds  great- 
ly to  the  impressive  effect  of  this  division  of  the  striicture  ;  and  we  have  rarely 
seen  the  interior  of  an  ecclesiastical  building,  which  at  tlie  same  time  was  so  little 
indebted  to  architectural  effort,  and  possessed  so  imperative  a  sway  over  the  feel- 
ings." 

*  Jrd-srath,  (or  according  to  its  proper  Irish  orthography,  Ard-traig,  litenilly 
the  height  of  the  strand)  is'situated'on  the  river  Derg,  in  the  county  of  Antrim. 
The  abbey  erected  by  St.  Eugene,  is  now  an  ivy-covered  heap  of  ruins.  The  ca- 
thedral built  there  by  that  saint,  was  dedicated  to  his  friend  and  instructor  St.  Lu- 
roch.  At  that  place  there  is  a  high  mound  or  rath,  which  forms  a  pleasing  feature 
in  the  landscape. 

51 


402 

nent  and  exemplary  ecclesiastic  died  at  Ard-srath,  the  23d  of  Au- 
gust, A.  D.  CIS.  His  remains  were  entombed  under  the  altar  of  his 
own  cathedral.  His  successor,  whose  name  has  not  been  handed 
down  to  us,  in  tlie  episcopal  office,  commenced  his  administration 
by  translatinfi  the  chair  of  the  See  to  Mawhera,*  where  it  remained 
until  A.  D.  927,  when  it  was  removed  to  Derry,  by  Coen  Comrach, 
where  he  repaired  and  re-edified  the  church  built  by  St.  Columba, 
in  the  year  543,  and  converted  that  edifice  into  a  cathedral,  and 
dedicated  it  to  its  founder. t  The  bishops  of  Derry  assumed  the  title 
of  bishops  of  Rathhirc,  another  name  for  Ardsrath,  in  honour  of  its 
patron  Saint,  Luroch  ;  hence  all  the  bishops  that  froverned  the  See, 
from  Eugene  to  the  time  (1152)  of  Flathbert  O'Brolcan,  were  styled 
Rathlurienses,  until  tiie  year  11.58,  when  tiie  Synod,  held  at  Brith- 
thaig,  consisting  of  the  Pope's  Legate,  the  bishop  of  Lismore  and 
twenty-five  other  prelates,  enacted  and  decreed  that  all  the  future 
bishops  of  the  diocess  should  be  known  and  distinguished  by  the  ap- 
pellation of  Derry. 

Bishop  Brolcan  made  extensive  improvements  in  the  Cathedral 
of  Derry,  in  1103,  which  work  he  was  assisted  to  complete  by  muni- 
ficent pecuniary  contributions  from  Maurice  McLoughlin,  King  of 
Ireland. 

In  1152,  Cardinal  Paparo,  the  legate  of  Pope  Eugene  III.  confer- 
red on  INIaurice  O'Cofty,  then  bisiiop  of  Derry,  the  title  of  prelate  of 
Keanla  Eogain,  or  Tyrone.  This  bishop  died  in  February,  1 174,  and 
his  body  was  buried  in  the  cathedral  of  St.  Columb  Kill.  Sir  James 
Ware,  to  whose  authority,  on  this  subject,  every  historian  of  Ireland 
will  have  to  refer,  does  not  state  that  the  See  of  Derry  was  occupied 
by  any  Protestant  prelate  before  the  accession  to  it,  in  1605,  of 
George  Montgomery,  a  Scotchman,  who  was  appointed  by  that  un- 
grateful and  fanatical  regal  pedant,  James  I. 

The  bishopric  of  Kilmore  owes  its  primitive  establishment,  in  the 
sixth  century,  to  St.  Fcidlimid,  who  erected  a  churcii  at  a  small  vil- 
lage called  Tribiirna,  in  the  county  of  Cavan,  from  which  place  the 
future  bishops  took  their  title,  until  the  year  1454,  when  Pope  Nicho- 
las V.  issued  a  bull,  empowering  Andrew  McBrady,  then  bishop  of 
Triburna,  to  remove  the  episcopal  chair  to  Kilmore,  and  to  make 
that  town  his  prelatical  name.  Bishop  McBrady  erected  a  cathe- 
dral at  Kilmore,  which  he  dedicated  to  the  patron  saint  of  the  parish 
(Feidlimid)  and  placed  in  it  twelve  canons. I  "  This  erection,"  says 
Sir  James   Ware,   "  was   confirmed  in  the  following  year   by  Pope 

*  Maghera  is  a  small  hamlet  town  in  the  barony  of  Loughlinsholen,  county  of 
Derry. 

t  The  Cathedral,  which  stands  on  an  eminence,  by  recent  repairs,  has  been  in- 
vested with  architectural  features,  whicli  make  it  appear  a  respectable  religious 
edifice.  A  recent  writer  in  dcscribincr  tiie  catiiedral  of  Derry,  says — '•  its  angles 
are  furnished  with  octagon  cupolas,  which  display  considerable  taste  ;  its  spire  is 
handsome,  and  on  the  eastern  end  there  is  a  cross,  after  the  manner  of  the  old  Ro- 
man Catholic  churches.  The  inside  is  neat,  if  not  elegant.  It  has  ten  fine-toned 
bells,  and  an  excellent  organ. 

X  Kilmore,  (the  great  church)  is  a  small  village  in  the  barony  of  Loughtee, 
county  of  Cavan.  This  place  owes  its  name  and  origin  to  the  circumstance  of  St. 
Columb  Kill,  having  erected  an  abbey  in  it  in  the  sixth  century. 


403 

Calistus  III.  ;  and  about  the  same  time,  if  I  mistake  not,  the  deanery 
of  Kihnore  was  constituted.  As  for  St.  Feidiiniid,  he  Hved  in  the 
sixth  century,  and  was  hrotlier  to  St.  Diarniistius,  abbot  of  Innis- 
Cloghran*  St.  Feidiiniid  died  on  the  ninth  of  August,  but  in  what 
year  I  know  not."  The  See  was  anciently  designated  Brefleny, 
from  that  being  the  ancient  name  of  the  districts  now  known  by  the 
appeHations  of  Cavan  and  Leitrim,  and  then  possessed,  until  the 
year  1641,  by  the  sei)ts  of  the  O'Reilly,  O'Rourke,  O'Brady,  O'- 
Curry,  O'Sheridan,  McRiernan  and  McGaurall.  Bishop  McBrady 
died  in  the  year  14.30. 

"  Tliere  is,"  says  Sir  James  Ware,  "no  mention  of  the  dioccss  of 
Kihnore,  in  the  decision  of  Sees,  made  at  the  Synod  held  under 
Cardinal  John  Paparo,  in  March,  A.  D.  1152."  The  first  Protest- 
ant bishop  of  Kilmore,  a))pointed  by  Elizabetli  in  15S5,  was  John 
Garvy,  a  Priest  who  had  been  suspended,  for  immoral  conduct,  by 
his  predecessor,  Ednmnd  INugent. 

The  Sec  of  Ardagh,  in  the  county  of  Longford,  is  certainly  the 
most  ancient  in  Ireland,  for  it  was  founded  by  St.  Patrick,  in  A.  D. 
4SS,  who  nominated  and  appointed  his  nephew,  St.  INIela,  or  IMoel, 
its  first  bishop.  This  Saint  died  the  6th  of  February,  in  the  first 
year  of  his  episcopal  administration.  His  successor  was  his  brother, 
St.  Melchuo,  who  died  shortly  after  his  elevation  to  the  bishopric. 

From  the  death  of  vSt.  Melchuo  until  the  accession  of  St.  Erard, 
in  the  middle  of  the  eighth  century,  we  have  no  record  of  the  bishops 
who  ruled  the  See  of  Ardagh  during  the  intervening  period.  "This 
Saint,"  writes  Ware,  "together  with  his  brothers,  Saints  Albert  and 
Hddiupb,  and  other  nineteen  associates,  left  their  own  country  about 
the  middle  of  the  eighth  century,  and  went  into  Germany,  where 
thev  laboured  much  in  the  propasration  of  Christianity.  St.  Erard 
died  at  Ratisbon,  on  the  8th  of  January,  and  \^as  buried  in  a  nun- 
nery ;  but  the  certain  year  of  his  death  1  do  not  find.  He  was 
canonized  by  Pope  Leo  IX.  in  A.  D.  1052."  The  first  Protest- 
ant bishop  of  the  See  of  Ardagh,  was  Lisack  O'Farrell,  who  was  ap- 
pointed, in  the  room  of  his  predecessor,  Patrick  McMahon,  by 
Queen  Elizabeth,  in  A.  D.  1577. 

The  See  of  Ardaghf  was  united  to  that  of  Kilmore,  in  the  year 
1658,  and  this  union  was  not  dissolved  until  bishop  Ulysses  Burgh, 
was,  in  1692,  invested  with  its  distinct  and  separate  episcopal  pre- 
rogatives, by  King  William  IH.  On  the  death  of  that  bishop  in  the 
same  year,  it  was  again  made  subject  tf)  the  diocess  of  Kilmore,  and 
continued  so  until  the  year  1741,  when  it  was  united  under  the  pre- 

*  Innis-Cloghran  (the  stony  island)  is  situated  on  the  river  Shannon,  near 
Lough-Rce,  and  between  the  counties  of  West  Meath  and  Roscommon. 

t  Ardagh  (the  elevated  hill)  is  sitiiaied  in  the  barony  of  the  same  name,  in  the 
middle  of  the  county  of  Lonjrford,  about  six  Irish  miles  S.  W.  of  Edgworthstown. 
Of  its  ancient  cathedral  and  other  ecclesiastiral  erections,  only  scanty  mural  frag- 
ments now  remain.  "  The  chief  interest  of  this  i)lace,"  says  Brewer,  "  proceeds 
from  its  former  importance  in  ecclesiastical  history.  Here  are  no  traces  ol  archi- 
tectural splendour  to  arrest  the  attention."  The  modern  parochial  church  for 
Protestant  worship,  is  a  building  of  extent  and  elegance.  The  country  around 
Ardagh,  through  a  contiguous  part  of  wliich  the  Shannon  runs,  is  fertile  and  pic- 
turesque. 


404 

lacy  of  Dr.  Hart,  to  the  archiepiscopal  See  of  Tuarn,  with  which  it 
has  ever  since  been  held  in  commendam.  Under  the  control  of  this 
diocess  are  thirty-seveii  parishes,  situated  in  the  counties  of  Long- 
ford, Leitrim,  Cavan,  Sligo,  Roscommon,  and  West  Meath. 

The  See  of  Elphin,  in  tlie  county  of  Roscommon,  was  established 
by  St.  Patrick  in  A.  l3.  500,  who  consecrated  St.  Asic  its  first  bishop. 
Tiie  cathedral  built  under  the  direction  of  St.  Patrick,  was  dedicated 
to  the  Dlessed  Virj^in.  "  St.  Asic,"  writes  Sir  James  Ware,  "  was  a 
most  excellent  jioldstnith,  and  by  his  art  beautified  the  cathedral 
with  six  pieces  of  curious  workmanship.  This  prelate  built  a  col- 
lege at  Eiphin,  which  he  filled  with  monks.  He  died  at  Rathcung, 
in  Tirconnell,  where  he  was  buried."  Before  the  English  invasion, 
the  See  of  Elphin  held  episcopal  dominion  over  seventy-nine  par- 
ishes in  the  counties  of  Roscommon,  Sligo,  Galway,  and  Mayo. 

The  first  Prorestant  ])relate  of  Elphin,*  was  Roland  de  Burgo, 
who  renounced  the  religion  of  his  fathers,  and  violated  his  solemn 
vows  as  a  Catholic  Priest,  to  gain  this  bishopric  from  the  ministers 
of  Edward  Vf.      He  was  appointed  in  A.  D.  1552. 

The  See  of  Clonfert,  in  the  county  of  Galway,  was  founded  in  the 
middle  of  the  sixth  century,  by  St.  Brendan,  son  of  Finlog,  who  was 
a  contemporary,  and  of  the  same  christian  name  with  his  fellow- 
student,  St.  Brendan  of  Birr,  in  the  King's  county.  St.  Brendan 
was  a  native  of  the  county  of  Kerry,  the  author  of  works  entitled 
the  "  Christian  Confession,  Charter  oj  Heaven,  and  Rules  for  3Ionks.^' 
St.  Brendan  died  on  the  first  of  March,  A.  D.  571.  The  first  Pro- 
testant l)ishop  (jf  Clonfert  was  Ricliard  Nangle,  who  acknowledged 
the  supremacy  of  Henry  VHI.,  in  consequence  of  which  Pope 
Clement  VII.,  in  the  year  1534,  caused  the  archbishop  of  Ireland  to 
deprive  liim  of  all  episcopal  authority.  To  this  diocess  that  of  Kil- 
macduack,  in  the  county  of  Galway,  has  been  subject  since  the  year 
1602.t 

The  bishopric  of  Kilmacduach,  county  of  Galway,  was  first  estab- 
lished by  St.  Colman  son  of  Duach,  in  the  sixth  century,  "  descended," 
says  Sir  James  Ware,  "  of  the  noble  family  of  the  Hysiaeris  in  Con- 
naught,  which  from  him  is  called  Kilmacduach."  In  what  year  he 
died  cannot  be  ascertained.  We  have  no  account  of  his  successors, 
until  the  year  814,  when  a  divine  of  the  name  of  Indrect  governed 
the  See. 

The  first  Protestant  bishop  of  this  See  was  Stephen  Kirwin,  an 
apostate  from  Catholicity,  whom  Elizabeth  elevated  to  the  prelati- 
cal   dignity,  in   consequence  of  his  recession  from  the  ancient  faith 

*  Elphin'  is  a  small  market  and  post  town,  in  tlie  county  of  Roscommon,  about 
100  miles  from  Dublin,  in  a  N.  W.  direction.  In  the  ypar  H''?,  the  English 
burned  down  Elphin.  The  cathedral,  or  rather  parish  church  of  that  place,  is  a 
respectable  edifice. 

t  Cr.oNFKRT  (tiie  secret  den  of  wonders)  is  a  small  villafje,  situated  in  the  ba- 
rony of  fiongford,  county  of  GaUvsiy,  at  the  distance  of  about  si.\ty-five  Irish  miles 
from  Dublin.  In  ancient  times  the  cathedral  of  tills  place  was  famed  for  its  seven 
marble  altars.  The  remains  of  the  cathedral,  still  to  be  seen  here,  are  but  the 
fragments  of  the  west  front  portico,  which  was  erected  to  ornament  the  edifice,  in 
127(),  by  John,  bishop  of  Clonfert,  (an  Italian)  who  was  then  the  Pope's  Nuncio 
in  Ireland,  are  yet  brilliant  specimens  of  architecture  and  sculpture. 


405 

of  Ireland.  Under  l)is  episcopal  sway  tlie  Sees  of  Clonfeit  and  Kil- 
macdiiach  were  united.* 

The  sm.ill  Sec  of  Fenaljon  or  Kilfenora,  in  the  county  of  Clare, 
was  instituted  by  St.  Fechia  in  the  sixth  centujy.  Of  that  Saint  we 
have  aheady  sjjoken.  This  See  was  united  to  tliat  of  Kdhiloe,  in 
tlie  year  175'2.  The  bishopric  contains  only  eij>hteen  j)arishes,  and 
is  esteemed  the  poorest  prehicy  in  Irehind.  The  first  Protestant 
bishop  of  Fenahau  was  Jolin  O'Hatdon,  who  was  promoted  for  his 
apostacy  to  the  episcopal  authority  of  this  diocess,  by  the  ministers 
of  Edward  Vf.  In  the  year  1G22,  Richard  Belts,  an  Enjrlishnian, 
on  being  appointed  bishop  of  Fenabou,  by  Charles  I.,  declined  con- 
secration, on  account  of  the  scanty  revenue  which  the  See  then 
yielded. t 

The  See  of  Killaloe,  in  the  county  of  Clare,  was  founded  in  A.  D. 
639,  by  St.  Flannan,  the  son  of  King  Theodorick,  and  the  disciple 
of  St.  Molua.  This  St.  Flannan  made  a  journey  to  Rome,  where 
his  elorpience,  learning,  and  piety  attracted  the  notice  of  Pope  John 
IV.,  who  in  consequence,  consecrated  him  bishop  of  Killaloe. 

There  is  no  account,  until  the  arrival  of  the  English,  extant  of  the 
successors  of  St.  Flannan,  if  we  except  five,  namely,  Carmacan  O'- 
Mtiilcashol,  who  died  A.  I).  1019  ;  O'Gcrmdidcr,  died  105.5;  Thady, 
died  10S3;  Ttig,  (whom  Waie  designates  '  a  learned  and  liberal  man') 
died  in  1  101  ;  and  Dotwu£^h  O'Britn,  son  of  the  Prince  of  Thomond, 
who  died  in  the  year  1105. 

In  the  twelfth  century  this  See  was  incorporated  with  the  ancient 
bishopric  of  Roscrea,  in  the  county  of  Ti|>perary,  and  in  the  year 
17.52,  the  diocess  of  Kilfenora,  of  which  we  have  already  written, 
was  added  to  the  union.  The  first  Protestant  bishop  of  Killaloe 
was  Cornelius  O'Dee,  a  reprobate  priest,  and  a  former  chaplain  to 
Maurice  O'Brien  of  Thomonil,  to  whom,  in  consequence  of  his  re- 
cantation, Henry  VIII.  in  1546,  assigned  the  mitre  of  this  See. J: 
The   bishopric  of  Killaloe  holds  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction  over  par- 

*  KiLMAcuuACH  (signifying  in  the  Irish  languaofe  the  church  of  the  son  of  the 
black)  is  situated  in  the  barony  of  Kiltartan,  county  of  Gahvay,  at  tlie  distance  of 
two  miles  from  the  town  of  Gorl.  '•  The  church,  tliough  small,"  writes  Wenman 
Seward,  autlior  of  the  Topograph ia  Hilicrnira,  "  was  a  very  neat  buildinij; — the 
pillars  and  arches  from  the  entrance  to  the  altar  part,  and  those  of  the  east  window, 
were  finished  in  an  elegant  stylo.  Tiiere  is  also  a  holy  well  here,  with  a  circular 
enclosure.  The  round  tower  at  this  place,  leans  17  1-2  feet  from  its  perpendicu- 
lar." The  country  which  spreads  out  its  richness  and  fertility  here,  has  every  at- 
tribute to  command  the  admiration  of  the  lovers  of  fine  and  imposing  scenery. 

t  KiLFKNORA,a  small  village  in  the  barony  of  Corcomroe,  county  of  Clare,  is 
situated  in  a  very  pretty  part  of  that  county.  Seward,  in  his  toiiographical  dic- 
tionary, says  of  this  place  :  "  the  cathedral  is  very  ancient,  but  in  griod  repair, — 
the  nave  is  full  of  old  family  ornaments,  and  in  the  choir  is  that  of  St.  Fechnan, 
its  original  founder."  There  are  here,  also,  seven  stone  crosses,  ingeniously 
sculptured. 

+  Killaloe  (originally  written  K'd-dnlua,  or  the  ch  ;rch  of  St.  Molua,  the 
founder  of  the  abbey)  is  situated  in  the  barony  of  Tullagh,  on  the  banks  of  the 
river  Shannon,  county  of  Clare,  at  the  distance  of  Sti  Irish  miles  from  Dublin. 
The  cathedral,  originally  erected  in  A.  D.  1I(>0,  by  Danitd  O'Brien,  Kinir  of  Lim. 
erick,  is  a  venerable  pile,  built  in  the  form  of  a  cross,  of  two  hundred  feet  in  length. 
The  large  Gothic  window,  over  the  eastern  portal,  is  elaborately  enriched  with 
sculptural  mouldings  and  ornaments.  There  are  several  monastic,  martial,  and 
sepulchral  ruins  to  be  seen  in  Killaloe. 


40G 

ishes  in  tlie  counties  of  Claie,  Tipperary,  Limerick,  and  Galway,  as 
well  as  in  the  Kini>;'s  and  Queen's  counties. 

The  See  of  KiUahi,  in  the  county  of  Mayo,  was  founded  hy  St. 
Muredach,  one  of  tlie  disciph^s  of  St.  Patrick,  in  tlic  beginniiiij  of  tlie 
sixth  century.  In  tlie  year  1607,  liy  order  of  James  I.,  the  l)i8liopric 
of  Achonry,  in  the  county  of  Sli^o,  was  united  to  that  of  Killala. 
The  firi-t  Protestant  bishop  of  KiUahi  was  Eugene  O'Connor,  who, 
on  making  submission  to  Queen  Ehzabeth,  and  renouncing  his  re- 
ligion, was  invested  with  the  episcopal  riglits  and  dignities  of  this 
See.* 

The  ancient  See  of  Achonry,  in  the  county  of  Sligo,  owes  its  cs- 
tabhshment,  in  the  year  530,  to  St.  Finian,  tlie  ilhistrious  bishop  of 
Clonard.  He  appointed  and  consecrated  his  scholar,  St.  Nathy,  its 
first  prelate.  From  the  period  of  tlie  foundation  of  that  diocess  un- 
til the  accession,  in  A.  D.  1170,  of  Bishop  O'Ruadan,  we  are  left 
without  any  account  of  the  successors  of  Nathy.  In  the  year  1007, 
this  See  was  united  to  that  of  Killala. t 

To  St.  Colman,  the  son  of  a  chieftain  of  Ardes,  county  of  Down, 
is  the  See  of  Dromore  indebted  for  its  origin  and  erection  in  the 
year  of  51C.  He  erected  a  cathedral  and  an  abbey  here  soon  after 
his  elevation  to  the  episcopal  tlircme  ;  the  latter  is  now  a  pile  of 
ruins,  and  on  the  site  of  the  former  stands  the  Protestant  church. 
Before  St.  Colman  obtained  the  mitre  of  Dromore,  lie  was  abbot  of 
Mockmarragh,  county  of  Antrim.  Of  the  successors  of  St.  Colman 
we  have  no  historical  relation,  until  the  year  1101,  when  Rigan  as- 
sumed the  episcopal  authority  of  Dromore. t 

John  Todd,  an  Fiiiglishnian,  was  the  first  Protestant  bishop  of 
Dromore,  to  which  dignity  he  was  raised  by  Queen  Elizabeth,  shortly 
after  iier  accession  to  tlie  British  throne. 

In  the  year  16G1,  King  Charles  II.  appointed  the  celebrated  Jere- 
my Taylor  bishop  of  Dromore.  That  |)relate  rebuilt  the  cathedral, 
in  the  cemetery  of  which  his  remains,  as  well  as  those  of  three  of 
his  successors,  bishops  Rust,  Digby,  and  Wiseman  are  interred. 
The  episcopal  privileges  of  this  See  extend  over  parts  of  the  coun- 

*  Killala,  a  larije  market  and  post  town,  is  situated  on  an  arm  of  the  srreat 
Atlantic  Ocean,  in  the  barony  of  Tirawly,  county  of  Mayo,  at  the  distance  of  one 
hundred  and  twenty-seven  Irish  miles  from  Dublin.  The  old  cathedral  stands  on 
an  insulated  eminsnce  in  the  middle  of  the  town.  Here  is  a  noble  round  tower, 
of  which,  in  a  future  chapter,  wc  shall  give  a  description.  The  country  in  which 
Killala  is,  if  we  may  use  the  word,  crescented,  is  beautiful,  interestintr,  and  pic- 
turesque, as  it  is  finely  diversified  and  ornamented  by  cultivated  domains,  flowery 
lawns,  fertile  corn-fields,  and  blue-rushing  rivers, — all  presenting  the  great  charm 
of  scenic  effect. 

t  Achonry  is  a  rural  village,  situated  in  the  barony  of  Leney,  at  the  distance  of 
sixteen  Irish  miles  S.  W.  from  the  town  of  Sligo. 

t  Dromore  (signifying  in  Irish  the  great  back  of  a  hill)  is  a  large  and  populous 
town,  situated  in  the  barony  of  Iveagh,  county  of  Down,  at  the  distance  of  84 
Enolish  miles  north  from  Dublin.  The  beautiful  river  Jjagan  runs  through  this 
town,  to  which  its  pastoral  banks,  studded  with  embowered  villas,  and  fringed 
with  bleach  greens,  impart  scenic  charms  of  the  most  sylvan  aspect.  In  the  vi- 
cinity of  Dromore  is  a  lofty  and  large  Rath,  from  the  green  summit  of  which  a 
noble  and  e.\pansive  prospect  of  the  surrounding  counties  can  be  commanded. 
There  are  feudal  and  monastic  ruins  in  Dromore,  calculated  to  awake  the  reflec- 
tions of  the  moralist,  and  the  attention  of  the  antiquarian. 


407 

ties  of  Arma<jh,Do\vn,  and  Antrim.  "The  chapter  of  this  diocess  " 
writes  Seward,  "  was  remodelled,  witli  some  pectdiar  i)rivilefres.  by 
a  patent  of  Kin";  James  I.  Among  other  marks  of  royal  favour,  he 
distinjrnislics  the  l)ishops  of  this  See  by  the  style  of 'A.  13.  by  divine 
Providence,  IJishop  of  Dromore,' — whereas  all  other  bishops  in  Ire- 
land, except  those  of  3Ienth  and  Rildare,  are  styled  by  (Uvinc  per- 
mission.    Tlie  cathedral  of  Dron)ore  is  a  small  but  graceful  edifice. 

The  bishopric  of  Down  was  founded  in  the  sixth  century,  by  St. 
Cailan,  an  Irishman,  who  had  been  abbot  of  Xmdnnii,  England.  He 
was  consecrated  by  his  fellow-student,  St.  Macnisins,  then  bishop  of 
Connor.  The  year  of  St.  Cailan's  death  is  not  stated  in  any  his- 
tory of  Down,  that  we  have  seen.  It  appears,  however,  that  he  was 
succeeded  in  the  See  of  Down,  by  St.  Fergus,  abbot  of  Killagan, 
county  of  Antrim,  in  A.  D.  580.  "St.  Fergus,"  writes  Ware,  "son 
of  Engus,  was  of  the  blood  royal  of  Ireland.  lie  died  on  the  30th 
of  March,  A.  D.  583.  As  for  his  successors  I  have  not,  I  confess, 
found  mention  made  of  any  bishop  of  Down  for  many  centuries 
after,  except  one  called  O'Flaherty,  who,  according  to  the  annals 
of  the  priory  of  the  island  of  All  Saints,  died  in  1043.  And  it  seems 
probable  enough  that  almost  all  that  time,  this  See  had  no  particu- 
lar bishop,  but  was  comprehended  in  the  diocess  of  Connor." 

Tlie  original  cathedral  erected  by  St.  Cailan,  was  dedicated  to  the 
Holy  Trinity,  but  on  the  accession  of  Malach}'  III.  in  1178,  the  ca- 
thedral was  rebuilt,  chiefly  at  the  expense  of  John  de  Courcy,  then 
Lord  deputy  of  Ireland  ;  and,  at  his  request,  the  bishop  consecrated 
it  to  the  memory  of  St.  Patrick, — "  whereby,"  says  Christopher 
Pembridge,  in  his  annals,  "  it  was  believed  that  De  Courcy  drew  upon 
himself  those  many  misfortunes  that  afterwards  attended  him." 
Bishop  Malachy,  who  expended  all  his  revenues  on  the  repairs  of 
the  cathedral,  and  the  endowment  of  the  abbey,  died  at  Down  Pat- 
rick, in  the  year  1"201.*  The  Sees  of  Down  and  Coi:nor  were  uni- 
ted in  A.  D.  1442,  which  conjunction  continues  still. 

The  founder  in  tlie  year  507,  of  the  bishopric  of  Connor,  was  St. 
Aengus  Macnisius,  the  son  of  Fobrec.  "  He  died,"  says  Sir  James 
Ware,  "  a  venerable  old  man,  on  the  3d  of  September,  A.  D.  514." 
There  is  but  little  recorded  of  his  successors,  for  the  centuries  that 
elapsed  from  his  death  to  the  arrival  of  Cardinal  John  Paparo,  as 
the  Pope's  legate,  in  the  year  1152,  when  Patrick  O'Baman  was 
])relate.  In  1442  Pope  Eugene  IV.  issued  a  bull  directed  to  the 
archbishop  of  Armagh,  ordering  the  union,  under  the  prelacy  of 
John,  of  the  Sees  of  Down  and  Connor. t     Pope  Paul  III.  conferred 

*  Down  Patkick  (or  tlio  sacred  liill  of  tlie  Irish  Apostle)  is  the  capital  of  the 
county  of  Down,  and  is  distinguished  for  the  beauty  and  roinanticity  of  its  situa- 
tion, and  the  wealth  and  industry  of  its  inliabitants.  It  is  most  advantageously 
situated,  in  the  midst  of  a  rich  and  cultivated  country,  distant  from  the  metropolis 
of  Ireland.  72  Irish  miles;  and  from  the  capacious  bay  of  Strangford,  only  7,  in  a 
western  direction.  In  a  future  chapter  a  more  copious  description  of  this  town 
shall  be  given, — for  it  is  a  place  of  historic  recollections — and  the  scene  of  memo- 
rable transactions.  The  splendid  tomb  in  which  the  remains  of  Saints  Patrick, 
Columb  Kill,  and  Bridgid  were  deposited,  was  destroyed,  in  1.538,  by  the  then 
Lord  Deputy,  Leonard  de  Grey,  by  whose  orders  the  cathedral  wds  set  on  fire. 

t  Connor,  a  small  village,  in  the  county  of  Antrim,  which  has  dwindled  lo  de- 
cay, having  now  nothing  to  show  but  the  ruins  of  its  ancient  cathedral,  in  attesta- 


408 

tlie  See  of  Connor  on  Eugene  Magenis ;  wljo,  in  1541,  acUnow- 
ledged  the  supremacy  of  Henry  VIII.,  and  in  consequence,  retained 
the  prehicy  until  iiis  death,  which  happened  in  the  second  year  of 
the  reign  of  Ehzaheth. 

The  bishopric  of  Clngher,  in  tlie  counly  of  Tyrone,  was  establislied 
originally,  as  tlie  antiquarians  tell  us,  by  St.  Patrick, — for  Jocelyn, 
in  his  life  of  the  national  apostle  of  Ireland,  writes — "  that  the  cathe- 
dral church  of  Clogher,  was  founded  by  St.  Patrick  at  first,  even 
before  the  church  of  Armagh  was  built."  Our  patron  Saint  conse- 
crated IMcCartin,  who  was  descended  of  a  noble  family,  the  first 
bishop  of  that  See.  Bishop  McCartin  built  a  cathedral  and  an  ab- 
bey there  in  the  year  504.  That  prelate  died  in  A.  D.  506.  His 
successor  was  St.  Tigernac,  who,  on  attaining  the  mitre,  removed 
his  episcopal  chair  to  Clones,  in  the  county  of  Monaghan,  where  he 
died,  the  5th  of  April,  A.  D.  550. 

In  the  year  1395,  while  bishop  Arthur  Cammell  was  engaged  in 
rebuilding  the  cathedral  of  Clogher,  a  great  fire  took  place,  which 
destroyed  that  edifice,  St.  Mary's  abbey,  three  chapels,  and  the 
bishop's  palace.  "  But,"  says  AVare,  "  by  the  care  and  indu.-try  of 
this  bishop,  the  church,  abbey,  and  palace  were  speedily  rebuilt." 
Until  the  year  12.52,  the  bishops  of  Clogher  exercised  episcopal  ju- 
risdiction over  the  church  of  Louth,  and  the  three  deaneries  of  Dun- 
dalk,  Drogheda,  and  Ardee,  which  are  now  subject  to  the  archiepis- 
copal  See  of  Armagh.  Miler  Magrath,  appointed  by  Queen  Eliza- 
beth, was  the  first  Protestant  bishop  of  Clogher.  Tlie  cathedral  of 
Clogher  is  in  good  repair.* 

The  See  of  Raphoe,  in  the  county  of  Donegal,  was  founded  in  the 
middle  of  the  sixth  century  by  St.  Eunan.  This  Saint  erected  here, 
shortly  after  his  consecration,  a  church  and  an  abbey,  which  were 
enlarged  and  repaired  in  the  eleventh  century,  by  one  of  his  succes- 
sors. History  has  not  preserved  the  names  of  those  bishops  who 
were  the  immediate  successors  of  St.  Eunan,  in  the  See  of  Raphoe. 
The  first  prelate,  Gilbert  O'Caran,  of  whom  Ware  and  Harris  make 
mention,  obtained  the  mitre  of  this  diocess  in  A.  D.  1172.  In  A.  D. 
1360,  Patrick  Magonail,  the  then  bishop,  improved  and  re-edified 
the  cathedral,  and  built  a  magnificent  episcopal  palace  here.  He  set 
up  a  large  marble  cross,  which  was  finely  sculptured,  in  the  cathe- 
dral, which  remained  there  until  bishop  O'Gallagher,  in  the  year 
1438,  had  it  removed  to  the  city  of  Armagh,  where  it  stood  a  vener- 
able relic  of  piety,  and  an  impressive  monument  of  ancient  srt,  un- 
til July  1816,  when  a  vandal  gang  of  Orangemen  broke  it  into  pieces. 
The  author  of  this  history  has  often  seen  and  admired  that  magnifi- 
cent cross,  ere  it  was  demolished  by  tiie  Orange  Goths.  George 
Montgomery,  a  Scotchman,  was  the  first  Protestant  prelate  of  Ra- 
phoe.t 

tion  of  its  primitive  consequence.  The  distance  of  Connor  from  Dublin  is  89 
Irish  miles. 

*  CLor,uER  (in  Irish  the  golden  stone)  is  a  large  town  situated  on  the  banks  of 
the  river  Launy,  in  the  county  of  Tyrone,  at  the  distance  of  104  English  miles 
from  Dublin. 

t  Raphoe  is  situated  in  the  county  of  Donegal,  at  the  distance  of  142  English 
miles  t>om  Dublin.     It  is  not  a  flourishing  town,  as  the  proprietors  of  the  soil  are 


409 

The  bishopric  of  Kildare  was  established  by  St.  Conlath  in  A.  D. 
519.  This  Saint,  as  we  have  before  related,  in  the  biography  of  St. 
Brigid,  died  in  the  first  year  of  his  administration.  Historical  re- 
searches have  failed  in  developing  any  authentic  annals  of  the  bish- 
ops that  presided  over  this  See,  from  the  death  of  its  founder  to  the 
arrival  of  the  eleventh  century.  The  first  Protestant  bishop  of  Kil- 
dare was  William  Miagh,  elevated  in  1548  by  King  Henry  VIII.* 

By  St.  Lascerian  in  A.  D.  G82,  was  established  the  bishopric  of 
Leighlin,  in  the  county  of  Carloiv.  He  went  to  Rome  for  the  ])ur- 
pose  of  being  consecrated  by  Pope  Honorius  I.  That  Pontift'  was 
so  pleased  with  the  learning  and  ])iety  of  Lascerian,  that  he  ap- 
pointed him  his  legate  in  Ireland.  This  Saint  died  at  his  episcopal 
seat  at  Leighlin,  in  the  year  G39. 

The  first  Protestant  bishop  of  this  See  was  Matthew  Sanders, 
who  conformed  to  the  decree  of  Henry  VIII.  In  the  year  1(J00,  the 
bishopric  of  Leighlin  was  united  to  that  of  Ferns,  which  union  still 
subsists.  The  dioccss  of  Leighlin  comprises  eighty-nine  parishes  in 
the  counties  of  Wicklow,  Carlow,  Kilkenny,  and  in  the  Queen's 
county. t 

The  original  establisher,  and  the  first  bishop  of  Ferns,  in  the 
county  of  Wexford,  was  St.  Aedan,  or  as  he  has  been  designated  by 
some  of  our  annalists,  INIaodhog.  According  to  Ware,  he  was  con- 
secrated in  the  year  598,  who  in  relation  to  him  writes — "St.  Aedan, 
with  the  consent  of  a  great  synod  of  Irish  prelates,  made  Ferns  the 
metropolis  of  all  Leinster."  "  A  great  citi/,^^  says  one  of  the  biogra- 
phers of  that  Saint,  '■'■grew  up  there  in  honour  of  him,  and  tvos  called 
Ferns, — and  aftertcards  a  great  Synod  being  assembled  in  Leinster, 
King  Brandubh,  with  the  clergy  and  laity,  decreed  that  the  archbishop- 
ric of  all  Leinster  should  always  be  in  the  See  of  St.  3Taodhog." 

The  saintly  bishop  died,  very  old,  at  the  abbey  of  Timolin,  county 
of  Kildare,  two  years  after  he  had  resigned,  in  consequence  of  indis- 
position, the  See  of  Ferns,  in  A.  D.  632.  He  was  succeded  by  St. 
Moling,  whom  Gerald  Barry,  in  his  Topography  of  Ireland,  styles 
one  of  the  "  four  prophets  of  Ireland."  St.  Moling  died  in  the  year 
697.  Hugh  Allen,  an  Englishman,  was  the  first  Protestant  bishop 
of  Ferns. 

absentees,  and  the  country  around  it  is  not  fertile.  The  bishop's  palace  is  a  cas- 
tellated edifice,  in  which  the  antique  and  modern  architectiye  ornaments  are  finely 
contrasted,  so  as  to  produce  a  picturesque  effect. 

*  KiLDAKE  is  situated  on  an  eminence  which  is  belted  by  wood-clad  hills,  in  the 
barony  of'Ophaly,  at  the  distance  of  32  English  miles  from  Dublin,  in  a  south  west 
direction.  It  is  gradually  sinking  to  decay.  As  this  town  is  the  scene  of  many 
memorable  events,  commemorated'in  Irish  history,  and  as  its  fallen  bu't  sublime 
monuments  of  religious  and  feudal  architecture,  possess  such  impressive  attrac- 
tions for  the  lovers  of  the  antique,  we  will  reserve  our  description  of  it  for  another 
chapter. 

t  Leighli.v,  anciently  a  city  of  episcopal  and  municipal  consequence,  in  the 
county  of  Carlow,  is  now  but  a  small  village,  without  any  legitimate  pretensions 
to  the  pride  of  wealth,  or  to  the  weal  of  prosperity.  Its  majestic  ruins  alone  re- 
main as  monuments  of  its  past  importance.  There  is  a  small  cathedral  Jicre,  but 
its  architectural  appearance  is  not  very  interesting.  Leighlin  is  distant  from  the 
city  of  Dublin  about  43  [rish  miles.  The  country  in  which  it  is  encircled,  is  beau- 
tiful,— as  the  scenery  of  the  river  Barrow,  which  glides  near  this  town,  presents 
the  most  interesting  features  of  landscape  charms. 


410 

"  It  should  be  observed,"  says  an  intelligent  writer  on  this  sub- 
ject, "that  the  prelates  presiding  over  the  See  of  Ferns,  were  often 
styled  bishops  of  Wexford,  and  it  is  supposed  that  several  enter- 
tained the  design  of  removing  the  See  to  that  more  populous  town." 
Bishop  Devereaux,  the  last  Catholic  bishop  that  enjoyed  the  reve- 
nues of  this  See,  was  preparing,  in  1573,  five  years  before  his  death, 
to  make  a  journey  to  Rome,  in  order  to  solicit  the  Pope  for  the  re- 
moval of  his  episcopal  chair  to  Wexford.  The  bishopric  of  Ferns 
comprehends  a  space  of  country  of  about  forty-six  miles  in  length, 
and  eighteen  in  breadth.* 


CHAPTER  LVII. 


The  reign  of  King  Jlodh  VI. — The  first  invasion  of  the  Danes  ;  and  the  different 
designations  bestowed  upon  them  hij  the  Irish. 

Having  in  the  preceding  chapter  given  what  we  deemed  condu- 
cive and  necessary  to  the  general  interest  of  our  History,  a  brief  ac- 
count of  the  Episcopal  Sees  of  Ireland,  and  a  summary  biography 
of  their  saintly  founders,  we  now  return  to  the  continued  narration 
of  the  reigns  of  our  succeeding  monarchs — and  of  the  events  which 
happened  during  their  prevalence.  On  the  death  of  the  last  mon- 
arch, Donachad,  Aodh  or  Hugh  VI.,  the  son  of  Nial  Friasach,  was 
elected  King  of  Ireland,  A.  D.  979.  Early  in  his  reign  the  Danes 
effected  a  landing  on  the  island  of  Rathlin,  opposite  Bally  Castle,  in 
the  county  of  Antrim. t     As  soon  as  they  had  obtained  possession  of 

■^  Ferns  (or  Ferncgcnall ,  or  the  pretty  place)  is  a  small  town,  situated  in  the 
barony  of  Scarwalsh,  county  of  Wexford,  at  the  distance  of  73  English  miles  from 
the  city  of  Dublin  Time  and  circumstance  have  reduced  the  once  proud  capital 
of  Leinster  to  the  humility  of  a  poor  and  pretty  village.  The  palace  of  the  Pro- 
testant bishop  is  the  only.architective  ornament  of  the  town  of  Ferns. 

t  Rathlin  (in  Irisli,  Rath  Lionad,  or  the  Fort  of  the  tide)  is  situated  about  eight 
miles  from  that  part  of  the  Giant's  causeway,  called  Kenbane,  or  Whitehead,  in 
the  county  of  Antrim.  With  this  island  aie  associated  many  historical  recollec- 
tions. "  It  abounds,"  writes  Seward,  "  with  some  curious  arrangenienis  of  co- 
lumnar basaltes ;  and.  is  near  five  miles  in  length,  and  about  three  and  a  half  in 
breadth.  Ratlilin  has  formerly  been,  as  it  were,  a  stepping  stone  between  the 
Irish  and  the  Scottish  coasts,  which  the  natives  of  each  country  alternately  used 
in  their  various  expeditions,  and  for  which  they  frequently  fought.  During  the 
disturbances  in  Scotland  between  Ealiol  and  Robert  13ruce,  the  latter  was  obliged 
to  take  shelter  here  with  a  friend  of  his; — the  remains  of  a  fortress  are  yet  visible 
in  the  north  angle  of  the  island,  celebrated  for  the  defence  which  this  hero  made 
in  it,  and  is,  to  this  day,  known  Ijy  the  name  o?  Bruce' s  Castle." 

By  a  late  statistical  survey  of  this  island  (taken  in  1833)  it  appears  that  its  area 
covered  an  extent  of  the  sea  of  2000  plantation  acres,  and  that  its  population 
amounted  to  1140  souls.  The  island  produces  fine  barley,  and  the  kelp  that  is 
manufactured  in  it  is  considered  the  best  in  Ireland.  On  one  of  the  summits  of 
this  island,  238  feet  above  the  marine  level,  is  a  lucid  lake  oi'  the  clearest  water. 
Many,  bloody,  and  desperate,  were  the  battles  which  were  fought  in  Rathlin,  be- 
tween the  Irish  and  the  Scotch.  About  the  middle  of  the  sixth  century  a  monas- 
tery was  erected  here  by  St.  Columbanus,  wliich  the  Danes  in  790  plundered  and 
burned. 


411 

the  island,  tliey  proceeded  to  commit  the  most  barbarous  excesses — 
they  slew  St.  Feradagh,  the  abbot  of  that  place,  at  the  very  altar, 
— despoiled  the  shrines,  and  then  set  fire  to  every  town  in  the  de- 
voted island.  We  will  conclude  this  chapter  by  an  extract  from 
McDermott's  tlistory  of  Ireland, — an  extract  that  throws  a  lumi- 
nous blaze  of  intelligence  and  illustration  on  the  invasion  of  the 
Danes,  and  on  the  great  events  occurring  in  Ireland  during  the  eighth 
and  ninth  centuries. 

"  The  writers  who  treat  of  this  period  of  our  history,  commence 
with  an  inquiry  into  the  origin  of  these  barbarians,  who  were  a 
scourge  not  only  to  Ireland,  but  to  all  Europe,  for  more  than  200 
years ;  and  yet  historians  are  not  sufliciently  agreed  as  to  the  causes 
that  gave  birth  to  their  sudden  irruptions  into  the  southern  parts  of 
Europe.  This  is  the  more  surprising,  as  all  Europe  had  an  interest 
in  recording  their  history.  The  opinion  that  has  gained  most  cre- 
dence is,  that  people  multiply  and  increase  faster  in  the  cold  north- 
ern than  in  the  southern  climates  ;  that  the  Danes,  Swedes,  Nor- 
mans, and  other  northern  nations  became  consequently  overstocked 
with  inhabitants,  and  were  obliged  to  send  the  over-abundant  popu- 
lation to  seek  their  fortunes  in  other  climes.  To  this  conjecture  is 
added  the  great  plenty  of  materials  for  shipping  with  which  the 
north  is  supplied,  a  circumstance  which  is  supposed  to  have  given 
them  a  pre-disposition  for  a  naval  life.  This,  however,  is  a  doubt- 
ful hypothesis,  and  accordingly  it  is  rejected  by  some  writers.  '  If 
ancient  historians,'  says  Mr.  O'Halloran,  '  are  sometimes  censurable 
for  too  easy  a  credence  of  historical  relations,  and  for  mixing  fable 
with  history,  what  shall  we  say  to  modern  writers  who  oppose  their 
own  assumptions  to  both.  It  must  be  confessed,  that  witli  respect 
to  the  depredations  of  tlie  northern  pirates,  we  have  little  of  certain- 
ty to  explain  to  ns  the  cause  why  for  above  two  centuries,  the  Euro- 
pean seas  should  be  covered  with  lawless  pirates,  and  diflerent  na- 
tions felt  the  force  of  their  power;  and  why  these  difi'erent  depreda- 
tions should  begin  almost  everywhere  about  the  same  time,  and 
cease  at  nearly  an  equal  period  1  .'"'emblance  of  truth  too  often  pre- 
cludes truth,  and  superficial  readers  sometimes  embrace  the  shadow 
for  the  substance. 

'  The  cause  of  the  bursting  forth  of  such  numerous  northern  hives, 
at  this  time,  has  been  attributed  to  a  superabundance  of  inhabitants. 
The  north,  say  lazy  speoulatists,  has  been  always  a  country  the  most 
prolific  ;  it  is  the  ojjicina  ct  vagina  gcnt'mm.  But,  however  plausible 
this  appears,  like  many  other  refined  theories  of  modern  historians, 
it  is  but  a  bare  assmnption.  Every  evidence  that  can  be  demanded, 
proves,  that  at  all  periods,  population  has  been  greater  in  the  south- 
ern than  in  northern  climates.  The  great  quantity  of  unreclaimed 
ground,  even  to  this  day,  in  Denmark,  Norway,  and  Sweden,  shews 
these  countries  were  never  overstocked  with  inhabitants.  Wiiole 
tracts,  covered  with  woods,  and  the  amazing  quantities  of  it  exported, 
particularly  from  Norway,  prove  the  thinness  of  its  inhabitants. 
What  are  Copenhagen,  Stockholm,  or  Drontheirn,  compared  for  ex- 
tent or  inhabitants,  to  London,  Paris,  or  Dublin  ?  Or  what  the  in- 
habitants of  Europe  to  those  of  Asia?     Population,  to  a  certainty, 


412 

is  much  greater  in  warm  than  in  cold  climates ;  but,  were  we  to 
grant  the  reverse  to  be  the  case,  why  confine  this  amazing  conflux 
of  people  to  particular  periods  ?  Nature  is  uniform  in  all  her  effects, 
and  the  same  cause  that  produced  a  plethora  of  inhabitants  at  one 
particular  period,  should,  whilst  existing,  at  every  other.' 

These  arguments  appear  to  me  phihjsophical  and  just,  for  I  can 
see  no  reason  why  the  north  of  Europe  should  teem  with  itdiabitants 
at  this  particular  period  more  than  at  any  other.  But  it  often  hap- 
pens that  we  possess  penetration  enough  to  discover  the  defects  of  a 
theory  without  being  able  to  establish  a  better:  and  it  seems  to  me 
that  the  cause  which  Mr.  O'Halloran  assigns  for  the  depredations  of 
the  northern  barbarians  is  not  more  satisfactory  than  that  which  he 
has  rejected.  '  We  have  already  noted,'  says  he,  '  how  anxious 
Charlemagne  and  Pepin,  their  predecessors,  were  to  convert  the 
northern  nations  of  Germany,  and  the  active  part  which  the  Irish 
missionaries  took  in  this  great  work.  In  all  appearance,  policy 
united  with  religion  in  these  pursuits,  as  every  convert  tliey  made 
was  a  new  subject  acquired.  These  German  nations,  who  so  man- 
fully defended  their  liberties,  plainly  saw  that  the  religion  of  the  in- 
vaders was  as  inimical  as  their  swords,  and  began  to  form  a  general 
confederacy  against  both.  Driven  into  a  narrower  compass  they 
became  more  eotnpact  and  numerous,  and  their  religion  and  their 
liberties  being  equally  the  objects  of  these  conquerors,  they  confed- 
erated to  defend  both.  Not  numerous  enough  to  face  their  enemies 
by  land,  and  being  powerful  at  sea,  they  determined  to  make  their 
diversions  this  way.  Very  probably  necessity  first  drove  them  to  try 
the  expedient,  and  unexpected  success  increased  their  confidence. 
The  historian,  Mezaray,  attributes  the  depredations  of  these  north- 
ern nations  to  their  love  of  liberty,  and  their  detestation  of  those 
priests  and  religions  who  destroyed  their  gods  and  their  altars. 
Hence,  says  he,  their  greatest  cruelty  was  exercised  on  monks  and 
nionasteries.  For  this  reason  it  is,  that  they  are  frequently  styled, 
in  our  annals,  dubh-gcintc,  or  black  infidels,  tind  Jion-geinte,  or  white 
infidels;  and  as  a  farther  proof  of  this,  it  appears,  that  as  Christian- 
ity began  to  spread  amongst  them,  the  rage  of  invasion  began  grad- 
ually to  subside.  What  avails  it  that  the  acts  of  naticms  are  the  re- 
sult of  some  general  principles,  if  the  historian,  whose  duty  it  is, 
will  not  be  at  the  trouble  of  exploring  them.' 

This  account  of  the  origin  of  the  Danish  invasions  is,  in  my  opin- 
ion, less  satisfactory  than  that  which  the  doctor  has  rejected.  The 
character  of  these  public  robbers  forbid  us  to  attribute  their  unpro- 
voked hostilities  and  wanton  exercise  of  dominion,  when  obtained, 
to  the  impulse  of  a  virtuous  principle — namely,  the  defence  of  their 
country  and  their  religion.  The  fact  is,  that  these  northern  hoards 
laughed  to  scorn  the  control  of  moral  and  religious  duties.  They 
made  war  not  pro  arts  etfocis,  not  to  defend  their  own  habitations, 
but  to  destroy  and  lay  waste  the  habitations  of  others.  The  truth 
appears  to  be,  that  though  the  northern  countries  are  not  more  pro- 
ductive of  the  human  species  than  the  southern,  yet  their  inhabitants 
must,  in  course  of  time,  become  too  numerous  to  be  supported  by 
the  spontaneous  productions  of  a  cold  penurious  soil  ;  and  we  know 


413 

from  the  liistory  of  these  countries,  that  agriculture  was  entirely 
neglected  among  them.  The  western  Scythians,  who  were  the 
ancestors  of  the  Swedes,  Goths,  Danes,  and  Norwegians,  led  a  wan- 
dering life,  fixing  themselves  now  in  one  place,  and  now  in  another 
still  driving  hefore  them  their  flocks  and  herds  ;  but  these  flocks  and 
herds  could  never  become  numerous,  while  supported  only  bv  the 
scanty  pasture  of  the  northern  climes,  and  the  inhabitants  progres- 
sively increasing,  though  not  in  the  same  ratio  with  the  southern  re- 
gions, must  have  necessarily  become  straitened  for  means  of  subsist- 
ence. It  is  easy  to  perceive,  that  a  pe()f)le  thus  situated,  and  accus- 
tomed to  a  vagrant  life,  would  still  pursue  the  same  course  which 
they  had  followed  from  time  immemorial  ;  and  move  on  farther  to 
the  south,  from  which  they  could  have  no  possible  inducement  to  re- 
turn among  the  starved  population  which  they  had  abandoned. 
They  must,  however,  be  soon  visited  by  tiicir  forsaken  kindred,  who 
still  increasing,  not  having  means  of  subsistence  at  home,  must  have 
followed  the  example  that  was  wisely  set  before  them.  This  pro- 
gressive motion  to  the  south  must  have  continued  while  agriculture 
was  neglected,  and  a  wandering  life  rendered  agreeable  by  habit. 
The  delicacies  of  the  south  could  not,  however,  be  tasted  without 
being  coveted  by  a  people  always  inured  to  rough  and  simple  fare, 
and  finding  the  inhabitants  comparatively  an  effeminate  race  of  men, 
and  less  disposed  to  the  turbulence  and  bustle  of  war,  it  is  natural 
to  conceive  that  these  hardy  Hyperboreans,  already  accustomed  to 
a  vagabond  life,  should  rank  with  alacrity  under  the  banners  of  their 
enterprising  chiefs,  when  they  chose  to  lead  them  to  the  spoils  of 
richer  but  less  enterprising  nations.  The  trial  once  made,  and  the 
spoils  once  enjoyed,  proved  a  suflicient  stimulus  to  renewed  attempts. 
Accordingly  we  find  that  colonies  from  Gothland  spread  themselves 
over  the  islands  of  the  Baltic  sea,  and  that  these  again  scattering  by 
degrees,  penetrated  as  far  as  the  Cimbrica  Chersonesus,  or  the  pen- 
insula of  the  Cimbric.  The  local  advantage  of  all  these  countries 
peculiarly  fitted  the  inhabitants  to  lead  a  piratical  life.  Jutland, 
Sleswick,  Holstein,  &:c.  are  in  all  parts  intersected  by  arms  of  the 
sea,  and,  when  we  add  to  this,  the  great  abundance  of  timber  and 
materials  for  ship  building,  we  need  not  be  surprised  if  such  a  peo- 
ple should  become  enamoured  of  a  naval  life,  especially  when  it 
promised  them  the  treasured  wealth  of  distant  nations.  According- 
ly, we  find  that  piracy  was  deemed  honorable  among  the  Danes  ;  for 
this,  we  have  the  authority  of  Olaus  Worrnius,  who  says,  Antiquitus 
apud  Danos  pirat-lca  honcsta  ac  licita  erat  atqiie  in  ea  se  crebro  reges 
ipsi  out  eorum  liberi  exrrccbnnt,  ascitis  fainosissimis  et  fortissimis  ath- 
Ifiis*  Having  shared  whatever  spoils  they  obtained  with  their 
kings  and  chiefs,  no  wonder  that  the  latter  should,  as  we  find  they 
did,  lead  them  in  person  when  any  enterprize  of  importance  was 
undertaken.  We  find  that  the  corsairs  of  Barbary  still  practise  this 
profession  ;  and  so  would  the  inhabitants  of  the  north,  if  the  politi- 
cal aspect  of  Europe  had  not  undergone  a  complete  revolution  since 

*  Piracy  was  deemed  honorable,  and  licensed  amongf  the  Danes,  and  even  kings 
exercised  themselves  and  their  children  in  this  profession,  associating  with  them 
the  most  celebrated  and  liardiest  warriors. 


414 

these  disastrous  times.  This  revolution,  however,  could  not  afiect 
the  corsairs  of  Barbary  as  it  did  the  Goths  and  Danes.  The  eflects 
resulting  from  the  political  revolutions  of  Europe  can  reach  only  to 
a  certain  extent,  or  if,  like  a  burning  meteor,  they  sometimes  gleam 
with  unexpected  light  in  distant  climes,  yet  like  an  artificial  storm, 
they  rage  without  danger,  and  are  surveyed  without  terror.  The 
standing  armies  and  improved  policy  of  the  European  powers  having 
first  checked  the  eflects,  at  length  extinguished  the  spirit  of  piracy 
among  the  northern  states  ;  but  Barbary  was  too  far  removed  from 
the  influence  of  this  policy,  to  be  aftected  by  the  formidable  barrier 
which  it  opposed  to  the  northern  pirates,  and  what  required  only  a 
single  effort  to  crush  an  enemy,  immediately  within  reach,  required 
many  efforts  to  destroy  one  who  wounded  from  afar.  It  is  true  the 
European  powers  could  ])ut  an  end  to  the  profession  of  piracy  among 
the  corsairs  of  Barbary,  if  they  once  engaged  in  so  sacred  a  cause, 
and  it  may  with  some  reason  be  demanded  why  liave  they  not 
done  so  ?  No  doubt  political  considerations  have  partly  prevented 
them  from  it,  but  certain  it  is  that  if  they  had  never  been  guided  by 
the  short-sighted  views  of  a  niggard,  of  a  reptile  policy — a  policy 
degrading  to  humanity,  and  hostile  to  the  general  interests  of  man- 
kind, yet  they  would  have  many  difficulties  to  encounter  which  never 
presented  themselves  in  subduing  the  piratical  spirit  among  the  peo- 
ple of  the  north.  They  should  not  only  keep  a  standing  army  in 
Barbary,  but  civilize  the  rude  and  ferocious  manners  of  the  inhab- 
itants by  sending  European  colonies  to  reside  among  them. 

The  northern  pirates  were  known  to  the  southern  states  of  Eu- 
rope by  different  names.  In  France  they  were  called  Normans,  or 
men  of  the  North  ;  in  England  they  were  styled  Ostmen,  or  men  of 
the  East,  because  the  Livonians  and  other  eastern  tribes  of  northern 
Europe  joined  in  their  depredations;  in  Ireland  they  got  the  appel- 
lation of  Loch-Lannachs,  or  powerful  at  sea,  and  were  distinguished 
into  the  white  and  black.  But  though  the  name  Loch-Lannachs 
was  the  most  generic  term  by  which  they  were  known  in  Ireland, 
they  had,  however,  various  other  appellations  expressive  of  the  dif- 
ferent countries  from  which  they  came.  'One  tribe  of  them,'  says 
O'Halloran,  '  were  called  Leth-Manni,  and  these  archbishop  Usher 
and  O'Coury,*  judge  were  Livonians,  whose  province  is  called  Let- 
ten,  and  by  geographers  Letta ;  hence  Leth-Manni,  or  the  people 
of  Letta.  Others  were  called  Fionne-Gail,  and  Dubh-Gail,  or  white 
and  black  strangers,  from  the  colour  of  their  hair.  The  first  were, 
to  all  appearance,  the  Danes — Swedes  and  Norwegians,  who  are 
generally  fair-hairx?d,  and  the  others,  Germans.  A  territory  near 
Dublin  yet  retains  the  name  of  Finn-Gall ;  and  Dunegall  is  proba- 
bly a  corruption  of  Dubh-Gail,  or  the  country  of  the  black  strangers. 
But  the  most  general  names  they  are  distinguished  by,  amongst  us, 
are  Dubh-Loch-Launice,  and  Fionn-Loch-Lannice  ;  the  word  Loch- 
Lannach  signifies  powerful  at  sea,  and  the  adjectives,  Dubh  black, 
and  Fionn  white,  were  added  to  denote  their  different  countries  by 
Iheir  hair.     We  also  sometimes  find  them  called  Danair-Fonh,  and 

*  Laws  of  Tanistry  illustrated,  p.  489. 


415 

Dan-Fir;  but  I  believe  tliese  were  rallier  words  of  reproach  tlimi 
an  implication  of  the  country  from  whence  they  came,  because  they 
are  rarely  met  with,  and  Irish  writers  were  not  fond  of  reproachful 
epithets  to  their  enemies.  They  were  called  Dan-Fliir,  I  conjec- 
ture, from  Dana,  bold,  impetuous,  oppressive,  and  Fear,  a  man  ; 
hence  Dan,  Fhir,  or  Dan-Airimh,  oppressive  men.'  So  much. for 
the  northern  pirates,  and  the  names  by  which  they  were  known. 
We  come  now  to  notice  their  tlrst  visits  to  the  Irish  coasts. 

In  798  the  White  Loch-Lannachs  made  a  descent  in  the  west  of 
Munster,  and  committed  many  depredations,  plundering  churches 
and  monasteries,  and  putting  the  clergy  to  the  sword.  Munster  was 
at  this  time  governed  by  Art  or  Airtree,  who  collected  what  forces 
the  exigency  of  the  time  would  admit,  and  attacking  the  Danes,  in  a 
general  engagement,  obtained  so  complete  a  victory,  that  if  the  night 
had  not  favoured  their  retreat  to  their  ships,  it  is  supposed  they 
would  have  all  fallen  victims  to  the  deserved  vengeance  of  the  Mun- 
ster army. 

The  year  following  the  monarch  levied  a  powerful  army,  with 
which  he  invaded  Leinster,  to  enforce  the  payment  of  the  justly  de- 
tested and  long  exacted  tribute  of  the  barome.  The  archbishop  of 
Armagh,  and  his  suft'ragan  bishops,  were  called  upon  to  attend  the 
royal  forces,  pursuant  to  a  custom  which  seems  to  have  then  pre- 
vailed. There  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  this  custom  was  first  in- 
troduced under  the  sanction  of  the  christian  code,  and  therefore  it  is 
not  unlikely,  that  it  was  a  relict  of  the  druidic  policy,  for  we  find 
that  the  druid  priests  attend'ed  the  army,  and  were  always  very  ac- 
tive in  exciting. and  encouraging  their  deluded  votaries.  Of  this  we 
have  an  account  in  the  capture  of  Mona  by  the  Roman  army,  and 
we  are  particularly  informed  that  it  was  the  policy  of  St.  Patrick,  and 
a  wise  policy  it  was,  to  alter  none  of  the  established  practices  and 
customs,  which  obtained  among  the  Druids,  where  no  dogma  of  re- 
ligion was  involved,  or  no  principle  of  christian  morality  sacriliced. 
But  from  whomsoever  this  custom  derived  its  origin,  Cormac,  who 
was  then  archbishop  of  Armagh,  protested  against  the  propriety  and 
the  decency  of  obliging  the  ministers  of  peace  to  be  the  witnesses  of 
all  the  evils  and  horrors  of  war  :  he  therefore  besought  the  monarch 
to  grant  the  clergy  a  dispensation  from  this  unbecoming  office,  nor 
to  impose  upon  them  the  necessity  of  performing,  not  a  duty,  but 
what  was  strictly  a  violation  of  the  most  sacred  functions  of  ecclesi- 
astical decorum.  Fothodius,  surnamed  de  Canonibus,  from  his  great 
knowledge  of  the  canon  law,  was  consulted  by  the  monarcli,  and  lie 
drew  up  a  statement  of  his  opinion,  entitled  opusculu}}!  pro  cJn-i  dc- 
fensionc  et  mmunitatc,  in  which  he  vindicated  the  cause  of  the  cler- 
gy, and  the  justice  of  the  exemption  which  they  demanded.  His 
arguments  prevailed,  and  a  decree  was  made,  absolving  them  from 
all  future  attendance  on  the  royal  forces.* 

The  Danes,  not  intimidated  by  the  ill  success  that  attended  their 
arms  in  their  last  attempt  on  the  Munster  coasts,  resolved  to  make 
a  second  trial  of  their  strength,  and  invaded  Munster  in  804,  when 

*  Act.  Sanct.  Hib.  p.  581,  r^SS. 


416 

Feidhlim  was  king  of  that  province.  They  plundered  and  destroyed 
every  thing  that  came  in  their  way,  hnt  their  vengeance  was  particu- 
larly directed  against  tiic  clergy  and  the  churciies.  Feidldim  col- 
lected all  the  troops  that  could  be  suddenly  mustered,  and  attacking 
the  Danes,  gained  a  complete  victory  over  then),  forcing  those  who 
escaped  the  sword  to  take  refuge  in  their  ships.* 

Tlie  year  following  Ulster  received  a  visit  from  these  barbarians  ; 
their  impious  arms  were,  as  usual,  chiefly  directed  against  the  cler- 
gy ;  they  stripped  the  famous  abbey  of  Benchoirt  of  all  its  riches, 
put  the  abbot  and  900  monks  to  the  sword,  and  among  other  relics 
of  piety  carried  off  the  shrine  of  St.  Comhail,  the  founder  of  this 
celebrated  institution.  They  had  soon,  however,  to  repent  the  tri- 
umph of  their  impiety  :  attacked  by  Muireadach,  the  Ulster  king, 
they  were  defeated  in  battle,  1200  of  their  troops  slain,  and  the  rest 
driven  to  their  wooden  entrenchments,  carrying  with  them,  it  is  true, 
if  not  the  glory  of  present  triumph,  at  least  the  spoils  of  former  vic- 
tories— victories  which,  though  ingloriously  obtained,  jiroved  a  suf- 
ficient stimulus  to  induce  their  ragged  kindred  to  join  them  in  new 
enterprises  against  the  peace  and  happiness  of  an  unoffending 
peo|)le. 

The  dangers  that  were  justly  to  be  apprehended  from  foreign  ene- 
mies could  not,  however,  restore  unanimity  to  the  counsels  of  the 
Irish  princes.  The  ministers  of  Feidhlim,  king  of  Miinster,  more 
studious  of  domestic  broils  than  provident  either  of  their  own  inter- 
ests or  the  general  safety,  advised  their  master,  equally  perhaps  in- 
toxicated as  themselves  with  the  delirium  of  military  fame  that  ca- 
cocthes  bdlandi,  which  proved  the  source  of  all  their  national  mis- 
fortunes, to  oblige  Lachtna,  king  of  North  Munster,  to  pay  him  tri- 
bute. Ambassadors  were  despatched,  accordingly,  to  make  de- 
mands, which,  though  they  might  appear  reasonable  to  that  lust  of 
power  which  aimed  at  more  absolute  dominion  by  an  increased  reve- 
nue, could  not,  however,  be  justified,  either  by  prescriptive  right, 
nor  any  tortured  explication  of  the  national  laws.  Precedents,  it  is 
true,  were  not  wanting  of  the  imposition  of  unjust  tributes,  exacted, 
however,  in  consequence  of  injuries  received,  or  some  other  specious 

*  Cogadh-Gal,  ne  Gaoidealhaibh. 

t  Bangor  is  now  a  pretty  and  pleasing  little  town,  situated  on  the  sea  coast,  in 
the  barony  of  Ardes,  county  of  Down,  about  six  miles  from  Donaghadee.  The 
famous  abbey  which  the  Danes  plundered  in  A.  D.  793,  was  founded  in  the  year 
555  by  St.  Congall.  The  biographer  of  this  Saint  says  of  him  : — "  he  was  a  native 
of  Ulster  ;  he  built  the  great  monastery  of  Bangor,  near  the  eastern  sea,  and  a  vast 
multitude  of  monks  came  thither,  insomuch,  that  one  place  could  not  contain 
them  ;  so  that  he  had  to  build  many  monasteries  and  cells,  not  only  in  the  Ardes, 
but  throughout  all  Ireland,  in  which  were  3000  monks,  men  remarkable  for  the 
extent  of  their  erudition,  and  the  fervour  of  their  piety,  under  the  care  and  gov- 
ernment of  the  holy  father  St.  Congall."  The  harbour  of  Bangor  is  deep  and 
spacious,  whence  vast  numbers  of  cattle  arc  annually  shipped  for  England.  It 
is  a  fashionable  bathing  place,  much  frequented  by  the  wealthy  people  of  Belfast. 
The  road  running  along  the  shore,  from  Bangor  to  Belfast,  is  fringed  on  both  sides 
by  beautiful  and  romantic  scenery — by  villas  s-haded  by  groves,  and  by  fields  mar- 
gined by  hedges  of  havi'thorn  and  honey  suckle. 

The  domains  of  Lord  Dufferin,  and  of  Colonel  WarJ,  entwine  as  it  were,  the 
town  of  Bangor  in  a  gailand  of  rural  magnificence  and  sylvan  grace.  March, 
1836. 


417 

pretence  of  rights,  hut  though  every  species  of  injustice  is  at  vari- 
ance with  truth  and  honesty,  yet  every  species  of  injustice  is  not 
equally  criminal  and  malignant — and  he  who  acts  unjustly  when 
provoked — he  who  does  not  religiously  examine  the  measure  of  pun- 
ishment, which  a  just  sense  of  injuries  would  have  pointed  out,  but 
inflicts  vengeance  with  an  unsparing  and  undiscriminating  hand,  is 
still  not  so  criminal  as  he,  who  without  provocation,  or  any  assign- 
able cause,  coolly  and  deliberately  commits  what  has  not  even  the 
sanction  which  the  frailty  of  our  own  nature  obliges  us  to  allow  to 
others,  when  acting  under  the  influence  of  excited  passions.  Sensi- 
ble of  the  injustice  of  his  demands,  and  anticipating  a  consequent 
refusal,  Feidhlim  levied  a  strong  army,  with  which  he  followed  his  am- 
bassadors, but  the  Dalgais  were  neither  to  be  intimidated  nor 
wheedled  into  concession  by  the  threats  of  Feidhlim,  or  the  superiority 
of  his  numbers.  They  informed  his  ambassadors,  that  they  were 
always  a  free  people,  that  their  possessions  were  Fcarhan  forgahala 
na  Cloidhimh, — ancient  sword  land, — and  that  they  would  not  now 
relinquish  a  right  whicii  all  the  power  of  Connaught  had  never  been 
able  to  wrest  from  their  ancestors. 

The  bishops  of  Limeric,  Killaloe,  and  Inis-Catha  endeavoured  to 
soften  a  reply,  better  calculated  to  provoke  the  utmost  vengeance  of 
a  lawless  invader,  than  to  move  him  to  a  consideration  of  the  mani- 
fold evils  that  must  unavoidably  ensue  from  domestic  broils,  and  the 
invasion  of  civil  rights.  Religion,  which  has  been  often  made  the 
instrument  of  many  national  calamities  in  the  hands  of  the  design- 
ing, has  also  proved  a  source  of  national  blessings  and  national  una- 
nimity in  the  heads  of  the  good.  To  its  salutary  influence  we  must, 
in  the  present  instance,  attribute  the  reconciliation  of  the  contend- 
ing parties — a  reconciliation  so  rarely  eftected  in  all  former  wars. 
The  bishops,  in  treating  with  Feidhlim's  ambassadors,  not  only 
availed  themselves  of  those  strong  and  cogent  arguments  in  favour 
of  peace,  which  religion  so  abundantly  supplies,  but  had  influence 
enough  to  persuade  Lachtna,  the  son  of  Core,  who  then  ruled  in 
North  Munster,  to  go  in  person  and  wait  upon  Feidhlim,  who,  flat- 
tered by  this  mark  of  respect,  and  convinced  of  the  injustice  of  his 
proceedings,  particularly  against  a  family,  who,  though  they  claimed 
alternate  succession  to  the  crown  of  Munster,  by  the  will  of  their 
common  ancestor  OlioU,  had  been  forcibly  deprived  of  their  right 
for  many  years,  relinquished  his  claims,  and  satisfied  with  receiving 
homage  from  Lachtna,  as  king  of  Munster,  entertained  him  splen- 
didly, and  dismissed  him  with  assurances  of  his  sincere  and  lasting 
friendship. 

Feidhlim,  who  embraced  a  monastic  life,  was  succeded  by  Olcu- 
bar,  of  the  Eugenian  line.  The  Danes,  undismayed  by  former  de- 
feats, disturbed  his  reign  by  a  new  invasion  :  they  landed  in  Water- 
ford,  A.  D.  812,  and  committed,  as  usual,  the  most  shocking  bar- 
barities. They  pillaged  and  afterwards  burned  the  city  and  univer- 
sity of  Lismore,  carrying  off"  whatever  could  gratify  the  appetites  or 
excite  the  admiration  of  a  barbarous  crew.  It  has  been  said  that 
barbarians  are  by  nature  enemies  to  learning,  and  this  assertion 
would  seem  to  require  no  further  confirmation  than  the  conduct  of 
53 


418 

the  Danes,  if  conclusions  relative  to  the  nature  of  man,  and  his 
aversions  and  propensities,  could  be  drawn  from  the  practice  of  an 
entire  nation ;  for  the  Danes  manifested  a  determined  hostility  to 
learning  and  its  votaries.  So  far  from  wishing  to  convey  to  their 
own  barbarous  shores  the  treasures  of  ancient  literature  contained 
in  the  famous  library  of  Lismore,  they  committed  them  all  to  the 
flames.  Tliis  censure,  however,  is  unfounded,  if,  by  barbarians,  we 
mean  all  uncivilized  people — all  people  living  in  the  state  of  nature  ; 
for  it  is  certain,  that  if  man,  in  the  state  of  nature,  was  naturally  an 
enemy  to  literature  and  the  fine  arts,  they  would  never  have  flour- 
ished in  any  country,  as  all  countries  have  been  originally  in  this 
state.  It  appears  to  me  that  the  character  of  savage  or  barbarous 
no  more  belongs  to  the  state  of  uncultivated  nature  than  it  does  to 
civilized  society.  If  this  were  to  be  conceded,  what  becomes  of  the 
dignity  of  man,  that  lord  of  the  universe,  that  deity  of  the  third 
planet,  who  has  rendered  tlie  universal  tribe  of  inferior  animals  obe- 
dient to  his  will,  and  to  the  promotion  of  whose  happiness  all  their 
appetites  and  instincts  have  been  rendered  subservient  1  What  be- 
comes of  this  presuming,  this  aspiring  mortal,  if  he  has  been  created 
a  savage,  stamped  with  all  the  characters  of  ferocious  barbarity,  an 
enemy  to  those  arts  which  extend  his  knowledge,  sublime  his  intel- 
lect, and  open  to  his  view  the  perfections  and  the  attributes  of  the 
great  author  of  his  being.  Has  God  destined  this  man,  who  is  born 
and  who  dies  a  brute,  to  be  the  partner  of  his  own  kingdom,  an  in- 
mate of  the  celestial  inhabitants  who  are  never  defiled  by  the  stain 
of  any  thing  impure.  Surely  we  must  grant  it,  if  the  savage  state 
and  the  state  of  nature  be  the  same — if  God  has  not  given  to  man  in 
that  state  in  which  he  originally  placed  him,  all  the  means  of  ren- 
dering himself  worthy  that  dignity  for  which  he  was  created.  Has 
God  intended  him  for  Heaven,  and  yet  given  him  a  savage  disposi- 
tion that  renders  him  unfit  for  it,  but  which,  however,  he  may  never 
have  an  opportunity  of  softening  or  refining,  if  this  can  only  be  done 
by  cultivation  and  science.  He  who  could  convince  me  of  this, 
could  also  convince  me  that  God  never  intended  man  for  future  hap- 
piness, inasmucii  as  he  stamped  him  with  a  ferocious  untractable 
disposition,  which  was  directly  opposed  to  that  course  of  life  which 
alone  could  secure  it — a  disposition  too,  which  he  could  never  divest 
himself  of  while  he  remained  in  the  state  of  nature.  If,  then,  only 
culture  and  civilization  can  alter  the  original  ferocity  of  man's  na- 
ture, his  hopes  of  a  future  happiness  depend  on  a  mere  contingency 
— the  chance  of  becoming  a  civilized  being — but  in  this  case  there 
are  more  chances  against  him  than  for  him  :  entire  nations  are  still 
in  the  state  of  nature,  among  whom  arts  and  civilization  may  not  be 
introduced  for  some  centuries  to  come  ;  and  even  among  civilized 
nations,  what  numbers  are  there  whose  eternal  toil  for  a  mere  ex- 
istence, preclude,  and  ever  will  preclude,  the  possibility  of  their  at- 
taining to  that  polish  and  refinement  which  the  poet  says — 

Emollit  mores, 
Nee  sinit  esse  feros. 

To  me,  it  appears  that  art  and  science  do  not  always  improve  the 
work  of  God  ;  that  an  uncultivated  peasant  who  never  left  his  native 


419 

mountains,  is,  with  few  exceptions,  more  sincere  in  Iiis  professions, 
more  ardent  in  liis  wishes  to  do  good,  more  devoted  in  his  friend- 
ships, more  attached  to  liis  family  and  to  his  kindred,  more  tena- 
cious of  his  promises,  and  more  observant  of  all  his  moral  duties, 
though  not  so  curious  in  ascertaining  iheir  nature  and  extent,  than 
those  who  direct  the  judgment  and  guide  the  taste  of  civilized  so- 
ciety— I  mean  of  the  literary  tribe,  whether  philosophers,  poets, 
politicians,  or  moralists  Among  whom  do  jealousies,  enmities, 
pride,  aflectation,  self-sufficiency,  uncharitableness,  and  all  the  anti- 
social vices  more  prevail  than  among  this  class  of  society — and  yet 
these  are  those  who  are  farthest  removed  from  that  state  which  is 
called  savage  and  barbarous.  The  progress  of  science  is  always 
dangerous  to  man,  when  it  outstrips  in  its  pace,  the  progress  of  re- 
ligion ;  and  happily  for  the  state  of  nature,  the  savage,  as  he  is 
called,  can  discern  the  light  of  religion,  and  the  truths  which  it  con- 
veys, as  clearly  as  the  acutest  metaphysician,  or  the  most  philoso- 
phic moralist. 

But  to  return  to  tlie  Danes,  it  would  seem  that  so  many  defeats 
should  have  checked  the  courage  and  cooled  the  ardour  of  these 
invaders,  more  especially,  if  to  the  feelings  occasioned  by  so  many 
losses  and  disappointments  were  superadded  the  reflection  that  they 
fought  not  against  man,  but  against  heaven.  They  fought  against 
truth,  justice,  and  the  law  of  nature,  and  their  battles  were  as  yet 
attended  with  that  success  which  their  cause  deserved.  It  might 
therefore  be  expected  that  an  opinion  which  seems  to  have  prevailed 
from  the  remotest  antiquity,  and  which  appears  to  have  more  influ- 
ence with  unlettered  and  superstitious  nations  than  with  polished 
states — that  Heaven  favours  the  just  cause — should  have  deterred 
them  from  future  attempts,  after  finding  the  truth  of  this  opinion 
confirmed  by  sad  experience.  But  if  we  must  reprobate  the  injus- 
tice of  their  cause,  we  must  admire  their  unshaken  and  determined 
resolution  to  effect  their  purpose.  Three  years  after  their  last  de- 
feat they  landed  oft"  Kingshead,  and  plundered  the  monastery  of 
Skelig-Mhichel.  They  committed  many  other  depredations  before 
they  reached  liOch-Lane,  where  they  were  attacked  and  defeated  by 
the  Irish,  who  recovered  a  considerable  portion  of  their  accumulated 
spoils. 

Soon  after  they  appeared  in  the  Shannon,  and  their  troops  made 
incursions  on  either  side,  wliere  they  committed,  as  usual,  numerous 
atrocities  before  their  ])rogress  was  checked.  They  burned  several 
churches,  among  which  are  numbered  those  of  Scattcry  or  Inis- 
Catha,  particularly  noted  for  the  costly  monument  of  St.  Seiianus, 
which  they  defaced.  The  Irish  overtook  them  near  tllin,  where 
they  were  as  usual  routed  and  driven  to  their  ships.  '  Tliough  it 
appears,'  says  ^Ir.  O'Halloran,  '  that  wherever  the  Irish  and  these 
foreigners  met,  the  latter  were  in  general  defeated,  yet  the  country 
was  destroyed  before-hand  by  reason  of  their  commanding  the  sea, 
and  being  at  all  times  able  to  land  where  least  expected.  Though 
the  ravages  of  these  Danes  were  alone  as  much  afflictions  as  could 
be  well  borne,  yet  the  very  elements  seemed  to  conspire  to  the  ruin 
of  this  afflicted  kingdom  ;  on  the  northern  side  of  the  Shannon,  in 


420 

the  month  of  March  following,  such  violent  and  uncommon  claps  of 

thunder  and  lightning  burst  forth,  that  about  a  thousand  people  were 
destroyed  by  it ;  at  the  same  time  the  sea  broke  down  the  banks 
with  great  violence,  and  laid  a  considerable  part  of  the  country  un- 
der water.' 

Such  is  the  dismal  aspect  which  these  portentous  times  present — 
times  pregnant  with  the  seeds  of  those  approaching  calamities  and 
disasters  to  which  Ireland  has  been  exposed  from  that  ominous  pe- 
riod, almost  to  the  commencement  of  the  present  century,  and  which, 
perhaps,  facilitated  her  subsequent  conquest  by  the  English  crown. 

The  monarch  who  seems  to  have  remained  an  inactive  spectator 
of  these  scenes,  reigned  24  years.  In  so  long  a  period  he  should 
have  taken  measures  to  secure  his  kingdom  against  the  predatory 
incursions  of  a  foreign  enemy  ;  but,  unhappily  for  the  peace  of  Ire- 
land, such  was  the  constitution  of  its  government,  that  it  separated 
the  affection  of  the  monarch  from  his  people,  and  that  of  the  people 
from  their  reputed  sovereign.  Out  of  the  province  of  Meath,  the 
monarch  had  only  four  subjects — the  four  provincial  kings — for  their 
subjects  knew  nothing  of  allegiance  to  the  monarch.  In  all  civil 
commotions  they  flew  to  the  standards  of  their  respective  chiefs,  and 
they  would  deem  it  treason  to  fight  in  behalf  of  the  monarch,  if  their 
own  prince  had  declared  against  him.  Hence,  the  monarch  had 
more  difficulty  in  securing  the  obedience  of  the  provincial  kings, 
than  he  would  in  securing  the  afiections,  the  loyalty,  and  the  fidelity 
of  the  entire  people.  The  train  of  evils  that  emanated  from  this 
grand  political  error  in  the  constitution  is  far  more  numerous  than 
might  appear  on  a  partial  view  of  the  subject,  but  of  all  these  evils 
the  most  prominent  and  the  most  fatal  to  the  repose  of  the  state, 
were  the  want  of  patriotism,  and  the  want  of  unanimity  in  the  na- 
tional counsels.  Of  patriotism,  in  a  confined  sense,  the  Irish  were 
not  destitute  :  they  were  all  devotedly  attached  to  their  respective 
provinces,  septs,  and  chiefs,  but  they  knew  nothing  of  that  expanded 
impulse,  which,  confining  itself  not  to  a  point,  would  have  taught 
them  to  love  all  their  countrymen  with  the  same  undistinguishing 
attachment.  Unhappily  their  attachments  were  confined  to  local 
districts  and  territories,  which  entirely  arose  from  the  genius  of  their 
constitution  ;  nor  would  it  be  difficult  to  make  it  appear  that  patriot- 
ism assumed  the  same  form  in  every  country  where  similar  political 
obstacles  were  opposed  to  its  expansion.  The  present  monarch 
Aodh,  regardless  of  the  general  welfare,  and  leaving  each  of  the 
provincial  kings  to  secure  himself  against  the  incursions  of  the  Danes, 
as  well  as  he  could,  thought  only  of  securing  that  shadow  of  power 
with  which  he  was  invested,  and  fell  accordingly  in  attempting  to 
preserve  it  from  insult  in  a  battle  with  his  own  subjects,  the  Conna- 
cians." 


CHAPTER  LVIII. 

State  of  Learning  and  the  Arts  in  Ireland  during  the  eighth  and  ninth  centuries. 

We  copy  the  following  chapter,  which  displays  much  research 
and  antiquarian  information  from  Moore's  History  of  Ireland.  "  In 
a  preceding  chapter  of  this  volume  there  has  heen  submitted  to  the 
reader  most  of  the  evidence,  as  well  incidental  as  direct,  suggested 
by  various  writers,  in  support  of  the  belief,  that  the  use  of  letters 
was  known  to  the  pagan  Irish.  But,  perhaps,  one  of  the  most  con- 
vincing proofs,  that  they  were  at  least  acquainted  with  this  gift  be- 
fore the  time  when  St.  Patrick  introduced  among  them  the  Christian 
doctrine,  is  to  be  found  in  the  immediate  display  of  mind  and  talent 
which  the  impulse  of  that  great  event  produced, — in  the  rapidity 
with  which  they  at  once  started  forth  as  scholars  and  missionaries, 
and  became,  as  we  liave  seen,  the  instructors  of  all  Europe,  at  a  time 
when,  according  to  some,  they  were  but  rude  learners  themselves. 
It  is,  indeed,  far  easier  to  believe — what  there  is  besides  such  strong 
evidence  to  prove — tliatthe  elements  of  learning  were  already  known 
to  them  when  St.  Patrick  and  his  brother  missionaries  arrived,  than 
that  the  seeds  then  for  the  first  time  sown  should  have  burst  forth  in 
so  rich  and  sudden  a  harvest. 

To  the  question, — Where,  then,  are  any  of  the  writings  of  those 
pagan  times  ?  where  the  tablets,  the  manuscripts,  even  pretending 
to  be  of  so  ancient  a  date  ? — it  can  only  be  answered,  that  the  argu- 
ment involved  in  this  question  would  apply  with  equal  force  to  the 
two  or  three  centuries  succeeding  the  time  of  St.  Patrick,  when,  as 
all  know,  not  merely  letters,  but  the  precious  fruits  of  those  ele- 
ments, literature  and  the  sciences,  had  begun  to  spring  up  in  Ire- 
land. And  yet,  of  that  long  and  comparatively  shining  period, 
when  the  schools  of  this  country  attracted  the  attention  of  all  Eu- 
rope ;  when  the  accomplished  Cummian  drew  from  thence  his  stores 
of  erudition,  and  Columba's  biographer  acquired  in  them  his  Latin 
style  ;  when  Columbanus  carried  to  Gaul,  from  the  celebrated  school 
of  Banchor,  that  knowledge  of  Greek  and  Hebrew  which  he  after- 
wards displayed  in  his  writings,  and  the  acute  Yirgilius  went  forth, 
enriched  with  the  various  science  which  led  him  to  anticipate  the 
discovery  of  the  sphericity  of  the  earth; — of  all  that  period,  in  Ire- 
land, abounding  as  it  was  in  scholars  and  writers  extraordinary  for 
their  time,  not  a  single  authentic  manuscript  now  remains  ;  not  a 
single  written  relic,  such  as  ought  to  convince  that  class  of  sceptics 
who  look  to  direct  proofs  alone,  that  the  art  of  writing  even  existed 
in  those  days.  The  very  same  causes — the  constant  ravages  of  in- 
vasion and  the  blind  fury  of  internal  dissension — which  occasioned 
the  destruction  and  loss  of  manuscripts  between  the  time  of  St.  Pat- 
rick and  the  ninth  or  tenth  century,  account  with  still  stronger  force 
for  the  disappearance  of  all  earlier  vestiges  of  writing;  and,  in  fact, 
the  more  recent  and  scanty  at  present  are  the  remains  of  the  ac- 
knowledged  era  of  Irish   literature,  the  more  it  weakens   the  argu- 


422 

meiit  drawn  from  the  want  of  any  such  visible  relics  of  the  ages  pre- 
ceding- it.* 

We  have  seen  that  a  manuscript  copy  of  the  Four  Gospels,  still 
extant,  is  said  to  have  been  written  by  the  hand  of  St.  Colunibkill  ; 
and  to  this  copy  Dr.  O'Connor  triumphantly  refers,  as  affording  an 
irrefragable  answer  to  those  who  deny  the  existence  of  any  Irish 
manuscript  of  an  older  date  than  the  tenth  century.  But  the  zeal 
of  this  amiable  scholar  in  the  cause  of  his  country's  antiquities,  and 
the  facility  with  which,  on  most  points  connected  with  that  theme, 
he  adopts  as  proved  what  has  only  been  boldly  asserted,  render  even 
him,  with  all  his  real  candour  and  learning,  not  always  a  trustworthy 
witness  ;  and  the  result  of  the  researches  on  this  point,  in  Ireland, 
of  one  whose  experience  in  the  study  of  manuscripts,  combined 
with  his  general  learning,  render  him  an  authority  of  no  ordinary 
weight,!  is,  that  the  oldest  Irish  manuscript  which  has  been  discov- 
ered in  that  country,  is  the  Psalter  of  Cashel,  written  in  the  latter 
end  of  the  ninth  century. 

For  any  remains,  therefore,  of  our  vernacular  literature  before 
that  period,  which  have  reached  us,  we  are  indebted  to  Tigernach,t 
and  the  annalists  preceding  him,  through  whom  a  {ew  short  pieces 
of  ancient  poetry  have  been  transmitted ;  and  to  those  writers  of 
the  tenth  century,  who,  luckily  taking  upon  themselves  the  office  of 
compilers,  have  made  us  acquainted  with  the  contents  of  many  cu- 
rious works  which,  though  extant  in  their  times,  have  since  been 
lost.  Among  the  fragments  transmitted  through  the  annalists  are 
some  distichs  by  the  arch-poet  Dubtach,  one  of  St.  Patrick's  earliest 
converts,  the  antiquated  idiom  of  which  is  accounted,  by  Irish  schol- 
ars, to  be  in  itself  a  sufficient  proof  of  their  authenticity.  A  few  other 
fragments  from  poets  of  that  period  have  been  preserved  by  the 
same  trustworthy  chronicler  ;  and  it  appears  on  the  whole  highly 
probable,  that  while  abroad,  as  we  have  seen,  such  adventurous 
Irishmen  as  Pelagius  and  Caelestius  were  entering  into  the  lists  with 
the  great  champions  of  orthodoxy, — while  Sedulius  was  taking  his 
place  among  the  later  Latin  classics, — there  were  also,  in  Ireland 
itself,  poets,  or   Fileas,  employing  their  native  language,  and   either 

*  The  absurd  reasoning  of  the  opponents  of  Irish  antiquities  on  this  point  has 
been  well  exposed  by  the  English  writer  just  cited  : — "  Tlie  more  recent  they  can 
by  any  means  make  this  date,  the  greater,  in  their  opinion,  is  the  objection  to  the 
authenticity  of  Irish  history,  and  to  the  pretensions  of  the  national  antiquarians  to  _ 
an  early  use  of  letters  among  their  countrymen."  He  afterwards  adds  : — "  If  we 
possess  so  few  Irish  manuscripts,  written  before  the  twelfth  century,  it  ia  plain 
that,  by  adducing  this  circumstance,  they  the  more  clearly  ascertain  the  extent  of 
those  disturbances  which  destroyed  every  historical  record  prior  to  the  tenth,  and 
which  must  have  been  far  more  effectual  in  causing  to  perish  every  remains  of  the 
fifth  age." — Analysis  of  the  Antiq.  of  Ireland. 

t  Astle,  Origin  and  Progress  of  Writing. 

+  TiGERNACH,  the  famous  abbot  of  Clonmacnois,  and  of  Roscommon,  possessed 
abilities  of  the  highest  literary  order.  His  annals  of  Ireland  from  the  earliest  pe- 
riods down  to  the  year  of  his  death,  1088,  furnish  valuable  materials  for  the  Irish 
historian  and  antiquary.  From  his  vi'ork,  Bishop  Lynch  of  Killala,  made  many 
translations.  Of  the  learned  Bishop  Lynch  we  will  speak  at  large,  hereafter.  Sir 
James  Ware  had,  according  to  his  own  assertion,  several  of  the  manuscripts  of 
Tigernach  in  his  possession  when  he  wrote  his  Accouvt  of  Irish  Writers.  Boston, 
March,  183G. 


423 

then  recently  quickened  into  exertion  by  the  growing  intercourse  of 
their  country  with  the  rest  of  Europe,  or  forming  but  links,  perhaps, 
of  a  long  bardic  succession  extending  to  remote  times. 

According  as  we  descend  the  stream  of  his  Annals,  the  metrical 
fragments  cited  by  Tigernach  become  more  numerous  ;  and  a  poet 
of  the  seventh  century,  Cenfaelad,  furnishes  a  number  of  tliese 
homely  ornaments  of  his  course.  The  singular  fate  of  tiie  monarch, 
Murcertach,  who,  in  the  year  534,  was  drowned  in  a  hogshead  of 
wine,  seems  to  have  formed  a  favourite  theme  with  the  poets,  as  no 
less  than  three  short  pieces  of  verse  on  this  subject  have  been  pre- 
served by  the  annalists,  written  respectively  by  the  three  poets,  Cer- 
nach,  Sin,  and  Cenfaeled.  In  these,  as  in  all  the  other  fragments 
assigned  to  that  period,  there  is  to  be  found,  as  the  learned  editor  of 
the  Irish  Chronicles  informs  us,  a  peculiar  idiom  and  structure  of 
verse,  which  denotes  them  to  be  of  the  early  date  to  which  they  are 
assigned.  It  would  appear,  indeed,  that  the  modern  contrivance  of 
rhyme,  which  is  generally  supposed  to  have  had  a  far  other  source, 
may  be  traced  to  its  origin  in  the  ancient  7-aiis  or  rins,  as  they  termed 
their  stanzas,  of  the  Irish.  Tiie  able  historian  of  the  Anglo-Saxons, 
in  referring  to  some  Latin  verses  of  Aldhelm,  which  he  appears  to 
consider  as  the  earliest  specimen  of  rhyme  now  extant,  professes 
himself  at  a  loss  to  discover  whence  that  form  of  verse  could  have 
been  derived.*  But  already,  before  the  time  of  Aldhelm,  the  use  of 
rhyme  had  been  familiar  among  the  Irish,  as  well  in  their  vernacular 
verses  as  in  those  wiiich  they  wrote  in  Latin.  Not  to  dwell  on  such 
instances,  in  the  latter  language,  as  the  Hymns  of  St.  Colurnba,  res- 
pecting whose  authenticity  there  may  be  some  question,  an  example 
of  Latin  verses  interspersed  with  rhyme  is  to  be  found  among  the 
poems  of  St.  CoIumbanus,t  which  preceded  those  of  Aldhelm  by 
near  half  a  century.  So  far  back,  indeed,  as  the  fifth  century,  an- 
other Irish  poet,  Sedulius,  had,  in  some  of  the  verses  of  his  well- 
known  hymn  on  the  Life  of  Christ,  left  a  specimen  of  much  the 
same  sort   of  rhyme. J     As  practised  most  generally,  in  their  own 

*  "  Here,  then,"  says  Mr.  1'urner,  "  is  an  example  of  rhyme  in  an  author  who 
lived  before  the   year  700,  and  he   was  an  Anglo-Saxon.     Whence  did  he  derive 
it.'     Not  from  the  Arabs  :  they  had  not  yet  reached  Europe." 
t  Beginning, 

"  Mundus  iste  transit  et  quotidie  decrescit : 
Nemo  vivens  manebit,  nullus  vivua  remansit." 
Though  the  rhymes,  or  coincident  sounds,  occur  thus,  in  general,  on  the  final 
syllable,  there  are  instances  throughout  the  poem  of  complete  double  rhymes.    As, 
for  instance, 

"  Dilexerunt  tcnebras  tetras  magis  quam  lucem  ; 

Imitari  contcmnunt  vitaa  Dominum  Ducem, 

Velut  in  somnis  regnent,  una  hora  lastantur, 

Sed  ffiterna  tormcnta  adhuc  illis  parantiir." 

t  The  following  lines  from  this  hymn  will  afford  a  specimen  of  the  Irish  method 

of  rhyming: — 

"  A  solus  ortus  cardi7tc,  ad  usque  terres  Unntem, 
Christum  canamus  principcT/i — natum  Maria  virgins." 
But  it  is  still  more  correctly  exemplified   in  a  hymn  in  honour   of  St.   Brigid, 
written,  as  some  say,  by  Columbkill ;  but,  according  to  others,  by  St.   Ultan,  of 
Ardbraccan.     See  Usher,  Eccles.  Primord.  963. 

''■  Christum  in  nostra  insula — quoa  vocatur  Hibernia, 
Ostensus  est  hominitws — maximis  mirabilii«5,  &c." 


424 

language,  by  the  Irish,  this  method  consisted  in  rhyming  at  every 
hemistich,  or,  in  other  words,  making  tiie  syllable  in  the  middle  of 
the  line  rhyme  to  that  of  the  end  ;  much  in  the  manner  of  those 
verses  called,  in  the  twelfth  century,  Leonine,  from  the  name  of  the 
writer  who  had  best  succeeded  in  them.  According  to  this  '  art  of 
the  Irish,'*  as  it  was  styled,  most  of  the  distichs  preserved  by  Tiger- 
nach  from  the  old  poets  were  constructed  ;  and  it  is  plain  that  Aid- 
helm,  whose  instructor,  Maidulph,  was  a  native  of  Ireland,  must  have 
derived  his  knowledge  of  this,  as  well  as  of  all  other  literary  accom- 
plishments of  that  day,  from  the  lips  of  his  learned  master.  How 
nearly  bordering  on  jealousy  was  his  own  admiration  of  the  schools 
of  the  Irish  has  been  seen  in  the  sarcastic  letter  addressed  by  him  to 
Eaghfrid,  who  had  just  returned  from  a  course  of  six  years'  study 
in  that  country,  overflowing,  as  it  would  appear,  with  gratitude  and 
praise. 

In  its  infant  state,  poetry  has  been  seldom  separated  from  music  ; 
and  it  is  probable  that  most  of  the  stanzas  cited  by  the  annalists 
were  meant  originally  to  be  associated  with  song.  Of  some  of  the 
juvenile  works  of  St.  Columbanus  we  are  told,  that  they  were  '  wor- 
thy of  being  sung  ;"t  and  a  scene  brought  vividly,  in  a  few  words, 
before  our  eyes,  by  the  Irish  biographer  of  Columba,  represents  that 
holy  man  as  sitting,  along  with  his  brethren,  upon  the  banks  of  the 
beautiful  lake  Kee,|  while  among  them  was  a  poet  skilled,  we  are 
told,  in  modulating  song  to  verse,  '  after  the  manner  of  his  art.' 
That  it  was  to  the  accompaniment  of  a  stringed  instrument,  called 
the  Cruit,  they  performed  these  songs  or  chants,  appears  to  be  the 
most  general  opinion.  In  some  distichs  on  the  death  of  Columba, 
preserved  in  the  annals  of  the  Four  Masters,  we  find  mention  of  this 
kind  of  harp§  in  rather  a  touching  passage  : — '  Like  a  song  of  the 
cruit  without  joy,  is  the  sound  that  follows  our  master  to  the  tomb ;' 
and  its  common  use  in  the  eighth  century,  as  an  accompaniment  to 
the  voice,  may  be  implied  from  Bede's  account  of  the  religious  poet 
Ceadmon,  who,  in  order  to  avoid  taking  a  part  in  the  light  songs  of 
society,  always  rose,  as  he  tells  us,  from  table  when  the  harp  was 
sent  round,  and  it  came  to  his  turn  to  sing  and  play.  The  Italians, 
who   are  known   to  have  been  in  possession  of  the  harp  before  the 

*  From  the  following  account  of  the  metrical  structure  of  Irish  verse,  it  will  be 
seen  that  it  was  jjeculiarly  such  as  the  people  of  strong  musical  feeling  (and  with 
whom  the  music  was  the  chief  object)  would  be  likely  to  invent  and  practise  : — 

"  The  rhythm  consists  in  an  equal  distance  of  intervals,  and  similar  termina- 
tions, each  line  being  divisible  into  two,  that  it  may  be  more  easily  accommodated 
to  the  voice  and  the  music  of  the  bards.  It  is  not  formed  by  the  nice  collocation 
of  long  and  short  syllables,  but  by  a  certain  harmonic  rhythm,  adjusted  to  the 
voice  of  song  by  the  position  of  words  which  touch  the  heart  and  assist  the  memo- 
ory." — Essay  by  Doctor  Drummond,  Trans,  of  Royal  Irish  Jlcad.  vol.  xvi. 

t  "  Ad  canendum  digna," — so  pronounced  by  his  biographer  Jonas. 

t  In  the  county  of  Roscommon. 

§  Of  this  instrument,  the  harp,  the  Irish  are  said  to  have  had  four  different  spe- 
cies ;  the  clarseach,  the  keirnine,  the  cronar  cruit,  and  the  creamtheine  cruit ;  for 
all  of  which  see  Walker,  Hist.  Mem.  of  Irish  Bards,  Beauford,  ihid.,J]ppendix,  and 
Ledwich's  Antiquities.  What  Montfaucon,  however,  says  of  the  different  names 
given  to  the  lyre,  among  the  ancients,  may  also,  perhaps,  be  applicable  here  : — 
"  Among  this  great  diversity  I  cannot  but  think  the  same  instrument  must  often  be 
signified  by  different  names." 


425 

time  of  Dante,  are,  by  a  learned  musician  of  their  own  country,  Ga- 
lilei, said  to  have  derived  it  from  Ireland  ;  the  instrument,  accordini»- 
to  his  account,  being  no  other  than  a  citliara  with  many  striii»s,  and 
having,  at  the  time  when  he  wrote,  four  octaves  and  a  tone  in  com- 
pass. 

How  little  music,  though  so  powerftd  in  its  influence  on  the  feel- 
ings, either  springs  from,  or  is  dependent  upon,  intellect,  appears 
from  the  fact,  that  some  of  the  most  exquisite  ellusions  of  this  art 
have  had  their  origin  among  the  simplest  and  most  uncultivated  peo- 
ple ;  nor  can  all  that  taste  and  science  bring  afterwards  to  the  task 
do  more,  in  general,  than  diversify,  by  new  combinations,  those  first 
wild  strains  of  gaiety  or  passion  into  which  nature  had  infused  her 
original  inspiration.  In  (ireece  the  sweetness  of  the  ancient  music 
had  already  l)een  lost,  when  all  the  other  arts  were  but  on  their  way 
to  perfection  ;*  and  from  the  account  given  by  Giraldus  Cambren- 
sis,t  of  the  Irish  harpers  of  the  twelfth  century, t  it  may  be  inferred 
that  the  melodies  of  the  country,  at  the  earlier  period  of  which  we 
are  speaking,  was  in  some  degree  like  the  first  music  of  the  infant 
age  of  Greece,  and  partook  of  the  freshness  of  that  morning  of  mind 
and  hope  which  was  then  awakening  around  them. 

With  respect  to  the  structure  of  the  ancient  Irish  harp,  there  does 
not  appear  to  have  been  any  thing  accurately  ascertained  ;  but,  from 
that  retentiveness  of  all  belonging  to  the  past  which  we  have  shown 
to  have  characterized  this  people,  it  appears  most  probable  that  their 
favourite  instrument  was  kept  sacredly  unaltered  :  and  remained  the 
same  perhaps  in  later  times,  when  it  charmed  the  ears  of  English 
poets  and  philosophers, §  as  when  it  had  been  modulated  by  the  bard 
Cronan,  in  the  sixth  century,  upon  the  banks  of  the  lake  Kee. 

*  See  Anacharsis,  chap.  27,  notes  v.  vii.  "  It  is  remarkable,"  says  Wood,  "  that 
the  old  chaste  Greek  melody  was  lost  in  refinement  before  their  other  arts  had 
acquired  perfection." — Essay  on  Homer. 

t  Topograph.  Dist.  3.  c.  11.  Tliis  curious  passage,  which  appears,  thougli  con- 
fusedly, even  to  imply  tliat  the  Irish  were  acquainted  with  counterpoint,  is  pre- 
faced by  a  declaration  that  in  their  music  alone  does  he  find  uny  thing  to  commend 
in  that  people  : — "In  musicis  solum  instrumentis  commendabilem  invenio  gentis 
istoB  diligentiam."  Tiie  passage  in  question  is  thus  translated  in  Mr.  Walker's 
Hist.  Mem.  of  the  Irish  Bards  : — "  It  is  wonderful  how,  in  such  precipitate  rapidi- 
ty of  the  fingers,  the  musical  proportions  are  preserved;  and  by  their  art,  faultless 
throughout,  in  the  midst  of  their  complicated  modulations,  and  most  intricate  ar- 
rangement of  notes,  by  a  rapidity  so  sweet,  a  regularity  so  irregular,  a  concord  so 
discordant,  the  melody  is  rendered  harmonious  and  perfect,  whether  the  chords  of 
the  diatesseron  or  diapente  are  struck  together  ;  yet  they  always  begin  in  a  soft 
mood,  and  end  in  tiie  same,  that  all  may  be  perfect  in  tlie  sweetness  of  delicious 
sounds.  They  enter  on,  and  again  leave,  their  modulations  with  so  much  subtilty, 
and  the  tinglings  of  the  small  strings  sport  with  so  much  freedom,  under  the  deep 
notes  of  the  bass,"  &c.  &c. 

X  "  Even  so  late  as  the  eleventh  century,"  says  Warton,  "  the  practice  continu- 
ed among  the  Welsh  bards  of  receiving  instructions  in  the  Bardic  profession  from 
Ireland." — Hist,  of  English  Poetry. 

§   Alluding  to  such  tributes  as  the  following  , — 
"  The  Irish  I  admire 
And  still  cleave  to  that  lyre, 

As  our  muse's  mother  ; 
And  think,  till  I  expire, 

Apollo's  such  another."  Drdyton. 

"  The   harp,  "  says  Bacon,  '•  hath  the  concave  not  along  the  strings,  but  across 

54 


426 

It  would  appear  that  the  church  music,  hkewise,  of  the  Irish,  en- 
joyed no  inconsiderable  repute  in  the  seventh  century,  as  we  find 
Gertrude,  the  daughter  of  the  potent  Maire  du  Palais,  Pepin,  send- 
ing to  Ireland  for  persons  qualitied  to  instruct  the  nuns  of  the  abbey 
of  Nivelle  in  psalmody  ;  and  the  great  monastery  of  Bangor,  or 
Benchoir,  near  Carrickfergus,  is  supposed,  by  Ware,  to  have  de- 
rived its  name  from  the  White  Choir  which  belonged  to  it.*  A  cer- 
tain sect  of  antiquarians,  whose  favourite  object  is  to  prove  that  the 
Irish  church  was  in  no  respect  connected  with  Rome,  have  imagined 
some  mode  by  which,  through  the  medium  of  Asiatic  missionaries, 
her  Chant  or  Psalmody  might  have  been  derived  to  her  directly  from 
the  Greeks.  But  their  whole  hypothesis  is  shown  to  be  a  train  of 
mere  gratuitous  assimiption  ;  and  it  is  little  doubted  that,  before 
the  introduction  of  the  Latin,  or  Gregorian  Chant,  by  St.  IMalachy, 
which  took  place  in  the  twelfth  century,  the  style  of  music  followed 
by  the  Irish,  in  their  church  service,  was  that  which  had  been  intro- 
duced by  St.  Patrick  and  his  companions  from  Gaul.t 

The  religious  zeal  which,  at  this  period,  covered  the  whole  island 
with  monasteries  and  churches,  had  not,  in  the  materials  at  least 
of  architecture,  introduced  any  change  or  improvement.  Stone 
structures  were  still  unknown  ;  and  the  forest  of  oak  which,  from 
old  heathen  associations,  had  suggested  the  site  of  the  church,  fur- 
nished also  the  rude  material  of  which  it  was  constructed.  In  some 
few  instances  these  wooden  edifices  were  encircled  by  an  inclosure 
of  stone,  called  a  casiol,  like  that  which  Bede  describes  as  surround- 
ing a  chapel  erected  on  Holy  Island  by  St.  Cuthbert.  The  first 
churches,  indeed,  of  Northumbria  were  all  constructed  of  wood  ;  and 
that  of  St.  Finan,  the  Irisii  bishop,  at  Lindisfarn,  was,  as  we  are  told, 
built  after  'the  fashion  of  his  country,  not  of  stone,  but  of  split  oak, 
and  covered  with  reeds.' 

When  such  was  the  rude  simplicity  of  their  ecclesiastical  architec- 
ture, it  may  be  concluded  that  their  dwellings  were  still  more  home- 
ly and  frail  ;  and  in  this,  as  in  most  of  the  other  arts  of  life,  their 
slow  progress  may  be  ascribed  mainly  to  their  civil  institutions. 
Where  possessions  were  all  temporary,  the  natural  motive  to  build 
durably  was  waiiting.  Instead  of  being  brought  together,  too,  in 
cities,  where  emulation  and  mutual  interchange  of  mind  would  have 
been  sure  to  lead  to  in)provement,  the  separate  clans  of  the  Irish  sat 
down,  each  in  its  hereditary  canton,  seldom  meeting  but  in  the  field, 
as  fellow-combatants,  or  as  foes.  In  this  respect,  the  religious  zeal 
which  now  universally  prevailed  supplied,  in  some  degree,  the  plnce 
of  industry  and  commerce  ;  and,  among  the  many  civilizing  eflTects 

the  strings  ;  and  no  harp  hath  the  sound  so  melting  and  prolonged  as  the  Irish 
liarp  " — Sijlv.  Sijhar.     See  also  Selden's  Notes  on  Drayton's  Polyolbion. 

The  following  is  from  Evelyn's  Journal  : — '•  Came  to  see  mj'  old  acquaintance, 
and  the  most  incomparable  player  on  the  Irish  harp,  Mr.  Clarke,  after  his  travels. 
....  Such  music  before  or  since  did  I  never  hear,  that  instrument  being  neglected 
for  its  extraordinary  difficulty  ;  but  in  my  judgment  far  superior  to  the  lute  itself, 
or  whatever  speaks  with  strings." 

*  According  to  O'Halloran  and  Dr.  O'Connor,  the  name  Benn-Choir  signifies 
Sweet  Choir. 

t  See,  on  this  subject,  Lanigan,  chap.  xxvi.  note  46. 


427 

of  the  monastic  institutions,  it  was  not  the  least  useful  that,  wherever 
established,  they  were  the  means  of  attracting  multitudes  around 
them,  and,  by  examples  of  charity  and  self-denial,  inspiring  them 
w'ith  better  motives  than  those  of  clanship  for  mutual  dependence 
and  concert.  The  community  collected,  by  degrees,  around  the 
Oak  of  St.  Brigid,  at  Kildare,  grew  at  length  into  a  large  and  tlour- 
ishing  town  ;  and  even  the  solitary  cell  of  St.  Kevin,  among  the 
mountains,  drew  around  it,  by  degrees,  such  a  multitude  of  dwell- 
ings as,  in  the  course  of  time,  to  form  a  holy  city  in  the  wilderness. 

With  regard  to  our  evidence  of  the  state  of  agriculture,  at  this 
period,  the  language  employed,  on  such  subjects,  in  the  Lives 
of  the  Saints,  our  only  sources  of  information,  is  too  vague  and  gen- 
eral to  aft'ord  any  certain  knowledge.  The  tending  of  sheep  was, 
as  we  have  seen,  the  task  assigned  to  St.  Patrick  during  his  servi- 
tude ;  and  it  is,  indeed,  most  probable  that  pasturage  was  then,  as 
it  continued  for  many  centuries  after,  the  chief  employment  of  the 
people.*  The  memorable  '  Earn,' however,  of  the  apostle's  friend 
Dicho,  implies  obviously  the  practice  of  hoarding  grain  ;  and  from 
an  account  given,  in  the  annals  for  the  year  GoO,  of  a  murder  which 
took  place  in  'the  bakehouse  of  a  mill,'  it  would  appear  that  water- 
millst  had  already  been  brought  into  use  at  that  linie.t  There  is, 
indeed,  mention  made,  in  one  of  the  Brehon  Laws,§  though  of  what 
period  seems  uncertain,  both  of  carpenters  and  millwrights. 

Another  of  these  Irish  Laws,  said  to  be  of  great  antiquity,  shows 
that  the  practice  of  irrigating  lands  must  have  been  in  use  when  it 
was  enacted  :  as  it  thus  regulates  the  common  right  in  the  water: — 
'  According  to  the  Fenechas,  the  common  right  of  drawn  water  be- 
longs to  the  land  from  which  it  is  drawn.  It  is  therefore  that  all  re- 
quire that  it  shall  run  freely  the  first  day  over  the  entire  land.  For 
right  in  the  water  belongs  to  none  but  in  the  land  from  which  it  is 
drawn. 'II 

The  biographer  of  St.  Columba,  besides  employing  the  terms 
ploughing  and  sowing,  mentions  as  the  result,  on  one  occasion,  of  the 
abbot's  prayers  and  intercessions,  that  they  had  an  abundant  har- 
vest. The  discipline  of  the  moidvs,  enjoining  herbs  and  pulse,  as 
their  chief  food,  would  lead  to  the  culture  of  such  productions  in 
their   gardens.     The    mention   of  honey-comb,  too,  as  part  of  the 

*  It  was  for  this  reason  that  they  appeared  to  Giraldus  as  not  yet  in  his  time 
emerged  from  the  pastoral  life  : — "  Gens  agricnUurae  labores  aspernans,  a  primo 
pastoralis  vitcc  vivcndi  modo  non  recedens."  That  Spenser  held  it  to  be  no  less  a 
cause  than  a  sign  of  ihe  want  of  civilization,  appears  from  the  following  strong 
sentences  : — "  To  say  truth,  though  Ireland  be  by  nature  accounted  a  great  soil  of 
pasture,  yet  had  1  rather  have  fewer  cows  kept,  and  men  belter  mannered,  tiian  to 
have  such  huge  increase  of  cattle,  and  no  increase  of  good  conditions.  I  would, 
therefore,  wish  that  there  were  some  ordinances  made  amongst  them,  that  whom- 
soever keepelh  twenty  kine  should  keep  a  ])lough  going;  for,  otherwise,  nil  men 
would  fall  to  pasturage,  and  none  to  husbandry.  " — Vine  oj  the  Slntc  of  Irrlund. 

t   Annal.  iv.  Mag.  ad.  ann.  047.— See  Dr.  O'Connor's  note  on  the  passage. 

t  The  introduction  of  water-mills  into  ihe  British  Isles  is  attributed  by  \yhitaker, 
to  the  Romans  ;  and  from  hence,  he  says,  tiiis  sort  of  mill  is  called  Mclin  in  the 
British,  and  Muilan  or  Muiland  in  the  Irish. 

§   Collectan.  Hibern.  No.  1. 

II  O'Reilly  on  the  Brehon  Laws,  Trans.  Royal  Irish  Academy,  vol.  xiv. 


428 

monastic  diet,  concurs,  with  some  curious  early  laws  on  the  subject,* 
to  prove  their  careful  attention  to  the  rearing  of  bees  ;  and  not  only 
apple-trees,  but  even  vines,  are  said  to  have  been  cultivated  by  the 
inmates  of  the  monasteries. 

Of  the  skill  of  the  workers  in  various  metals  at  this  period,  as  well 
as  of  the  lapidaries  and  painters,  we  are  told  wonders  by  the  hagi- 
oloi^ists,  wlio  expatiate  at  length  on  the  staff  of  St.  Patrick,  covered 
with  gold  and  precious  stones,  the  tomb  of  St.  Brigid  at  Kiidare, 
surmounted  by  crowns  of  gold  and  silver,  and  the  walls  of  the  church 
at  the  same  place,  adorned  with  holy  paintings.  But  it  is  plain  that 
all  this  luxury  of  religious  ornament,  as  well  as  those  richly  illumi- 
nated manuscripts  which  Dr.  O'Connor  and  others  have  described, 
must  all  be  referred  to  a  somewhat  later  period. 

Of  the  use  of  war-chariots  among  the  Irish, t  in  the  same  manner 
as  among  the  Britons  and  the  Greeks,  some  notice  has  already  been 
taken  ;  and  this  sort  of  vehicle  was  employed  also  by  the  ancient 
Irish  for  the  ordinary  purposes  of  travelHng.  The  self-devotion  of 
St.  Patrick's  charioteer  has  made  him  memorable  in  our  history; 
and  both  St.  Brigid  and  Columba  performed  their  progresses,  we  are 
told,  in  the  same  sort  of  carriage.  There  is  also  a  canon  of  the 
synod  attributed  to  St.  Patrick,  which  forbids  a  monk  to  travel  from 
one  tosvn  to  another,  in  the  same  chariot  with  a  female. 

Reference  has  been  made,  in  the  course  of  this  chapter,  to  the 
early  Brehon  Laws,  and  could  we  have  any  dependence  on  the  date 
assigned  to  such  of  these  laws  as  have  been  published,  or  even  on 
the  correctness  of  tiie  translations  given  of  them,  they  would  unques- 
tionably be  very  important  documents.  Of  those  published  by  Val- 
iancey  it  has  been  pronounced,  by  a  writer  not  over-credulous, t  that 
they  bear  strong  internal  marks  of  antiquity  ;  and  while  the  com- 
ment on  the  several  laws  is  evidently,  we  are  told,  the  work  of  some 
Christian  juris-consults,  the  laws  themselves  wear  every  appearance 
of  being  of  ancient,  if  not  of  Pagan  times.  No  mention  occurs  in 
them  of  foreigners,  or  of  foreign  septs,  in  Ireland.  The  regulations 
they  contain  for  the  barter  of  goods,  and  for  the  payment  of  fines  by 
cattle  and  other  commodities,  mark  a  period  when  coin  had  not  yet 
come  into  general  use  ;  while  the  more  modern  date  of  the  Com- 
ment, it  is  said,  is  manifested  by  its  substituting,  for  such  primitive 
modes  of  payment,  gold  and  silver  taken  by  weight.  Mention  is 
made  in  them,  also,  of  the  Taltine  Games  and  the  Convocation  of 
the  States  ;  and  it  is  forbidden,  under  the  pain  of  an  Eric,  to  im- 
prison any  person  for  debt  during  these  meetings. 

*  "  Whoever  plunders  or  steals  bees  from  out  a  garden  or  fort  is  subject  to  a  like 
penalty  as  if  he  steal  Ihem  out  of  a  habitation,  for  these  are  ordained  of  equal  pen- 
alty by  law."  Again,  "  Bees  in  an  inclosure,  or  fort,  and  in  a  garden,  are  of  the 
same  account  (as  to  property,  penalty,  &c.)  as  the  wealth,  or  substance  of  a  habi- 
tation." Extracted  from  inedited  Brehon  Laws,  in  an  Essay  on  the  Rise  and  Pro- 
gress of  Gardening  in  Ireland,  by  J.  C.  Walker.  See  Antholog.  Hibern.  vol.  i., 
and  Trans.  Royal  Acad.  vol.  iv. 

t  The  king  of  the  Irish  Crutheni,  or  Picts,  is  described  by  Adamnan  as  escaping 
from  the   field  of  battle   in  a  chariot ; — "  Quemadniodum  victus  currui  insidens 
evaserit." 
+  Leland,  Hist,  of  Ireland,  Preliminary  Discourse. 


429  r 

With  the  single  exception,  perhaps,  of  the  absence  of  any  allusion 
to  foreigners,  there  is  not  one  of  these  alleged  marks  of  antiquity 
that  would  not  suit  equally  well  with  the  state  and  condition  of  Ire- 
land down  to  a  period  later,  by  n»any  centuries,  than  that  at  whicli 
we  are  arrived  ;  the  payment  by  cattle  and  tlie  law  of  the  Eric  liav- 
ing  been  retained,  as  we  shall  find,  to  a  comparatively  recent  date. 

With  respect  to  the  manner  in  which  the  Irish  laws  were  deliv- 
ered down,  whether  in  writing  or  by  tradition,  there  has  been  much 
difference  of  opinion  ;  and  the  poet  Spenser,  in  general  well  informed 
on  Irish  subjects,  declares  tlie  Brehon  law  to  be  '  a  rule  of  right  un- 
written.' Sir  John  Davies,  too,  asserts  that  '  its  rules  were  learned 
rather  by  tradition  than  by  reading.'  This  is  evidently,  however,  an 
erroneous  representation.  Without  referring  to  the  Collections  of 
Judgments,  or  Codes  of  Laws,  which  are  said  to  have  been  compiled 
under  some  of  the  heathen  princes,  we  find,  after  the  introduction 
of  Christianity,  the  Great  Code,  or  Seanchas-More,  as  it  was  called, 
drawn  up  with  the  aid,  according  to  some  writers,  of  St.  Patrick, 
but  supposed  by  others  to  have  been  of  a  much  later  date. 

In  the  seventh  century,  a  body  of  the  laws  of  the  country  was 
compiled  and  digested,  we  are  told,  from  the  scattered  writings  of 
former  lawyers,  by  three  learned  brothers,  the  sons  of  O'Burechan,  of 
whom  one  was  a  judge,  the  second  a  bishop,  and  the  third  a  poet.* 
The  great  number,  indeed,  of  Irish  manuscripts  still  extant,  on  the 
subject  of  the  Brehon  Laws,  sufficiently  refutes  the  assertion  of  S'pen- 
ser  and  others,  that  these  laws  were  delivered  down  by  tradition 
alone.  In  the  very  instance,  mentioned  by  Sir  John  Davies,  of  the 
aged  Brehon  whom  he  met  with  in  Fermanagh,  the  information 
given  reluctantly  by  this  old  man,  respecting  a  point  of  local  law, 
was  gained  by  reference  to  an  ancient  parchment  roll,  '  written  in 
fair  Irish  character,'  which  the  Bfehon  carried  about  with  him  al- 
ways in  his  bosom. t  The  truth  appears  to  be,  that  both  tradition 
and  writing  were  employed  concurrently  in  preserving  these  laws  ; 
the  practice  of  oral  delivery  being  still  retained  after  the  art  of  writ- 
ing them  down  was  known ;  and  a  custom  which  tended  much  to 
perpetuate  this  mode  of  tradition,  was  the  duty  imposed  upon  every 
Filea  or  Royal  Poet,  to  learn  by  heart  the  Brehon  Law,  in  order  to 
be  able  to  assist  the  memory  of  the  judge. | 

On  the  whole,  whatever  may  be  thought  of  the  claims  to  a  high 
antiquity  of  the  nun)erous  remains  of  the  Brehon  Law  that  have 
come  down  to  us,  of  the  immemorial  practice  of  this  form  of  juris- 
prudence among  the  ancient  Irish,  and  of  the  fond,  obstinate  rever- 
ence with  which,  long  after  they  had  passed  under  the  English  yoke, 
they  still  continued  to  cling  to  it,  there  exists  not  the  slightest  doubt. 

*  Ware's  Writers,  chap.  iv. 

t  Letter  to  the  Earl  of  Salisbury,  Collectan.  vol.  i. 

t  "  In  order  to  qualify  the  File,"  says  Mr.  O'Reilly,  "  for  this  important  office, 
the  rules  for  the  education  of  the  poetic  professors  required  that  every  Dos,  or  poet 
of  the  third  degree,  before  he  was  qualified  to  become  a  Cana,  or  poet  of  the  fourth 
degree,  should  repeat,  in  the  presence  of  the  king  and  the  nobles,  the  Brcilhe 
Neimhidh,  i.  e.  the  Law  of  the  Degrees  or  Ranks,  and  fifty  poems  of  his  own  com- 
position."— Essay  on  the  Brehon  Laics. 


430 

In  the  fifth  century,  the  Brehons  were  found  by  St.  Patrick  dispens- 
ing their  then  ancient  laws  upon  the  hills  ;  and,  more  than  a  thous- 
and years  after,  the  law-officers  of  Britain  found  in  the  still  revered 
Brehon  the  most  formidable  obstacle  to  their  ])lans." 


CHAPTER  LIX. 

Accession  of  Connor  to  the  TJirone. — Ravages  of  the  Danes. — Reign  of  JS'ial  III. — 
Invasion  of  Turgesius. — Devastations  and  Calamities  experienced  hy  Mvnster  and 
Leinster. —  The  Danes  endeavour  to  suhjvgate  all  Ireland  to  their  dominion. —  The 
death  of  JVial,  and  the  acce.tsion  of  Malachij  I. — Meeting  of  the  JVationul  Estates. 
Continued  success  of  the  Danes. 

To  Hugh,  the  last  monarch,  succeeded  prince  Connor,  son  to  king 
Donachad,  on  the  throne  of  Ireland.  Immediately  after  his  coro- 
nation he  raised  an  army  to  oppose  the  Danes,  who  had,  at  this  era, 
carried  their  incursions  and  devastations  over  the  principal  parts  of 
Leinster  and  Connaught.  At  Tailtean,  in  Meath,  a  battle  was  fought, 
in  which  the  king  was  victorious.  After  this  defeat,  the  Danes  re- 
treated to  the  neighbourhood  of  Wexford,  where  prince  Lorcan,  son 
of  Ceallach,  king  of  Leinster,  attacked  them,  A.  D.  824,  at  a  place 
called  Drum-Conla, — but  the  Danes  obtained  there  a  dear-bought 
victory.  In  the  year  826,  another  body  of  these  barbarians  landed 
near  the  present  city  of  Cork,  which  they  captured,  and  after  plun- 
dering the  church  of  St.  Finbar,  they  set  the  whole  town  on  fire. 

"A  greater  number  of  Danes,"  says  McDermott,  "  landed  near 
Newry,*  in  830,  and  plundered  the  churches  and  university  of  Ar- 
magh of  an  immense  quantity  of  plate  and  riches.  They  polluted, 
once  more,  with  sacrilegious  hands,  the  monastery  of  Benchoir,  and 
committed   dreadful  ravages  in  Connaught.     Connor,  unable  to  re- 

*  Newry,  situated  partly  in  the  counties  of  Down  and  Armagh,  on  the  banks 
of  a  river  called  tlie  Keicriju^atcr ,  at  the  distance  of  sixty -three  English  miles  from 
Dublin,  is  a  large  and  populous  town,  eminent  for  its  commerce  and  wealth.  Its 
contiguity  to  the  sea  at  Warrenpoint,  and  its  communication,  on  the  opposite  side, 
by  canal,  with  the  spacious  bay  of  Carlingford,  only  six  miles  distant,  have  ren- 
dered it  the  great  commercial  emporium  of  the  southern  counties  of  Ulster.  The 
population  of  Newry,  according  to  a  census  taken  in  1833,  amounted  to  14,353 
souls.  It  is  irregularly  built,  but  some  of  its  public  and  private  edifices  display 
architectural  taste  and  magnificence  of  a  high  order.  The  Protestant  church, 
erected  in  the  year  1819,  is  an  excellent  specimen  of  Gothic  architecture.  There 
are  three  Roman  Catholic  chapels  in  Newry  ;  one  is  situated  in  Bow  St.,  one  in 
Chapel  St.,  and  one  recently  erected,  which  a  late  Tourist  describes  thus  : — "  The 
Catholic  church,  which  stands  on  the  low  ground,  is  constructed  of  hewn  granite, 
in  the  pointed  or  Gothic  style,  and  consists  of  a  nave  and  side  aisles,  the  western 
end  constituting  the  principal  front.  This  facade  may  be  described  as  having  a 
centre,  and  two  wings,  apparently  divided  by  two  handsome  octagonal  turrets, 
which  are  carried  to  a  considerable  height,  the  upper  stages  terminating  in  open 
lanterns  of  perforated  panel  work  and  battlements.  The  length  of  the  edifice, 
taken  over  the  walls,  is  upwards  of  120  feet,  by  74  in  breadth."  Of  Newry  we 
will  have  occasion  to  speak  more  largely,  in  a  future  note.     23d  March,  1836. 


431 

pel  attacks,  so  suddenly  made,  and  so  remotely  felt,  is  said  to  have 
died  with  grief. 

Nial  III.,  his  successor,  was  crowned  A.  D.  S36  ;  he  was  son  to 
Aodh  VI.,  and  had  to  contend  with  Tur^esius,  the  most  foimidalile 
of  all  the  Danish  commanders.  O'Hailoran  places  his  arrival  in 
83G,  but  other  writers  20  years  earlier.  He  approached  Ireland 
with  a  formidable  fleet  of  120  ships,  50  of  which  he  sent  northward 
to  Dro<rheda,  and  with  the  remainder  he  landed  in  Dublin.  The 
glad  liding-s  of  this  powerful  and  able  commander  soon  reached  the 
vafjabond  Danes  wlio  ranged  the  country  in  all  directions;  and 
though  composed  of  different  nations,  they  all  immediately  flocked 
to  his  standard;  certain,  if  not  of  totally  subduing  the  country,  at 
least  of  carrying  off  an  immense  booty  to  tlieir  respective  homes. 

The  state  of  iMunster  at  this  time,  and  the  proceedings  of  Turge- 
sius,  are  thus  described  by  Dr.  O'Hailoran  : — 

'Already  had  Munster  suffered  unheard  of  aftliclions  :  the  North- 
ern and  Southern  3Iomonians,  or  the  Eogonachts  and  Dalgais,  had 
not  been  well  united  ;  these  last,  constantly  in  arms  to  defend  their 
frontiers  from  the  Connacians,  could  not  enforce  their  right  of  alter- 
nate succession  to  the  crown  of  Munster;  and  were  in  a  manner 
excluded  by  the  Eogonachts  ;  and  the  writer  of  the  actions  of  Ceal- 
lach  Caisil,  now  before  me,  complains,  that  in  all  the  miseries 
of  these  days,  the  monarchs  never  aftbrded  them  the  smallest  suc- 
cour. Thus  divided  amongst  themselves,  and  unsupported  by  the 
other  provinces,  the  Danes,  wherever  they  landed,  bad  nothinir  to 
fear  but  from  the  military  and  people  of  that  quarter  only.  Their 
fleet,  a  second  time,  sailed  up  the  Shannon,  and  destroyed  a  most 
spacious  monastery  near  Carrig-a-Foile,  the  remains  of  which,  at 
this  day,  proclaim,  in  part,  its  former  extent  and  grandeur  ;  all  the 
other  religious  houses,  on  both  sides  the  river,  suffered  the  same 
fate.  They  landed  a  considerable  body  of  troops  near  liimerick, 
surprised  and  set  on  fire  the  ancient  city  of  Descain-Assain,  and 
with  it  the  noble  college  of  Muingharid,  with  the  monastery  and 
other  religious  houses,  having  first  plundered  them  of  their  richest 
effects.  Soon  after  this  they  possessed  themselves  of  Limerick.  We 
are  not  told  how,  nor  the  exact  time,  but  the  Ulster  annals  under 
the  year  843  mention  St.  Ferranan's  being  taken  prisoner  at  Cluan- 
Chomliarda,  and  with  his  family  and  the  ornaments  and  relics  of  his 
churches,  conveyed  by  water  to  their  fleet  at  Limerick.  From  this 
we  must  suppose  them  in  possession  of  it  before  that  period.  And 
here  let  me,  for  once,  observe,  en  passant,  the  manifest  absurdities 
of  foreign  writers  asserting  that  Limerick,  Cork,  Waterford,  and 
most  of  our  sea-port  towns  were  built  by  these  merciless  barbarians. 
Limerick  was  so  noted  for  its  commerce  from  the  earliest  ages,  that 
it  was  never  mentioned  by  oiir  earliest  writers  without  the  epithet 
long  annexed  to  it.  When  Cealiach  Caisil  attacked  and  expelled 
the  Danes  from  thence,  we  then  find  him  call  it  Liumneach  na 
Luingas,  or  Limerick  of  the  ships  or  fleets.' 

The  Momonians  must  have  received  some  considerable  checks  in 
this  last  invasion,  because  I  find  it  mentioned,  that  after  Ailghenan, 
king  of  Caisil's  decease   (and  he   ruled  Munster  but  seven  years), 


432 

Maolgula,  who  was  bis  successor,  was  killed  in  battle  by  the  Loch- 
Lantiachs. 

Turgesius,  as  we  see,  having  now  the  command  of  these  aliens, 
wherever  dispersed  through  the  kingdom,  with  great  wisdom  availed 
himself  of  tliis  power,  and  his  different  detached  parties  were  every- 
where in  action,  while  he  possessed  himself  of  Drogheda,  and  an- 
other part  of  Dublin  ;  and  now  was  the  whole  country  one  scene  of 
ruin  and  desolation — churches  and  monasteries,  religious  and  laics, 
nobles  and  peasants,  without  discrimination,  suffered  the  utmost 
cruelty  of  sword  and  fire.  Maigh-Breagh  and  Maigh-Litie,  which 
before  this  exhibited  such  scenes  of  opulence,  splendour,  hospitality, 
and  piety,  became  now  destitute  of  inhabitants,  cities,  or  houses  ; 
and  the  country,  instead  of  being  covered  with  flocks  and  corn,  was 
replete  with  barbarians,  who  were  a  dishonour  to  humanity.  In  this 
general  conflagration  and  carnage,  churches  of  the  greatest  fame 
were  particular  objects  to  satiate  the  vengeance  and  rapacity  of  these 
infidels.  They  plundered  and  burned  the  noble  abbey  and  churches 
of  Kildare,  taking  with  them  the  rich  shrines  of  St.  Bridgid  and  St. 
Conlath.  The  city  of  Fearna-Maida,  or  Ferns,  then  the  capital  of 
Leinster,  they  laid  in  ashes,  having  first  plundered  the  archiepisco- 
pal  church  of  St.  Maida  of  all  its  riches.  They  erected  forts  and 
castles  in  these  now  desolate  places  ;  so  that  whoever  ventured  to 
return  to  their  old  habitations,  must  do  it  on  terms  of  submission  to 
them.  In  vain  did  the  Irish  oppose  them  manfully  every  where,  and 
wherever  they  engaged  them,  in  general  defeated  them.  Our  an- 
nals are  minute  enough  in  their  accounts  of  these  different  encoun- 
ters (for  battles  they  could  not  be  called),  and  note  in  what  place 
three,  in  another  five,  and  six  hundred  of  these  people  were  cut  off. 
It  is  evident  by  their  numbers,  and  the  power  they  in  fact  acquired, 
that,  upon  the  whole,  the  Danes  were  successful.  This  was  not 
enough,  the  interior  parts  of  the  country  had  been  hitherto  freed 
from  their  incursions,  and  poured  forth  new  men  to  defend  those 
parts  nearest  them.  Turgesius,  in  imitation  of  the  Irish,  having 
penetrated  far  into  the  country,  caused  light  barks  to  be  built,  and 
the  interior  and  other  parts  of  the  Shannon  and  other  rivers  and 
lakes,  were  soon  filled  with  enemies,  who,  by  sudden  landings,  laid 
the  country  every  where  waste.  The  prospect  of  a  complete  reduc- 
tion of  the  country  animated  these  people  to  make  new  efforts. 
Turgesius  sent  to  his  friends  for  a  fresh  reinforcement  of  troops. 
Early  in  839  a  fleet  of  Danish  ships  appeared  on  the  coast  of  Ulster, 
and  landed  a  large  body  of  troops  near  Dimdalk,  and  after  laying 
waste  the  country,  took  Armagh,  sword  in  hand,  and  set  fire  to  all 
its  sumptuous  churches,  colleges,  and  public  edifices.  As  had  been 
already  done  in  the  south,  they  built  vessels,  and  Loch  Neach  and 
Loch  Erne  were  covered  with  small  craft,  from  which  they  sudden- 
ly landed,  spreading  ruin  and  desolation  over  all  the  adjacent  coun- 
try, and  particularly  destroying  churches  and  monasteries. 

Such  is  the  melancholy  picture  given  to  us  of  these  dismal  times. 
The  historian  by  whom  it  is  drawn,  obliged  to  avow  the  ultimate 
success  of  the  Danes,  but  anxious  to  preserve  the  military  character 
of  his  country,  says^  'the  Irish  opposed  them  manfully  every  where, 


433 

and  wherever  they  engaged  them,  in  general  defeated  them  ;'  but 
common  sense  revolts  at  the  idea  of  a  people  generally  defeated,  and 
yet  finally  triumphant.  The  truth  appears  to  be,  that  in  all  the 
lesser  rencounters  that  took  place  between  the  Danes  and  Irish,  the 
latter  were  generally,  if  not  always  defeated.  Tlie  former  were  al- 
ways the  aggressors,  and  acted  on  the  oft'ensive,  the  latter,  who  were 
almost  always  attacked  unawares,  acted  osi  the  defensive,  and  being 
unprepared  for  contest,  had  little  chance  with  an  enemy,  who,  while 
they  remained  in  the  island,  made  war  their  trade,  and  pillage  the 
object  of  their  ill-directed  ambition.  Whenever  the  political  feuds 
of  the  Irish  princes  suft'ered  them  to  unite  against  the  common  ene- 
my— whenever  a  vigorous  effort  was  made  to  bring  the  Irish  to  a 
general  engagement,  the  Danes  seldom  escaped  with  impunity,  and 
were  generally  defeated.  But  the  victory  was  scarcely  obtained, 
when  the  evil  genius  of  Ireland  set  them  again  by  the  ears,  and  gave 
the  enemy  an  opportunity  of  recruiting  their  forces." 

In  the  year  840,  Turgesius,  son  of  tiie  King  of  Denmark,  entered 
the  river  Boyne,  near  Drogheda,*  with  fifty  ships,  and  eflected  a 
landing  without  opposition.  No  sooner  had  this  daring  and  despotic 
chief  captured  Drogheda,  than  he  marched  to  the  city  of  Dublin, 
which  he  speedily  caused  to  surrender.  After  placing  a  garrison  in 
Dublin,  he  made  an  incursion  into  Ulster,  where  he  burned  and 
plundered  several  churches  and  abbeys.  At  Armagh,  St.  Ferianan, 
the  Archbishop,  at  the  head  of  all  the  forces  he  could  collect,  bravely 
opposed  Turgesius ;  but  in  vain,  for  the  Primate  was  taken  a 
prisoner  by  the  tyrant.  The  booty  which  the  Danes  carried  from 
the  Cathedral  of  Armagh,  was  immense.  All  tlie  foreigners  through- 
out Ireland  now  acknowledged  Turgesius  as  their  chief,  under  whose 
potent  command  they  promised  to  themselves  the  subjugation  of  the 
entire  Island,  and  a  rich  harvest  of  plunder.  The  monarch  Nial 
made,  at  that  juncture,  a  journey  into  Ulster,  in  the  hope  of  being 
able  to  raise  forces  to  expel  the  invaders  from  his  kingdom.  He 
defeated  the  Danes  in  two  battles,  but  he  was  unfortunately  drowned 
in  the  river  Callen,  in  the  county  of  Armagh,  while  making  the 
generous  attempt  of  saving  the  life  of  his  equery,  who  had  fallen 
into  the  flood. 

"  If,"  writes  Dr.  Warner,  "this  monarch  gave  no  proof  in  his 
life  of  his  zeal  and  activity  to  serve  his  country,  he  left  a  signal 
instance  of  humanity  at  his  death  ;  and  this  makes  it  probable  that 
it  was  not  so  much  his  fault  as  the  fault  of  the  times  ;  and  owing  to 
some  untoward  conjunctures,  that  he  did  not  exert  himself  sooner 
against  the  common  enemy." 

The  conclusion  of  this  chapter  is  from  McDermott's  history  of 
Ireland. 

"The  death  of  Nial  would  have  been  succeeded  by  the  pomp  and 

. ■ ^ 

*  The  river  Bovne  rises  from  a  mountain  near  Clanbullage,  in  the  King's 
county,  and  in  its  progress  to  the  sea,  into  whicli  it  falls  in  the  vicinity  of  Drog- 
heda, it  passes  through  the  counties  of  Kildare,  East  and  West  Meath.  This  fine 
river  is  navigable  for  large  ships  to  the  harbour  of  Drogheda.  At  Navan,  in  the 
county  of  Meath,  the  river  Biackwater,  which  derives  its  source  from  the  county 
of  Cavan.  mingles  its  tributary  streams  with  tiic  Boyne. 
55 


434 

ceremony  of  an  election,  if  the  distresses  of  the  nation  had  permitted. 
But  from  the  absence  of  this  ceremony,  the  chronicles  of  the  time 
do  not  mention  who  succeeded  to  the  throne.  Mulachy,  nephew  to 
the  monarch  Connor,  and  son  of  Maoh'uana,  is,  however,  phiced 
next  in  the  regal  list,  but  though  it  is  likely  that  he  was  the  only 
sovereign  acknowledged  by  the  Irish,  yet  his  title  was  merely 
nominal.  Some  there  are  who  assert  that  Turgesius  immediately 
usurped  the  crown,  being  proclaimed  king  by  his  countrymen,  to 
wiiom  the  Irish  submitted,  but  be  this  as  it  may,  certain  it  is,  that  if 
unlimited  power  can  confer  royalty,  Turgesius  was  monarch,  even 
though  the  pomp  of  a  coronation  had  been  never  thought  of.  The 
Irish,  however,  recognized  his  title  no  farther  than  necessity  com- 
pelled them  ;  and  Malachy  was  the  sovereign  of  their  hearts.  In 
the  regal  list  he  is  entitled  Flaith  na  Feinc  go  Fiur  Buodh — prince 
of  the  truly  victorious  legion.  He  summoned  the  estates  of  Con- 
naught,  Meath,  and  Ulster,  to  meet  him  at  Armagh,  which  had  been 
lately  recovered  from  the  Danes,  to  deliberate  on  the  most  effectual 
means  of  expelling  the  common  enemy  out  of  the  country,  and 
redeeming  the  disgraced  military  character.  What  the  resolutions 
were  that  passed  in  this  assembly  we  are  not  informed,  and  can 
only  guess  at  them  from  the  subsequent  events  which  followed. 
Several  victories  were  obtained  over  the  Danes  in  diflerent  parts  of 
the  island,  but  they  were  victories  of  partial  import,  when  compared 
to  the  great  losses  which  they  sustained.  Malachy  defeated  them 
in  Meath,  and  left  700  of  them  slain  on  the  field  of  battle.  They 
were  also  defeated  at  Ardbraccan,*  by  the  Dalgais,  and  at  Easruadh 
by  the  inhabitants  of  Tirconnell.  They  were  equally  unsuccessful 
in  some  other  engagements  ;  but  these  losses  were  too  inconsiderable 
to  make  any  impression  on  the  operations  of  the  Danes.  In  the 
battle  of  Gias-Glean,  however,  they  met  with  an  unexpected  check  : 
1700  of  their  men,  with  Saxolb,  one  of  their  most  distinguished 
generals,  were  slain  on  the  field  of  battle,  and  their  entire  army 
routed  by  Malachy  in  conjunction  with  the  Lagenians.  The  Danes, 
however,  fertile  in  resources,  and  continually  increased  by  auxiliary 
troops  from  Britain  and  France,  countries  in  which  their  arms  were 
marked  with  the  same  success  that  attended  them  in  Ireland,  were 
scarcely  sensible  of  those  partial  losses,  and  Turgesius  soon  became 
so  absolute  in  Ireland,  that  he  reduced  the  people  to  the  most  cruel 
bondage,  which  the  genius  of  invention  and  cruelty  could  devise. 

I  know  not  how  to  give  the  reader  a  clearer  view  of  the  state  of 
Ireland,  under  the  administration  of  Turgesius,  than  by  presenting 
to  him  an  outline  of  tiie  bondage,  and  the  particulars  of  the  cruelties 
and  privations  to  which  the  Irish  were  subjected  by  these  inexorable 
barbarians,  as  it  is  accurately  and  minutely  described  by  Dr. 
Warner  : 

'  They    (the  Irish)  were  forced  by  droves,'  says  he,  '  like  sheep 

^  Ardbraccan,  where  stands  the  elegant  palace  of  the  Bishop  of  Meath,  '\a 
about  two  miles  distant  from  the  opulent  town  of  Navan,  in  a  westerly  direction, — 
and  twenty-nine  miles  N.  W.  from  Dublin.  It  derives  its  name  from  St.  Br/ircan, 
who  founded  an  abbey  in  that  place,  A.  D.  650.  The  Protestant  church  of  Ard- 
braccan, whicli  was  built  in  17(36,  is  more  massy  than  magnificent.  The  interior 
is,  however,  elaborately  decorated  with  episcopal  emblems  and  attributes. 


435 

into  captivity,  and  such  as  escaped,  were  obliged  to  retire  into  the 
woods  and  wildernesses  with  their  families,  and  lie  exposed  to  the 
miseries  of  want  and  nakedness,  in  order  to  preserve  themselves 
from  slavery.  The  sea  coasts  were  ravaged  in  the  same  manner 
by  sending  different  parties  round  the  island  in  their  boats;  and  no 
words  can  paint  out  the  various  species  of  misery  which  the  poor 
inhabitants  underwent.  The  cruelties  of  fire  and  sword,  of  rape 
and  plunder,  of  violence  and  captivity,  were  all  united  under  the 
usurpation  of  Turgesius.  A  government  established  in  tliis  manner 
must  necessarily  overturn  the  laws  and  religion  as  well  as  the  rights 
and  liberties  of  the  nation  ;  the  only  rule  of  administration  being  the 
usurper's  will,  and  that  usurper  being  a  pagan  and  a  tyrant.  This 
was,  in  fact,  the  case  at  that  time  in  Ireland.  The  churclies  and 
monasteries  were  desolated  and  consumed  ;  the  laws  were  a  dead 
letter;  and  all  religion  and  learning  were  suppressed  or  banished 
the  island. 

The  more  warlike  the  spirit  of  the  Irish  was,  the  more  enthusiastic 
their  attachment  to  the  jMilesian  line  of  kings,  and  the  more  jealous 
they  were  of  their  liberties,  the  more  their  necks  must  be  galled 
with  the  oppressive  yoke  of  this  usurper.  But  even  all  this  could 
not  bring  them  to  a  spirit  of  union  among  themselves  ;  and  faction 
which  is  always  the  disease  of  liberty,  proved  mortal  now,  and  occa- 
sioned its  death.  Particular  princes,  it  is  true,  spirited  up  their 
tribes,  and  fought  many  times  with  great  success  against  the 
oppressors — but  these  engagements  were  not  the  fruit  of  united 
counsel,  in  concert  with  each  other,  and  were  therefore  more 
properly  skirmishes  and  rencounters  than  general  actions  in  defence 
of  the  common  cause,  and  for  the  extirpation  of  their  enemies,  and 
the  event  was  answerable  ;  for  notwithstanding  these  victorious 
battles  over  the  Danes,  the  usurper  still  possessed  the  government, 
and  the  fate  of  the  country  remained  undecided.  The  loss  of  these 
troops,  continually  supplied  with  fresh  recruits  from  Norway,  which 
were  poured  upon  them  in  great  numbers;  whilst  the  natives  were 
diminishing,  even  with  their  successes.  The  Irish  being  at  length 
dispirited  and  worn  out,  were  obliged  to  yield  themselves  vanquished, 
and  to  submit  to  the  tyranny  of  their  Danish  masters,  who  ruled 
them  indeed  with  a  rod  of  iron,  and  made  them  taste  of  the  very 
dregs  of  servitude. 

Turgesius  having  brought  the  whole  island  into  subjection,  he 
made  it  his  next  business  to  new  model  the  state,  in  order  to  secure 
himself  in  the  government  which  he  had  obtained  by  force.  Thus 
into  every  barony  he  put  a  Danish  king  where  before  there  had 
been  an  Irish  one.  For  what  we  call  lords  of  the  manor  in  our 
days,  they  called  kings.  Into  every  district  or  parish  was  placed  a 
captain  of  war ;  every  ville  had  a  sergeant,  and  every  house  a  sol- 
dier. The  bishops  and  clergy  were,  for  the  most  ])art,  retreated 
into  bogs  and  wildernesses,  into  woods  or  subterraneous  caves,  where 
they  preserved  their  historical  monuments,  and  where  they  hid  and 
lurked  about  like  wild  beasts;  thrir  country  wns  no  longer  the 
island  of  saints,  nor  the  mart  of  literature  to  the  rest  of  Europe. 
The  men  of  learning  had  taken  themselves  away  to  seek  repose  in 


436 

other  countries,  as  we  may  learn  from  a  letter  to  the  emperor 
Charles  the  Bald,  who  gave  them  a  kind  reception. 

When  the  city  of  Armagh  was  sacked,  all  the  clergy,  the  religious 
and  the  students  of  that  university,  were  made  prisoners  by  Tur- 
gesius,  and  shipped  oft'  for  Limerick,  then  in  the  hands  of  the  Danes, 
and  what  was  their  fate  afterwards  was  not  known.  In  every  church 
or  monastery  that  was  not  reduced  to  ashes,  and  near  the  ruins  of 
those  that  were,  a  lay  Danish  abbot  had  his  residence  in  order  to 
collect  the  revenues  with  which  they  were  endowed.  All  the  books 
that  could  be  met  with  they  burned  or  tore  to  pieces — the  schools  or 
seminaries  of  learning  were  shut  up  or  destroyed ;  and  the  inhabi- 
tants were  not  permitted  to  teach  their  children  to  read.  Every 
bride  was  obliged  to  be  the  first  night  after  her  marriage  with  the 
Danish  captain  of  the  territory  in  which  she  lived — but  if  she  was 
not  to  his  taste,  he  had  a  certain  tax  in  money  in  lieu  of  her  virginity. 

These  are  only  the  outlines  of  that  cruel  bondage  which  the  Irish 
were  held  in  by  their  lords  the  Danes.  The  particulars  are  still 
more  shocking  and  insupportable.  It  has  been  already  taken  notice 
of  that  a  soldier  was  quartered  in  every  house  and  cottage  through- 
out the  kingdom,  but  the  reader  has  no  idea  of  the  miseries  entailed 
upon  every  family  by  that  regulation.  Here  he  was  not  only  a  spy 
upon  every  action,  every  word,  and  every  look,  but  the  soldier  was 
also  the  absolute  master  of  the  house,  and  of  every  person  in  it.  Not 
a  chicken  could  be  killed,  not  an  egg,  nor  a  little  milk  used  for  any 
one  till  he  was  first  satisfied,  and  his  leave  obtained  ;  and  if  he  had 
a  mind  to  lie  with  the  wife  or  daughter,  he  must  not  be  denied,  lest 
his  resentment  should  dispossess  them  of  all  they  had.  Neither  the 
cries  of  the  infant,  nor  the  want  of  the  diseased  which  required  milk 
were  in  the  least  regarded  by  this  brute  ;  and  he  would  often  times 
devour  it  wantonly  to  create  the  greater  distress  and  to  enhance  his 
inhumanity.  Many  of  the  Irish  at  first  refused  to  comply  with  these 
oppressions  ;  but  then  the  soldiers  of  the  neighbouring  houses  joining 
together,  they  were  dragged  by  violence  to  the  guard,  which  they 
kept  in  every  county,  and  there  imprisoned  and  cruelly  used  till  they 
had  made  satisfaction  to  their  guests,  whom  they  had  offended  by 
their  disobedience. 

None  of  the  gentry  or  nobility  were  allowed  to  wear  any  clothes 
but  what  the  Danes  had  first  worn  out  and  lain  aside  :  the  young 
ladies  were  not  permitted  to  work  at  all  with  the  needle ;  and  the 
sons  of  the  Irish  chiefs  were  prohibited  the  use  of  arras,  or  to 
exercise  themselves  in  feats  of  antiquity,  or  in  martial  sports,  lest 
they  should  be  qualified  and  tempted  to  shake  oft'  the  yoke  of  slavery, 
now  about  their  necks.  Every  master  of  a  family  throughout  the 
island  was  obliged  to  pay  an  annual  tribute  to  the  government 
of  an  ounce  of  gold,  and  if  he  was  remiss  in  the  payment,  whether, 
through  utter  inability  or  not,  he  was  punished  with  the  loss  of  his 
nose,  which  occasioned  it  to  be  called  by  the  name  of  the  nose  tax. 
In  short,  all  the  natives  of  every  rank  were  prohibited,  under  the 
penalty  of  the  severest  fines  and  imprisonment,  to  make  any  public 
entertainments,  or  to  use  hospitality  among  each  other,  in  order  to 
prevent  any  caballing  or  contriving  against  the  government,  for  the 
restoration  of  their  liberties. 


437 

Such  and  so  dreadful  was  the  bondage  in  which  the  Irish  were 
held  by  these  barbarians,  but  yet  nothing  could  bring  them  to  a  union 
among  themselves.  Tliis  is  a  conduct  so  utterly  incapable  of  any 
excuse,  that  if  one  might  interpret  the  dark  ways  of  Heaven,  and  to 
judge  of  things  so  ftir  above  our  reach,  one  would  tiiink^that  the 
miseries  which  fell  upon  this  people,  through  the  savage  cruelty  of 
the  Danes,  were  dealt  out  by  Providence  as  a  just  return  for  those 
evils  which  their  everlasting  contentions  brought  upon  one  another. 
Be  this,  however,  as  it  migiit,  the  excess  of  tyranny  practised  by 
Turgesius,  at  length  roused  some  of  them  from  their  desperation  ;  and 
by  the  event  it  was  very  evident  that  it  was  not  owing  to  the  superior 
power,  or  skill,  or  valour  of  these  foreigners,  that  they  trampled 
thus  over  the  rights  and  liberties  of  the  Irish,  but  to  their  own>pirit 
of  discord  ;  and  that  they  rather  chose  to  sufier  themselves,  than 
that  those  whom  they  hated  should  not  be  miserable.'  " 


CHAPTER  LX. 


The  violent,  arrogant,  and  desjjotic  conduct  of  Turgesius. — He  claims  Malackys 
Daughter,  the  Princess  Melcha,  for  his  Mistress  .—King  Malacht/,  hy  a  course  of 
admirable  policy,  and  an  ingeniously  planned  stratagem,  defeats  the  criminal  pur- 
pose of  the  licentious  despot. —  Turgesius  and  his  adherents  ensnared. — His  merited 
punishment  and  fate. —  The  erjinlsion  of  the  Danes  from  Ireland,  and  the  restora- 
tion of  the  Irish  Monarchy. —  The  Danes  succeed  in  a  second  invasion  of  Irehnid. 
Dissensions  amongst  the  Irish  Princes. — 4  union  of  friendship  and  defence  is 
effected  by  the  Priest  Eagna,  bcUccen  the  disputing  Irish  chieftains. — ji  mcetinir 
of  the  States  convened  hy  King  Malachy. —  The  Danes  arc  vanquished  in  bottle  by 
the  Monarch. — Malachy's  death,  and  the  accession  of  Hugh  VI.  to  the  throne. —  The 
Danes,  commanded  by  .imclanns,  attack  the  Irish,  and  gain  a  victory  over  them. 
A  conflict  in  Ulster,  where  the  Danes  are  defeated. — Amrlanus,  with  his  forces, 
surprises  the  Irish  as  they  arc  returning  from  a  victorious  battle. — Death  of  the 
Monarch  Hugh  VI. 

Danish  tyranny  and  power  had  now,  in  A.  D.  849,  reached  a 
fearful  force  of  preponderance  in  Ireland.  The  unfortunate  Irish 
had  to  succumb,  like  slaves,  under  the  iron  rods  of  their  oppressors. 
Law  and  justice  were  no  longer  respected  at  that  period  in  Ireland  ; 
and  compassion  became  deaf  to  the  wailings  of  complaint.  The 
flagrant  and  wicked  presumption  and  arrogance  of  Turgesius,  were 
of  the  most  barbarous  and  insolent  character,  as  the  following  ex- 
tract from  McDerjiott,  will  amply  testify  : 

"  The  Danish  usurper,  Turgesius,  had  a  palace  built  for  himself,  in 
the  same  fort  wliere  Malachy,  the  king  of  Meath,  and  the  legitimate 
Irish  monarch  resided.  Though  he  arrogated  supreme  sway,  yet  he 
frequently  condescended  to  visit  his  brother  king,  who,  through 
policy,  was  obliged  to  entertain  the  Dane,  whenever  he  thought 
proper  to  become  his  guest.  During  these  rejicated  entertainments, 
the  unwelcome  visitant  became  acquainted  with  the  person  of  one 
of  King  Malachy's  daughters,  who  was  exceedingly  handsome,  and 
in  a  coinpidsatory  n)anner  he  demanded  the  fair  for  his  pleasure. 
The  royal  father  endeavoured  to  atnuse  tiie  Danish  chief  by  assuring 


43S 

liim  that  there  were  several  young  ladies  in  his  family  or  neighbour- 
hood, who  far  surpassed  his  daughter  in  beauty,  and  from  whom,  he 
was  certain,  he  would  derive  much  greater  satisfaction.  The  arro- 
gant Dane,  whose  passions  had  liitherto  been  strangers  to  any 
refusal,  and  whose  desire  for  this  princess  became  exceedingly 
violent,  declared  his  inflexible  determination  to  take  away  the  lady 
by  force,  and  make  her  subservient  to  his  lascivious  will. 

Though  stung  to  the  heart  at  the  infamous  resolution  of  the  tyrant, 
Malachy,  with  consummate  policy,  disguised  his  indignation  and 
resentment  ;  he  smothered  his  parental  feelings,  and  artfully  ap- 
peared delighted  with  the  usurper's  infamous  design.  Instead  of  an 
aftVont,  he  seemed  to  take  it  as  an  honour,  and  it  induced  the 
haughty  Dane  to  believe,  that  for  the  sake  of  insuring  his  friendship 
and  interest,  he  would  with  readiness  and  pleasure  sacrifice  a  lovely 
daughter  to  his  lewd  embraces.  Though  dissimulation  is  not  the 
characteristic  of  the  Irish,  particularly  in  provocations  of  this  kind, 
yet  Malachy  might  have  had  good  reasons  for  practising  the  present 
evasion.  In  all  probability  Turgesius  was  well  armed  and  attended 
during  his  visits,  and  the  monarch  would  in  vain  have  attempted  to 
revenge  the  foul  infamy  which  his  heart  abhorred.  He  therefore 
waited  a  better  opportunity  to  frustrate  the  base  intention  of  Tur- 
gesius, 

in  rege  tamen  pater  est. 

and  amused  the  tyrant  with  an  artful  proposal :  he  held  forth  that 
as  love  and  beauty  seemed  to  be  his  chief  delight,  he  was  willing  to 
gratify  his  inclinations  to  the  utmost ;  and  if  it  met  with  his  appro- 
bation he  would  positively  send  his  daughter  to  his  palace,  at  a 
certain  hour  the  next  evening,  accompanied  with  fifteen  other 
blooming  virgins,  all  of  whom  should  far  surpass  the  princess  in 
external  beauty.  He  advised  Turgesius  to  invite  some  of  his  most 
skilful  lords  to  be  present  at  the  time,  and  when  the  ladies  were  all 
before  him,  that  he  should  then  take  their  advice,  and  make  his 
choice.  If  the  princess  proved  the  most  agreeable,  the  father  de- 
clared she  was  not  too  good  to  be  at  his  service  ;  but  if  fascinated 
by  any  of  the  other  ladies,  he  then  trusted  to  his  honour  for  the 
restoration  of  his  daughter. 

The  projects  which  Malachy  adopted  for  the  punishment  of  the 
audacious  tyrant,  and  for  the  preservation  of  his  daughter's  virtue, 
is  so  exceedingly  romantic  that  we  shall  give  it  in  Dr.  Warner's 
words ;  who  has  recorded  it  on  the  authorities  of  Keating,  Usher, 
Sir  James  Ware,  &,c.  «fcc. 

'  The  lascivious  Dane  was  not  only  satisfied,  but  extremely  de- 
lighted with  the  proposal,  and  was  lavish  in  his  thanks  and  praises 
to  Malachy  for  the  contrivance.  He  was  then  going  to  Dublin,  to  a 
convention  of  his  chiefs  upon  affairs  of  state;  in  order  still  further 
to  defeat  the  hopes  of  the  natives,  to  defend  the  country  from  other 
invaders,  and  to  perpetuate  the  succession  to  the  government  of  the 
island  among  themselves.  As  soon  as  the  business  was  finished, 
and  the  council  had  been  entertained,  the  usurper  selected  fifteen  of 
the  company  who  were  liis  greatest  favourites,  to  whom  he  commu- 
nicated this  intrigue ;  and  to  whom  he  promised  to  sacrifice  a  beau- 


439 

tiful  young  virgin,  if  they  would  go  with  him  to  his  pahice.  Tlic 
proposal  was  not  made  with  greater  pleasure  tiian  it  was  accepted  ; 
and  they  all  repaired  to  the  court  of  Turgesius  with  great  impatience. 
The  mind  of  Malachy,  though  for  very  different  reasons,  was  not 
less  at  rest.  Nothing  was  further  from  his  intention,  than  the  de- 
livering up  his  daughter,  who  was  indeed  extremely  beautiful,  to 
gratify  the  lust  of  this  libidinous  Dane;  and  yet  he  knew  that  his 
own  life  must  not  only  pay  the  forfeit  of  his  refusal,  but  that  his 
daughter  must  also  be  the  prey  of  his  brutal  appetite.  What  did  he 
do  therefore  in  this  dilemma,  but  resolve  upon  an  attempt,  which,  if 
it  miscarried,  should  leave  them  in  no  worse  situation  than  they 
were  in  before ;  and  if  it  succeeded,  as  he  had  great  reason  to  hope 
it  would,  must  rid  him  (them)  for  ever  of  this  savage  tyrant,  whom 
it  would  sacrifice  to  the  violence  of  his  own  lust. 

Accordingly  he  got  together  fifteen  of  the  most  lovely  fair  voung 
men  in  his  territories,  on  whose  spirit  and  resolution  he  could  de- 
pend, and  after  communicating  the  secret  of  his  purpose  to  them, 
and  taking  their  engagement  to  execute  it  to  his  wish,  they  were  all 
attired  like  young  ladies,  and  every  one  armed  with  a  short  sharp 
sword  under  their  (his)  robe.  He  then  instructed  them  in  the  part 
they  were  to  act,  and  assured  them  that  he  would  follow  with  his 
guard  at  a  little  distance,  to  second  and  support  them  in  what  should 
remain  to  be  done.  Thus  accoutred  and  disciplined,  the  princess 
and  her  companions  went  at  the  hour  appointed  to  the  Danish 
palace  ;  where  they  were  no  sooner  arrived  than  they  were  con- 
ducted to  the  apartment,  where  the  monarch  and  his  associates  were 
waiting  to  receive  them.  In  order  to  disgust  the  ladies  as  little  as 
possible  with  their  appearance,  all  their  arms  were  left  below  ;  and 
their  outward  air  of  complacency  and  satisfaction  kept  equal  pace 
with  the  inward  pleasure  that  em])loyed  their  minds. 

But  the  princess  and  her  retinue  were  inspired  with  a  love  of 
another  kind,  a  love  of  liberty  and  their  country  ;  which  they  were 
resolved  to  redeem,  or  to  perish  in  the  attempt.  Thus  the  one  side 
thought  of  nothing  but  excessive  dalliance  and  indulgence  of  desire, 
and  the  other  was  prepared  for  assassination.  Accordingly  when 
Turgesius  had  compared  the  princess  with  her  train,  and  embraced 
her  as  a  token  of  the  choice  he  made,  they,  one  and  all,  drew  their 
swords  at  the  same  instant,  and  put  every  one  of  the  Danes  to  death, 
except  the  tyrant  himself,  who,  according  to  their  instructions,  was 
bound  with  cords  they  had  brought  concealed  for  that  jnirpose. 
The  signal  was  then  given  out  of  tlie  window,  as  it  had  been  agreed 
upon,  to  Malachy  and  his  guards,  who  broke  into  the  fort  sword  in 
hand,  and  giving  no  quarter,  the  officers  and  soldiers  fell  promis- 
cuously in  the  carnage,  and  not  one  escaped  to  tell  their  fate.  The 
revenge  of  the  Irish  being  thus  fully  satiated  for  the  present,  Malachy 
made  it  his  first  business  to  seek  out  and  triumph  over  the  usurper. 
Having  upbraided  him  with  a  short  narration  of  his  monstrous 
cruelties,  his  many  rapes  and  murders,  and  a  general  state  of  his 
oppression  and  tyranny,  he  ordered  him  to  be  heavy  loaded  with 
irons  and  to  be  dragged  along  in  his  procession  to  grace  the  victory.' 

We  are  not  informed   what   part  the  princess  took  in  this  sudden 


440 

assassination  ;  but,  judging  from  that  extreme  modesty,  for  which 
the  Irisli  ladies  have  King  been  celebrated,  it  may  be  presumed  that 
as  soon  as  she  had  liberated  herjelf  from  the  detested  embrace  of 
the  Danish  libertine,  she,  it  was,  who  gave,  or  assisted  in  giving, 
the  signal  to  her  royal  ftither  and  protector,  and  that  she  withdrew, 
as  soon  as  possible,  from  the  scene  of  blood  and  carnage.  Dr. 
Warner's  narrative  is  thus  continued  : 

'No  sooner  was  this  success  over  the  Danes  made  known  out  of 
the  fort,  but  it  spread  like  fire  over  the  island  ;  and  the  news  could 
not  be  quicker  than  v.'as  the  resolution  of  the  Irish,  to  throw  off  the 
yoke  which  had  so  long  enslaved  them.  As  soon  as  the  Danes 
understood  that  their  king  was  taken  prisoner,  the  principal  nobility 
slaughtered,  no  quarter  any  where  given,  and  themselves  without  a 
leader,  they  became  in  turn  dispirited  ;  and  as  though  the  genius  of 
Turgesius  had  been  the  charm  that  exalted  his  own  countrymen, 
and  depressed  the  Irish,  no  sooner  was  it  broken  by  his  imprison- 
ment, than  the  Danes  lost  all  their  courage  ;  and  the  natives,  like 
men  awakened  out  of  a  dream  of  slavery,  were  amazed  to  find 
themselves  the  conquerors.  Such  of  the  Danish  invaders  as  lived 
near  the  coasts,  betook  themselves  to  their  shipping  with  all  possible 
expedition,  and  left  the  island.  But  those  who  had  possessed  them- 
selves of  the  inland  country,  were  obliged  to  retreat  into  their  cities 
and  fortified  places  to  secure  themselves  by  their  numbers.  This 
retreat,  however,  availed  them  nothing.  The  Irish  had  now  re- 
covered their  pristine  spirit  ;  and  as  though  it  had  acquired  strength 
from  lying  dormant,  it  every  where  burst  out  with  a  double  fury. 
The  towns  and  forts  where  the  Danes  had  taken  shelter,  were 
assaulted  and  stormed  with  rage  rather  than  valour;  the  woods  and 
wildernesses  in  which  others  had  concealed  themselves  when  the 
Irish  quitted  them,  were  cleared  of  their  new  inhabitants  with  an 
unrelenting  vengeance  ;  no  solitude  nor  flight  was  able  to  protect 
them  from  an  enemy  whom  they  had  enraged  with  their  violent 
treatment :  in  short,  the  Irish  were  determined  to  make  use  of  this 
opportunity,  to  extirpate  these  barbarians  at  once  out  of  the  land,  to 
complete  the  revolution,  and  to  establish  their  government  upon  its 
ancient  footing. 

When  the  usurper  had  been  kept  some  time  in  fetters,  in  order  to 
punish  his  haughty  spirit,  and  to  make  him  a  witness  to  the  miseries 
of  his  countrymen,  he  was  drawn  to  Lough  Leana,*  by  the  command 

*  Lough  Leana,  on  one  of  the  islands  of  which  Turgesius  erected  a  lofty 
tumulus  of  earthern  work,  is  a  small,  but  beautiful  lake,  situated  near  the  sylvan 
village  of  Fore,  in  the  county  of  West  Meath.  It  is  studded  with  three  shrub- 
shrouded  islands  of  the  most  picturesque  and  romantic  scenery.  Nothing  can 
exceed,  in  landscape  charm,  tlie  country  that  environs  this  limpid  lake,  which  is 
margined  by  a  range  of  pastoral  hills,  clothed  in  wood.  The  pretty  town  of  Castle- 
Pollard,  with  its  outstretched  gardens,  and  the  mansion  and  domain  of  Packcnham 
Hall,  mingling  and  contrasting  architectural  grandeur,  with  sublime  scenery, 
tend  to  give  an  Italian  character  to  the  imposing  landscape  which  is  spread  around 
the  Lake  of  Leana. 

On  the  subject  of  Turgesius's  lawless  love  for  King  Malachy's  daughter,  the 
author  of  this  History  has  written  a  drama,  entitled  "  Ireland  Redeemed,  or  the 
Devoted  Princess,"  which  was  performed  several  times  in  the  New  York  and 
Philadelphia  Theatres. 


441 

of  Malachy,  amidst  thousands  of  spectators  exulting  in  Fiis  fate,  and 
bound  as  he  was,  thrown  in  and  drowned.  Thus  ended  the  hfe  of 
tlie  accursed  tyrant  Turgesius,  after  perpetrating  a  series  of  cruel- 
ties for  many  years  abhorrent  to  our  nature  ;  leaving-  an  example  to 
the  world,  how  miserable  and  unexpected  their  fate  often  is,  who, 
consulting  nothing  but  their  interest  and  the  gratifications  of  their 
passions,  thitdv  by  cunning  or  violence  to  establish  themselves  in 
their  power  and  greatness.  The  small  remainder  of  the  Danes  who 
could  neither  save  themselves  by  flight  nor  by  their  valour,  were 
reduced  to  the  necessity  of  begging  quarter,  and  of  promising  to 
become  obedient  and  useful  servants  to  the  Irish  ;  and  the  peace  of 
the  country  being  now  secured,  and  the  fury  of  the  inhabitants  in  a 
great  measure  abated  by  the  execution  of  the  usurper,  and  by  the 
slaughter  or  the  flight  of  the  greatest  part  of  his  men,  these  few 
were  received  to  mercy,  and  being  disarmed,  their  lives  were  spared.' 

No  longer  the  nominal,  but  achioiclcclgcd  monarch  of  Ireland, 
Malachy  now  took  the  reins  of  governtnent  into  his  own  hands. 
Had  it  not  been  for  the  aff"ront  offered  to  his  honour,  by  the  pro- 
posed pollution  of  a  beloved  daughter,  he  would  probably  have 
terminated  an  insignificant  reign  in  abject  submission  to  an  unprin- 
cipled despot,  and  the  subjection  of  his  unhappy  subjects  might  have 
continued  for  many  years,  as  by  increasing  numbers,  the  enemy 
would  have  become  more  and  more  formidable.  But  from  evil, 
good  often  springs.  Even  from  a  slavery  of  thirteen  years,  the  Irish 
derived  a  salutary  lesson — they  learned  from  the  Danes,  who  were 
well  acquainted  with  trade,  the  advantages  of  traffic  ;  they  perceived 
that  the  cultivation  of  commerce  was  productive  of  ease  and  tran- 
quillity to  the  cotnmunity,  and  even  tended  to  promote  the  domestic 
comforts  of  mutual  love  and  friendship.  Hence  they  began  to  relish 
a  life  of  quietude,  to  see  the  folly  of  their  former  state  of  turbulency, 
and  to  be  convinced  that  public  concord  was  the  best  security  of 
the  public  weal. 

Malachy  having  assembled  the  states  of  the  kingdom,  resettled 
the  constitution  upon  its  ancient  footing.  In  this  convention  the 
provincial  kings,  the  princes  and  lords  were  restored  to  their  juris- 
diction, and  tiiough  they  could  not  recover  all  their  treasures  of 
gold  and  silver,  and  jewels,  the  spoils  of  many  foreign  princes 
brought  home  to  Ireland  through  many  hundred  years  by  their 
predecessors,  yet  e\ery  private  person  was  restored  to  his  land  and 
cattle,  and  the  state  recovered  its  civil  policy. 

Instead  of  profiting  by  the  hardshi[)S  which  they  had  experienced, 
and  of  employing  their  time  and  strength  to  their  own  glory,  and  to 
the  public  irood,  by  fitting  out  ships,  extending  their  commerce  with 
foreign  nations,  and  in  securing  their  country  by  fleets  and  fortifi- 
cations against  all  invaders,  this  infatuated  people  remained  in  a 
state  of  inactivity  and  indolence.  They  never  repaired  the  Danish 
fortifications  which,  in  their  battles  with  the  enemy,  they  had  de- 
molished, or  wisely  planned  the  erection  of  new  ones  on  their 
coasts  ;  but  devoted  their  time  to  unprofitable  amusements.  Instead 
of  taking  the  trouble  of  even  guarding  their  seaports,  which  were 
their  principal  defence  against  invaders,  they  foolishly  employed 
56 


442 

their  late  vanquished  enemies  to  whom  they  had  given  a  pardon,  and 
who  were  retained  in  their  pay,  to  he  their  sentinels  in  stations  of 
such  great  importance. 

It  is  no  wonder  then  that  the  Danes,  who  were  well  acquainted 
with  the  wealth  and  fertility  of  the  island,  should  avail  themselves 
of  this  want  of  security  and  precaution  in  the  nation.  Though  they 
had  experienced  the  valour  and  martial  fortitude  of  the  Irish,  they 
still  entertained  sanguine  hopes  of  regaining  a  settlement  among 
them.  By  stratagem  they  had  been  expelled,  and  they  thought,  by 
stratagem,  they  might  again  obtain  possession.  After  many  con- 
sultations among  the  chiefs  to  this  purpose,  it  was  at  last  agreed  to 
send  a  fleet  of  ships  in  the  way  of  traffic,  with  goods  and  merchan- 
dize of  various  sorts,  without  any  appearance  of  hostile  force  or 
instruments  of  war  ;  but  yet  under  the  conduct  of  three  of  their  best 
generals,  and  with  a  sufficient  number  of  arms  concealed,  which 
might  be  ready  when  occasion  offered.  No  sooner  was  tliis  project 
concerted  than  it  was  imn)ediately  put  into  execution,  and  the  author 
of  the  '  Polychronicon'  gives  the  following  account  of  this  expe- 
dition : 

'After  the  death  of  Turgesius,  the  three  brothers,  Amelanus, 
Cyracus,  and  Imorus,  went  in  a  peaceable  manner  from  the  ports 
of  Norway  ;  and  under  the  pretence  of  exercising  trade  and  com- 
merce as  merchants,  they  arrived  with  their  followers  on  the  island, 
and  with  the  consent  of  the  Irish,  who  had  given  them  up  as  an 
inactive  people,  they  occupied  the  maritime  places  and  built  the 
cities*  of  Waterford,  Dublin  and  Limerick;  but  their  numbers  in- 
creasing daily,  they  often  insulted  and  disturbed  the  natives.' 

The  Norwegians,  by  this  device,  and  under  the  conduct  of  these 
officers  in  the  disguise  of  merchants,  had  made  the  Irish  the  instru- 
ments of  their  own  destruction.  They  not  only  obtained  settlements 
in  the  best  parts  of  the  island,  but  gradually  improved  them  by 
making  fresh  acquisitions,  till  at  length  they  had  it  in  their  power  to 
dispute  the  whole  with  the  natives,  and  oftentimes  to  enslave  them. 
This  is  called  the  second  Danish  war  by  historians  ;  but  it  was  suc- 
ceeded by  other  battles  more  properly  entitled  to  the  name  of  Danish 
wars.  Though  the  present  enemy  were  continually  reinforced 
through  their  abundant  supplies  of  men  and  shipping,  they  would 
not  iiave  found  the  subjection  of  the  Irish  an  easy  task,  had  not  the 
Irish  assisted  them  by  their  own  dissensions.  Their  natural  dispo- 
sition to  feuds  and  animosities  broke  out  again  among  themselves, 
and  paved  the  way  for  their  own  misfortunes.  The  same  contests 
prevailed  about  the  government  of  a  province,  a  barony  or  district, 
as  heretofore,  and  were  in  the  same  manner  decided  by  the  longest 
sword.  The  Norwegians  took  every  advantage  of  these  tumultuary 
dissensions ;  and  while  the  petty  princes  were  contending  against 
each  other,  they  seized  the  opportunity  of  their  being  thus  weakened, 
and  subduing  the  victor  and  the  vanquished,  obliged  each  of  them 
to  confess  their  superior  authority.     Thus  they  possessed  themselves 

*  As  these  cities  had  been  built  many  years  before  tliis  expedition,  the  meaning 
of  the  above  sentence  must  be,  that  they  were  rebuilt  out  of  their  ruins,  having 
been  burnt  or  demolished  in  the  first  Danish  war,  as  it  was  called. 


443 

of  all  the  seaports,  and,  undisturbed  by  the  infatuated  Irish,  carried 
on,  in  a  s^reat  measure,  ail  the  foreign  trade  of  the  island. 

The  success  of  the  Norwegians  having  reached  the  knowledge  of 
some  of  their  old  neighbours,  the  Danes,  the  latter  renewed  their 
predatory  attempts  on  the  weakest  parts  of  the  island;  they  met 
with  little  or  no  opposition  from  the  natives,  for  the  Irish  were  very 
indifferent  who  were  their  visitors  on  this  occasion  ;  they  seemed  as 
willing  to  have  the  Danes  as  the  Norwegians,  and  in  all  probability 
they  had  hopes  of  deriving  some  assistance  from  this  union  ;  i'or  we 
cannot  suppose  that  patriotism  and  the  love  of  liberty  were  wholly 
extinguished.  When  the  Danes  began  to  harass  tlie  infant  city  of 
Dublin,  and  the  territories  adjacent,  in  which  the  Norwegians  were 
equally,  if  not  principally  concerned,  it  certainly  became  the  interest 
of  the  Norwegians  to  oppose  their  progress.  A  select  body  of  troops 
was  therefore  got  together  with  all  possible  expedition,  and  having 
marched  against  the  Danes,  the  Norwegians  oftercd  them  battle  : 
the  challenge  was  readily  accepted,  and  a  sanguinary  contest  ensued, 
the  Irish  remaining  entirely  neutral ;  aware,  no  doubt,  that  one 
party  would  exterminate  the  other,  and  that,  by  these  means,  they 
might  be  liberated  from  their  adversaries.  After  a  violent  struggle, 
the  Danes  obtained  the  victory,  the  Norwegians  having  been  defeated 
with  the  loss  of  their  best  forces,  and  a  thousand  men  left  dead  on 
the  field.  The  Danes,  encouraged  by  this  success,  seized  every 
opportunity  of  improving  their  victory  :  they  dispossessed  their 
enemy,  the  Norwegians,  and  having  driven  them  from  the  island, 
they  took  both  their  stations  and  their  treasures.  They  then  turned 
their  arms  against  the  Irish,  in  order  to  secure  what  they  had  pos- 
sessed themselves  of,  as  well  as  to  acquire  the  same  authority  over 
the  natives,  as  their  predecessors  had  enjoyed ;  and  as  the  Irish 
were  unprepared  for  resistance,  it  is  no  wonder  that  the  success  of 
their  new  enemies  was  complete.  Indeed  the  Danes  had  now  ob- 
tained such  a  happy  settlement  in  this  fertile  island,  that  it  was 
looked  upon  as  a  provision  for  a  prince  of  the  house  of  Denmark, 
and  Amelanus  was  accordingly  appointed  to  take  the  command  of 
all  his  countrymen  in  Ireland.  This  royal  chief  no  sooner  put  him- 
self at  their  head,  than  he  successively  fought  the  natives  who  had 
revolted,  and  having  imposed  heavy  contributions,  the  Irish  were 
again  reduced  to  a  state  of  servitude. 

Thus  oppressed  and  robbed  of  their  hereditary  possessions,  the 
Irish  saw  the  necessity  of  being  united,  in  order  to  recover  their 
liberty,  and  repel  the  enemy.  Notwithstanding  this  conviction, 
Eagna,  a  priest,  found  it  a  most  difficult. task  to  bring  about  a  union 
sufficiently  strong  for  this  purpose,  so  great  an  animosity  subsisted 
at  this  time  between  some  of  the  princes  of  the  southern,  and  the 
inhabitants  of  the  northern  half  of  the  island.  Strange  indeed  that 
any  pains  should  be  necessary  to  accomplish  such  a  necessary  point ; 
and  far  more  strange  it  may  be  deemed,  that,  at  such  a  crisis  as 
this,  only  one  man  should  be  found,  who  had  public  spirit  enough  to 
recommend  and  undertake  it.  The  repeated  admonitions  of  Eagna 
at  length  prevailed  ;  and  a  truce  having  been  agreed  upon,  a  sum- 
mons was  issued  by  King  Malachy  for  a  general  convention  of  the 


444 

states  of  the  kingdom.  It  required  no  long  deliberation  to  prevail 
upon  themselves  to  follow  the  advice  of  Eagna;  for  they  were  all 
truly  sensible  of  it,  as  already  intimated  ;  and  it  was  resolved  that 
the  king  of  Ossory,  (who  had  behaved  himself  with  great  petulance 
and  rudeness  to  the  priest,  when  he  was  endeavouring  to  persuade 
him  to  this  union,*)  should  not  only  make  a  submission  to  Eagna, 
who  had  been  so  laudably  diligent  and  anxious  for  the  public  weal, 
but  that  the  said  king  should  also,  with  the  son  of  the  king  of  Mun- 
ster,  conclude  a  peace  with  the  northern  half  of  the  island,  that  they 
might  all  of  them  be  at  liberty  to  unite  their  forces  against  the  com- 
mon enemy. 

Agreeable  to  this  resolution,  but  not  before  the  king  of  Munster 
had  been  stoned  to  death  by  the  Danes,  King  Malachy  having  raised 
a  very  powerful  army,  marched  against  the  enemy,  and  obtained  a 
complete  victory  over  the  Danes,  particularly  those  who  were  quar- 
tered in  and  about  Dublin,  where  the  greatest  part  of  them  lay  slain. 
The  monarch  lived  but  a  short  time  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of  his  victory, 
and  indeed  he  possessed  little  or  no  happiness  during  his  reign.  He 
was,  for  the  first  thirteen  years,  more  the  slave  of  Turgesius  than 
the  sovereign  of  a  kingdom,  and  the  last  three  years  of  his  reign  had 
been  full  of  distraction,  through  the  intestine  quarrels  of  his  subjects, 
and  the  frequent  attempts  and  successes  of  invaders.  This  monarch 
appears  to  have  been  a  man  of  equal  courage  and  ability,  and  had 
he  lived  a  little  longer,  in  all  probability,  as  the  peace  of  his  king- 
dom was  then  establisl-.ed,  for  a  time  at  least,  he  might  have  proved 
as  successful  against  the  prince  of  Denmark,  as  he  had  been  against 
Turgesius  and  his  followers.  The  Irish  wanted  nothing,  it  seems, 
but  a  union  under  such  a  leader,  to  defeat  their  enemies  ;  their  mili- 
tary genius  and  powers  generally  insured  success,  except  when  they 
were  unnaturally  opposed  against  each  other. 

Hugh,  or  Aodh  the  6th,  son  of  Nial  the  third,  who  had  been  king 
of  Temoria,  ascended  the  throne  on  the  death  of  Malachy,  A.  D. 
863.  It  is  supposed  that  on  the  death  of  Malachy  and  the  accession 
of  Hugh,  the  union  of  the  kingdom  was  dissolved,  as,  in  a  short 
time  after,  a  battle  took  place  between  the  Danes,  under  the  com- 
mand, it  is  said,  of  Amelanus,  and  a  prince  of  Meath,  at  the  head  of 
a  body  of  Irish,  in  which  the  latter  were  discomfited:  this,  however, 
might  have  been  a  casual  engagement ;  the  Irish  might  have  been 
surprised  in  their  march,  and  a  combat  rendered  unavoidable  :  but 
whether  a  rencounter  or  a  battle,  it  is  certain  that  Amelanus  imme- 
diately after  transported  his  forces  into  Scotland  ;  and,  according  to 
the  fashion  of  his  country,  plundered  many  of  the  inhabitants  there, 
and  having  made  several  of  them  prisoners,  returned  with  a  con- 
siderable booty  to  Ireland. 

If,  according  to  supposition,  the  union  of  the  kingdom  had  been 
dissolved  on  the  death  of  Malachy,  it  must  again  have  been  revived 
during  the  reign  of  King  Hugh  ;  as  a  [litched  battle  was  fought  in 
Ulster  between  that  monarch  at  the  head  of  a  numerous  army,  and 
the  Danes;  in  which  the  latter   were  completely  routed,  with  the 

Dr.  Warner  gives  this  parenthetical  remark  as  a  stipposition ;  but  the  resolu- 
tion which  was  agreed  upon,  is  a  sufficient  proof  of  the /rtcf. 


445 

loss  of  twelve  hundred  slain  in  the  field  ;  and  the  heads  of  forty  of 
their  chief  officers  were  brongiit  away  in  triumph.  All  the  forces  on 
each  side  seem  to  have  been  employed  on  this  occasion,  and  as  the 
engagement  was  general,  so  likewise  was  the  defeat.  The  Irish, 
when  united,  were,  as  before  intimated,  always  conquerors.  Those 
of  the  Danish  army  who  had  effected  their  escape,  sought  refuge  in 
their  fortifications;  but  were  immediately  pursued,  attacked  and 
beaten,  and  all  tiie  spoils  and  plunder  which  they  had  previously 
made,  now  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Irish.  The  palace  winch  Ame- 
lanus  possessed  in  one  of  those  fi>rts,  was  set  on  fire  by  the  natives, 
and  during  the  confusion  wliicli  the  conflagration  occasioned  in  the 
garrison,  the  attack  of  tlie  Irish  was  so  sudden  and  violent,  that  a 
hundred  of  the  principal  Danish  officers  fell,  and  very  few  of  the 
enemy  escaped. 

In  order  to  revenge  on  the  Irish  this  general  rout  of  his  whole 
army,  Amelanus  waited  in  ambuscade,*  for  the  return  of  the  victors, 
who,  elate  with  their  success,  were  now  marching  home  in  separate 
bodies.  Two  thousand  of  the  natives  were  thus  surprised,  slaugh- 
tered, or  taken  prisoners.  The  vindictive  Dane  then  marched,  with 
his  remaining  forces,  to  Armagh,  and  having  plundered  that  city 
and  its  environs,  with  all  the  fury  of  an  enraged  and  disappointed 
enemy,  he  and  his  troops  hastily  repaired  to  their  vessels  and  quitted 
the  island.     Thus  the  natives  were  again  left  to  themselves. 

After  a  reign  of  sixteen  years,  the  monarch  Hugh  died  a  natural 
deatli  :  he  saw  the  tranquillity  of  his  country  efiected  by  the  slaugh- 
ter and  expulsion  of  her  savage  enemies  ;  but  did  not  live  long  to 
enjoy  the  fruits  of  that  tranquillity  :  indeed  some  time  was  required 
to  repair  and  rebuild  the  ruined  monasteries  and  demolished 
churches.  Owing  to  the  destruction  of  those  repositories  of  records, 
and  memoranda  of  political  events,  the  ecclesiastical  history  of  Ire- 
land affords  but  little  information  at  this  period.  The  clergy  having 
been  despoiled  of  what  was  intended  for  their  subsistence,  were 
obli<;ed  to  quit  their  sacred  function,  and  arm  themselves  in  defence 
of  their  country  ;  consequently  there  were  few  men  of  learning 
whose  literary  labours  could  be  of  any  worth  to  posterity  ;  for  the 
historians  who  have  treated  of  those  calamitous  times,  have  chiefly 
written  from  memory  or  tradition  and  could  not  be  either  satisfac- 
tory or  correct." 

"  Though  this  kind  of  stratagem  in  war  is  censured  by  Dr.  Warner,  as  deroga- 
tory to  valour  and  true  fortitude,  the  most  distingiished  generals  of  all  nations 
have  occasionally  adopted  it ;  we  read  that  Cyrus,  the  Persian,  by  a  pretended 
flight,  induced  his  enemies  to  pursue  him,  whea  they  were  suddenly  surrounded 
by  his  divided  armies  and  cut  to  pieces. 


CHAPTER  LXI. 

The  elevation  of  Flan,  the  soji  of  King  Malachy,  to  the  Irish  throne. — Invasion  of 
Munster  by  the  new  monajch. —  The  result  of  that  invasion. — Cormac  Mac- 
cuiLLNAN  acts  tts  Princc  and  Archbishop  of  Cashel. —  His  reign  and  death. — The 
braver ij  and  devotion  of  the  army  of  Munster. —  Conduct  of  the  Bishop  of  Inis- 
Cathy, — he  is  captured  in  Leinstcr,  and  afterwards  succeeds  to  the  croicn  of  Mun- 
ster.— Death  of  the  monarch  Flan,  and  the  succession  of  JS'ial  IV.,  the  husband  of 
the  Princess  Mchha,  daughter  of  Malaclnj. — Renewal  of  hostilities  by  the  Danes. 
The  death  of  King  JVial,  and  the  accession  and  reign  of  Donough. —  Ceallach 
raised  to  the  throne  of  Munster,  and  the  design  of  Sitrick,  the  Danish  Prince,  to 
assassinate  him,  which  is  frustrated  by  Sitrick's  tcife. —  Ceallach  captured  by 
the  Danes. —  Great  naval  fight  at  Dundalk. 

McDermott's  narrative  of  the  events  tliat  will  be  detailed  in  this 
chapter,  is  so  luminous  and  comprehensive,  that  we  deem  it  better 
to  quote  it  than  to  write  it  ourself. 

"  Flan,  the  son  of  Malachy,  who  had  been  king  of  Temoria,  as- 
cended the  throne  on  the  death  of  Hugh,  A.  D.  879.  No  sooner 
was  Flan  invested  with  the  sovereign  authority,  than  he  raised  an 
army  to  invade  the  province  of  Munster.  Historians  are  silent  with 
respect  to  the  motive  which  induced  the  monarch,  as  soon  as  he  was 
crowned,  to  invade  one  of  his  own  provinces.  The  publicity  of  a 
cause  at  the  time  of  action,  may  render  it  a  mystery  to  future  gene- 
rations ;  as  the  annalists  of  the  early  ages,  who  never  attended  to 
the  niinutite  of  events,  saw  no  necessity  in  recording  what  was  then 
well  known.  The  royal  army,  which  had  been  raised  for  this  pur- 
pose, were,  no  doubt,  acquainted  with  the  provocation,  and  probably 
deemed  it  a  just  cause  of  resentment ;  and  yet  the  cause,  if  now 
ascertained,  might  appear  insignificant,  such  was  the  spirit  of  the 
Irish,  whose  pride  was  easily  hurt.  Whatever  might  have  been  the 
necessity  for  this  attack,  the  revenge  was  certainly  great.  The  pro- 
vincial troops  of  Munster  being  either  unprepared  for  resistance,  or 
unwilling  to  oppose  the  monarch,  submitted  to  the  royal  army  ; 
who,  after  they  had  plundered  the  inhabitants,  made  several  of  them 
prisoners.  Though  there  were  no  foreign  enemies  now  to  molest 
the  island,  domestic  dissensions  prevaibd,  and  those  intestine  dis- 
turbances were  productive  of  much  bloodshed.  Donald,  one  of  their 
chiefs,  was  treacherously  assassinated  by  some  of  his  pretended 
friends,  and  the  king  of  Ulster  was  murdered,  in  a  most  barbarous 
manner,  by  his  own  subjects. 

Happily,  however,  those  civil  feuds  subsided,  and  peace  and  tran- 
quillity rendered  the  island  prosperous  for  some  years.  The  lands 
were  everywhere  cultivated  and  manured,  and  yielded  a  great  plenty 
of  crops.  The  natives  began  to  repair  or  rebuild  the  churches, 
abbeys,  and  other  religious  houses :  academies  and  schools  were 
again  opened  for  the  education  of  youth  in  arts  and  sciences,  as  well 
as  in  languages,  and  the  blessings  of  civilization  and  industry  ex- 
tended all  over  the  country. 

At  this  time  the  archbishop  of  Cashel,  Cormac  Maccuillnan,  com- 
monly called  the  holy  Cormac,  was  in   possession  of  the  crown  of 


447 

Munster,  and  all  the  old  historians  attrihute  the  happiness  and  pros- 
jjerity  which  now  prevailed,  to  the  pious  care  and  abilities  of  this 
king.  Dr.  Warner  thinks  it  prohahle  that  Flan,  the  monarch  of 
Ireland,  was  as  much  employed  in  brinf^ing  about  a  reconciliation 
among  the  contending  parties,  '  as  he  had  certainly  more  authority, 
and  was  interested  more  in  a  general  peace  than  Cormac,' in  whom 
were  united  the  characters  of  king  and  priest ;  and  he  therefore 
conceives  that  the  praises  of  Cormac  had  been  exaggerated  through 
the  partiality  of  the  monkish  writers.  Though  Flan,  as  monarch  of 
Ireland,  had  greater  sway,  Cormac,  in  his  double  capacity,  could 
probably  command  greater  attention  ;  and  it  is  evident  that  the 
former,  by  his  invasion  of  Munster,  and  the  revenge  which  he  took 
on  the  unprepared  troops  of  that  |)rovince,  immediately  after  the 
crown  was  fixed  upon  his  head,  was  not  possessed  of  a  placable, 
reconciliatory  spirit.  The  old  writers  seem  to  infer  that  the  monarch 
of  Ireland  had  imbibed  this  amity  and  love  of  concord  from  the  holy 
Cormac  :  but,  observes  Dr.  Warner,  '  if  he  (Cormac)  was  the  only 
person  who  had  the  merit  of  bringing  about  the  tranquillity  above 
mentioned,  to  him  must  be  ascribed  the  blame  of  being  the  first  that 
overturned  it  ;'  and  the  same  author  endeavours  to  prove  that  he 
was  not  such  a  saint  as  these  historians  rejiresent  him — 'a  just  and 
learned  prince,  whom  fortune  favoured  in  all  his  undertakings,  whom 
his  enemies  dreaded,  and  whom  his  subjects  almost  adored.'  Be  it 
observed,  in  answer  to  this,  that  every  saint  on  earth  is  but — a  man, 
and  that  the  best  of  us  all  are  liable  at  times  to  go  astray. 

As  it  was  the  determination  of  Cormac  to  celebrate  the  feast  of 
Easter,  which  was  approaching,  with  great  state  and  magnificence 
at  his  palace  of  Cashel,  he  despatched  a  messenger,  for  tliis  purpose, 
to  the  inhabitants  of  the  territory  adjoining  it,  namely,  the  people  of 
Eaganach,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  his  see  in  Cashel,  and  subjects 
in  his  province,  denoanding  a  sufficient  quantity  of  provision  for  his 
table  and  retinue,  during  his  stay  at  Cashel  upon  that  occasion. 
But  the  people  of  Eaganach  refused  to  comply;  'being,'  observes 
Dr.  Warner,  '  strangers  to  such  a  demand,  and  though  they  might 
not  have  objected  to  entertain  him  as  their  archbishop,  with  such  a 
modest  and  humble  train  as  is  necessary  to  that  character,  yet  the 
royal  dignity  required  more  expense  than  they  chose  to  undergo  for 
his  reception.'  As  soon  as  the  tribe  of  Dalgais,*  who  also  belonged 
to  his  province,  were  apprised  of  this  refusal,  they  distinguished 
their  loyalty  upon  this  occasion,  by  sending  in  the  provision  which 
was  necessary  for  the  support  of  his  royal  dignity  whilst  he  staid  at 
Cashel,  and  which  Cormac,  with  many  acknowledgments,  received. t 

Determined  to  try  the  atTections  of  the  people  of  Eaganach   still 

*  The  princes  of  these  people  were,  hy  a  younrrer  branch,  the  descendants  of 
Olioll  01u:n,  who  had  the  country  of  Thomond  for  their  possession,  and  who 
always  took  up  arms  in  defence  of  the  kings  of  Munster,  atjainst  any  other  pro- 
vincial troops,  and  particularly  against  the  ainiy  of  the  nnrlhern  half  of  the  king- 
dom. There  were  twelve  cantreds  in  the  division  belonging  to  the  crown  of 
Thomond,  and  their  territories  extended  to  the  walls  of  Cashel.  The  tribe  of  the 
Dalgais  were  very  renowned  in  arms. 

t  Cormac,  in  his  psalter,  has  celebrated  the  extraordinary  valour  of  the  tribe  of 
the  Dalgais,  probably  owing  to  their  lo3^alty  and  liberality  on  this  occasion. 


44S 

further,  the  king  of  Munster  sent  another  message  to  them,  desiring 
that  they  would  assist  liim  with  some  of  their  best  arms  and  horses, 
in  order  to  enable  him  to  make  such  presents  to  the  strangers,  who 
shoukl  repair  to  liis  court,  as  would  be  worthy  of  his  own  dignity, 
and  honourable  to  the  donors.  The  messenger  was  also  instructed 
to  insinuate  to  these  people,  that  as  they  must  be  sensible  of  the  ob- 
ligations which  they  lay  under  to  the  king,  and  iiad  not  paid  him 
the  usual  compliments  on  his  accession  to  the  crown  of  Munster,  lie 
bad  anticipated  a  ready  compliance  with  this  request.  AVhat  these 
obligations  were,  cannot  be  ascertained  ;  they  might,  in  a  great 
measure,  refer  to  the  then  tranrpiillity  and  llourisbing  state  of  the 
island  ;  and  the  usual  compliments  alluded  to,  might  consist  of 
presents  or  certain  forms,  like  the  addresses  of  the  present  day. 

Though  the  people  of  Eaganach  did  not  absolutely  give  a  refusal 
to  the  king's  second  demand,  as  they  had  to  the  first,  their  compli- 
ance was  far  more  mortifying  than  a  denial ;  they  sent  to  the  court 
of  Cormac  all  the  meanest  and  most  battered  arms,  and  the  most 
disabled  and  most  ill  looking  horses  that  could  be  found.  This 
affront  was  also  resented  by  the  loyal  tribe  of  the  Dalgais,  who  im- 
mediately collected  some  of  their  finest  horses  and  furniture,  and  a 
great  quantity  of  excellent  arms  and  jewels,  which  they  had  saved 
or  taken  from  the  Danes,  and  presented  them  to  their  king. 

According  to  ancient  historians,  Cormac  was  advised  by  the  prin- 
cipal nobility  and  gentry  of  his  province,  to  invade  the  territories  of 
Leinster,  and  to  demand  a  tribute  or  chief-rent  from  the  inhabitants; 
which,  if  they  refused  to  pay,  his  army  should  take  by  force.  Upon 
the  deliberations  of  his  council,  and  particularly  by  tlie  instigation 
of  Flaherty,  abbot  of  Tnis-Cathy,*  the  king  of  Munster  raised  a  nu- 
merous army,  consisting  of  the  flower  of  his  provincial  troops,  and 
prepared  for  the  expedition.  These  historians  add  that  the  king 
was  not  inclined  to  proceed,  as  he  was  aware  from  a  prophetic  spirit 
with  which  he  was  endued,  that  he  should  lose  his  life  in  the  action. 
On  this  expedition  Dr.  Warner  thus  expatiates  : 

'  The  Boromean  tribute,  from  the  province  of  Leinster  to  the 
monarchs  of  Ireland,  we  have  heard  of  over  and  over ;  but  what 
tribute  could  be  due  to  the  king  of  Munster,  or  upon  what  account 
the  Leinster  jjcople  should  make  an  acknowledgment  of  subjection 
to  that  king,  it  is  impossible  for  us  to  say.  There  is  nothing  in  the 
history,  as  I  remember,  that  can  warrant  any  such  claim  ;  and  if 
there  was,  it  had  been  worn  out  by  time  and  accidents.  When  the 
whole  island,  therefore,  was  enjoying  rest  and  tranquillity,  and 
the  spirits  of  men  were  grown  calm  and  sociable,  to  involve  these 
two  provinces,  and  perhaps  the  greatest  part  of  the  kingdom,  in  a 
new  quarrel  on  that  account,  was  a  conduct  unworthy  of  a  good 
king,  but  in  an  archbishop  was  highly  criminal.  Whether  the  tale 
of  his  pretended  prophetic   spirit,  which  the  historians  have  artfully 

*  Inis-Cathy  is  a  beautiful  and  fertile  island,  situated  in  the  mouth  of  the  river 
Shannon,  partly  in  the  counties  of  Clare  and  Kerry.  St.  Patrick  Ibunded  an  abbey 
here,  over  which  he  placed  St.  Senan  as  abbot  and  bishop.  This  little  See,  as  we 
have  already  stated,  was  united  to  that  of  Limerick  in  the  year  1190.  For  many 
ages  no  woman  was  permitted  to  visit  the  island.  When  we  bring  down  this  his- 
tory to  the  reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  we  will  say  more  of  Inis-Cathy. 


449 

introduced,  in  order  to  make  the  world  believe  lie  was  impelled  to 
this  iindertakiiiir  absolutely  against  his  will  by  the  importunity  of 
his  council,  will  exculpate  Cormac  from  this  crime,  shall  be  left  to 
the  reader's  determination.  But  surely  he  might  have  a  presenti- 
ment of  bis  death  in  the  approaching  battle,  as  many  a  man  has 
had,  without  a  propbetic  spirit  ;  and  many  a  man  too  has  been  de- 
ceived in  such  a  foreboding.' 

Wbile  the  proper  measures  for  this  expedition  were  concerted, 
the  king  deemed  if  expedient  to  settle  his  private  aflairs,  particularly 
on  account  of  his  presentiment  that  he  should  never  return  from  the 
war.  He  tlierefore  sent  a  messenger  to  Lorcan,  king  of  Thomond, 
to  attend  him  to  his  cam|},  before  he  jjassed  the  frontiers.  Lorcan 
liaving  obeyed  the  summons  with  alacrity,  and  a  council  of  tlie  prin- 
cipal nobility,  and  officers  of  the  province  of  Munster  having  been 
called,  tbe  king  informed  them  tbat  he  thought  it  necessary  before 
he  engaged  in  the  war  against  the  province  of  Leinster,  from  which 
he  apprehended  he  should  never  return,  to  settle  the  succession  to  the 
crown,  in  order  to  defeat  the  pretensions  of  any  contending  parties, 
and  prevent  future  disturbances.  Then  taking  Lorcan  by  the  hand, 
he  presented  him  to  the  council  as  his  lawful  successor,  according 
to  the  will  of  their  great  ancestor,  Olioll  Olum  ;  who  ordained  that 
the  crown  of  Munster  should  descend  alternately  to  th.e  posterity  of 
his  eldest  and  his  second  son.*  Cormac  then  made  his  will,  which 
was  written  in  verse. t 

The  provincial  troops  having  been  assembled  at  the  place  of  ren- 
dezvous, the  monarch,  attended  by  Flaherty,  the  bishop  and  abbot 

*  Olioll  Olum  had  ordained  that  the  succession  to  his  province  should  be  alter- 
nate in  the  posterity  of  his  two  sons;  and  contrary  to  this  injunction  the  crown 
had  been  enjoyed  by  four  and  foity  descendants  from  the  eldest  son,  without  inter- 
ruption ;  and  those  of  the  youngest  son  had,  during  that  period,  been  confined  lo 
the  little  government  of  Thomond,  in  that  province  ;  of  which  number  was 
Lorcan,  whom  Cormac  nominated  to  succeed  him  in  the  throne  of  Munster,  and 
whose  tribe  had  given  him  such  remarkable  instances  of  loyalty.  lie  had  an  an- 
cient title  of  GOO  years  date  to  plead,  but  then  it  had  been  set  aside  in  forty-four 
successions.  Cormac,  however,  hoped  to  revive  it  in  favour  of  Lorcan,  and  to 
prevent  any  disturbances  after  his  death. 

t  Dr.  Warner  saiiricnlly  writes,  "  and,  being-  very  poetically  inclined,  made  his 
will  in  verse."  It  should  be  recollected  that  this  archbishop-king  bore  the  charac- 
ter of  a  prophet,  and  as  rates  signifies  prophet  or  poet,  these  characters  were  of 
course  united.  This  will  serve  to  give  us  some  idea  of  the  men  and  manners  of 
those  times.  His  golden  vestment  which  he  wore  as  an  archbishop  in  divine  ser- 
vice, his  clock,  his  royal  robes,  embroidered  with  gold  and  jewels,  his  armour  and 
coat  of  mail  of  polished  steel,  his  golden  chain,  and  his  wardrobe,  he  bequeathed 
to  particular  friends.  His  legacies  to  abbeys  and  religious  houses  are  thus  enume- 
rated :  an  ounce  of  gold,  an  ounce  of  silver,  his  horse  and  furniture  to  Ard-finnan  : 
a  gold  and  silver  chalice  and  vestment  of  silk  to  liismore  :  a  gold  and  silver 
chalice,  four  ounces  of  gold,  and  five  of  silver  to  Cashel  :  three  ounces  of  gold  and 
an  ounce  of  silver  to  Glendaloch :  a  horse  and  furniture,  an  ounce  of  gold,  and  an 
embroidered  vestment  to  Kildarc  :  three  ounces  of  gold  to  Inis-Cathy  :  three 
ounces  of  gold,  an  embroidered  vestment,  and  his  blessing  to  Monntgaret,  county 
of  We.xford  :  and  four  and  twenty  ounces  of  gold  to  Armagh.  The  royal  Psalter, 
which  preserved,  he  said,  the  ancient  records  and  monuments  of  his  native  coun- 
try, and  which  were  faithfully  transcribed,  he  left  to  Cashel,  w'here  he  built  the 
cathedral,  to  be  deposited  for  the  use  of  future  ages.  If  we  consider  the  excessive 
scarcity  of  gold  and  silver  in  those  times,  these  were  not  inconsiderable  benefac- 
tions for  a  provincial  king. 
57 


450 

of  Inis-Cathy,  who  was  now  a  general,  put  himself  at  tlieir  head, 
and  marched  towards  the  confines  of  the  province  of  Ijcinster.  On 
his  arrival  there  he  ordered  the  whole  army  to  halt,  and  sent  a 
herald  to  the  king  of  that  province,  to  demand  a  yearly  tribute  as  a 
testimony  of  subjection,  or  hostages  for  the  payment  of  it;  and  in 
case  of  refusal  to  declare  war.  During  the  absence  of  the  herald, 
Flaherty  rode  through  the  ranks  for  tlie  purpose  of  viewing  the  Ma- 
monian  camp,  and  acquiring  a  knowledge  of  their  force.  His  horse, 
however,  unaccustomed  to  martial  trappings,  took  fright  at  the  noise 
and  glitter  of  the  arms,  and  fell  with  his  rider  into  a  ditch.  Though 
Flaherty  escaped  from  this  accident,  the  soldiery  were  panic-struck, 
and,  deeming  it  an  unpropitious  omen,  several  of  them  deserted. 

Ambassadors  from  the  province  of  Leinster  accompanied  the 
herald  on  his  return,  who,  desiring  to  enter  into  a  treaty  with 
Corinac,  requested  a  suspension  of  hostilities  in  the  interim,  or,  if 
the  treaty  should  j)rove  ineftectual,  until  the  month  of  May  ensuing. 
It  seems  the  harvest  had  just  then  begun,  and  it  was  mutually  bene- 
ficial to  both  provinces,  if  no  amicable  arrangements  could  be  made, 
that  the  contest  should  be  postponed  until  the  spring.  In  order  to 
induce  the  king  of  Munster  to  accept  this  proposal,  and  to  assure 
him  that  it  was  made  through  a  sincere  desire  of  peace,  the  king  of 
Leinster  sent  him  a  very  considerable  present  in  money  and  jewels, 
oflering  hostages  to  remain  with  a  neutral  abbot  until  the  treaty 
should  be  concluded.  Aware  of  the  great  influence  which  the  abbot 
of  Inis-Cathy  had  with  the  king,  noble  presents  were  also  sent  to 
him,  which  Flaherty  accepted,  notwithstanding  his  disposition  still 
remained  hostile. 

This  proposal  appeared  so  reasonable  to  Cormac,  who  was  averse 
to  the  war,  that  he  declared  his  readiness  to  accept  it.  But  when 
the  king  of  Munster  besought  the  acquiescence  of  Flaherty,  this  im- 
placable abbot  not  only  rejected  the  proposal  with  indignation,  but 
upbraided  the  king  of  Munster  for  hstening  to  it ;  and  even  told  him, 
in  the  presence  of  the  ambassadors,  that  the  paleness  of  his  counte- 
nance apparently  betrayed  his  want  of  courage  ;  with  many  other 
expressions  of  an  equal  tendency.  Instead  of  resenting  witli  royal 
spirit  this  foul  imputation,  and  adhering  to  his  own  determination, 
Cormac  meekly  denied  the  abbot's  charge  against  him,  and  probably 
for  the  purpose  of  refuting  it,  consented  to  a  prosecution  of  the  war. 
He  was,  however,  exceedingly  mortified  at  Flaherty's  conduct ;  for 
as  soon  as  the  ambassadors  departed,  he  retired  to  his  tent  with 
evident  signs  of  sorrow  and  strong  emotions.  Hither  the  chief  oflli- 
cers  of  the  army  repaired  to  know  the  result  of  the  king  of  Leinster's 
proposal.  Cormac  assured  them  that  the  war  must  be  carried  on  ; 
but  so  evident  was  his  anguish  of  mind,  that  they  endeavoured  to 
cheer  his  spirits,  and  persuade  him  to  take  some  refreshments.  The 
king  still  remained  inconsolable  through  the  presentiment  of  falling 
in  the  field  of  battle ;  but  he  conjured  the  company  to  keep  that  ap- 
prehension a  profound  secret,  that  the  soldiers,  with  whom  he  was 
determined  to  sell  his  life  at  a  dear  rate,  should  not  be  intimidated. 

After  this  conversation  the  king  of  Munster  requested  to  be  left 
alone,  that  he  might  spend  the  little  leisure  he  had  from  public 


451 

aftairs,  in  preparing  himself  for  his  expected  dissolution.  Having 
sent  for  his  confessor,  he  added  a  codicil  to  his  will,  relative  to  his 
interment,  in  case  his  body  should  be  recovered  from  the  enemy. 
Manach,  confessor  to  the  king's  confessor,  a  man  of  strict  piety  and 
exem|)lary  benevolence,  entered  at  this  very  juncture,  to  heal,  if 
possible,  the  breach,  and  to  avert  the  horrors  of  war.  '  When,' 
observes  Dr.  Warner,  '  he  had  used  all  the  arguments  that  could  be 
drawn  from  humanity  and  religion,  in  support  of  his  advice,  which 
he  addressed,  no  doubt,  to  Cormac  in  his  character  of  archbishop, 
and  found  they  were  urged  in  vain,  he  then  applied  himself  to  him 
as  a  soldier  and  a  king,  shewing  the  little  chance  there  was  of  his 
success  from  the  superior  number  of  the  enemy.  He  informed  him 
that  Flan,  the  monarch  of  Ireland,  disgusted  at  his  refusing  such 
honourable  conditions  as  had  been  ottered  him,  had  joined  the  forces 
of  Leinster  ^vith  the  royal  army,  and  was  then  actually  at  the  palace 
of  that  king,  with  his  guards,  as  his  auxiliary.  He  represented, 
therefore,  to  Cormac,  the  prudence  and  policy  of  accepting  the 
hostages  as  preliminaries  of  a  treaty  ;  instead  of  referring  their  dis- 
pute to  the  decision  of  a  battle,  in  which  it  was  almost  certain  his 
army  would  be  defeated.' 

It  seems  the  reproaches  of  Flaherty  had  a  greater  effect  upon  the 
king  of  Munster  than  all  the  arguments  of  the  pious  and  benevolent 
Manach  ;  even  though  immediate  circumstances  added  weight  to 
those  arguments;  for  it  was  no  sooner  known  in  the  camp  that  the 
royal  army  had  joined  the  troops  of  Leinster,  than  that  several  of 
the  king  of  Munster's  soldiers  deserted,  causing  a  serious  diminution 
in  his  troops  :  and  all  that  remained  not  only  declared  themselves 
advocates  for  peace,  but  publicly  expatiated  on  the  reasonableness 
of  the  proposal  made  by  the  king  of  Leinster,  and  on  the  quality  of 
the  hostages  intended,  being  of  no  less  rank  than  royal  blood — 
namely  :  the  son  of  the  king  of  Leinster,  and  the  son  of  the  king  of 
Ossory.  They  even  openly  accused  Flaherty,  the  abbot  of  Inis- 
Cathy,  as  the  seducer  of  the  king,  and  the  author  of  all  the  miseries 
which  such  an  unequal  war  must  produce. 

The  infatuated  king,  however,  was  as  blind  to  all  those  circum- 
stances as  he  was  deaf  to  all  the  arguments  of  Manach,  yet  Cormac 
is  extolled  by  historians  for  his  wisdom,  justice  and  goodness,  as 
Dr.  W^arner  harps  upon  ;  but  we  have  already  observed  that  every 
saint  has  his  errors :  the  most  wise,  the  most  just,  and  the  best  may 
be  led  astray  by  evil  counsel.  The  above  mentioned  writer,  though 
perhaps  unintentionally,  has  found  this  excuse  for  him  : 

'  But  Cormac,  with  all  his  wisdom,  justice,  and  goodness,  though 
he  was  convinced  by  Manach's  reasoning,  by  his  own  inclinations, 
and  by  the  aversion  which  his  army  showed  to  the  war,  that  it  would 
be  unjust,  that  it  would  be  dangerous,  nay,  that  it  would  be  destruc- 
tion to  carry  it  on,  yet  so  enslaved  he  was  by  his  favourite — as 
all  kings  that  have  favourites  are— and  his  favourite  was  a  man  of 
such  an  impetuous,  overruling,  implacable  disposition,  that  nothing 
could  soften  him  into  compliance,  nothing  could  tempt  the  king  to 
thwart  him.' 

The  commencement  of  hostilities   at   length  took   place:  orders 


452 

were  given  to  strike  their  tents,  to  break  up  the  camp,  and  march 
on  towards  the  enemy.  When  they  arrived  at  the  plains  of  Magh 
Albhe,*  which  the  king  intended  for  the  field  of  battle,  a  camp  was 
marked  out  and  fortified  by  the  side  of  a  wood,  in  which  Cormac 
staid  to  receive  the  enemy.  The  order  of  battle  having  been  here 
appointed,  the  army  was  divided  into  three  bodies:  the  first  was 
commanded  by  the  king  of  Ossory  and  the  abbot  of  Inis-Cathy  ;  the 
second  by  the  king  of  Munster,  and  the  king  of  the  Deasies  was  the 
leader  of  the  third. 

The  allied  army,  with  the  monarch  of  Ireland  at  their  head, 
having  been  represented  as  five  to  one,  the  forces  of  Munster  shrunk 
from  the  attack,  as  soon  as  the  signal  fur  battle  was  given.  To  add 
to  their  discouragement  a  Momonian  general  of  the  blood-royal, 
who,  from  tlie  beginning,  had  been  averse  to  the  war,  rode  through 
the  ranks,  and  addressing  himself  aloud  to  tiie  soldiers,  expatiated 
on  the  rashness  and  folly  of  Flaherty,  and  advised  them  to  leave  the 
priest  and  his  clergy  to  fight  it  out  by  themselves,  and  save  their 
own  lives  by  flight  :  then  clapping  spurs  to  his  horse,  he  galloped 
out  of  the  field.  This  exhortation  had  such  an  eflfect  upon  the  Mun- 
ster forces,  that  the  soldiers  who  heard  it,  immediately  laid  down 
their  arms  and  betook  themselves  to  flight.  Elate  with  the  hope  of 
success,  the  allied  army  cut  down  all  before  them  ;  while  the  troops 
of  Munster,  engaged  in  a  cause  which  they  disliked,  for  a  king  whose 
credulity  they  deplored,  and  for  a  general  whose  presumption  they 
deprecated,  became  an  easy  prey.  The  king  of  Ossory,  who  had 
the  joint  command  of  the  right  wing  with  the  bishop  of  Inis-Catliy, 
was  so  shocked  at  the  dreadfid  slaughter  of  his  men,  that  he  rode 
with  the  utmost  speed  out  of  the  field,  calling  to  his  remaining  sol- 
diers to  follow  his  example  before  it  was  too  late.  The  engagement, 
ivhich  began  with  irresistible  fury,  continued  but  a  short  time,  as 
the  flights  were  sudden  and  immediate.  The  chief  of  the  slaughter 
was  in  the  pursuit:  even  the  king  of  Ossory  was  too  late  in  his  at- 
tempt to  escape.  If,  after  the  first  fury  of  the  allied  army,  any  per- 
sons of  rank  were  saved,  it  was  more  for  the  sake  of  a  large  sum 
for  their  ransom  than  from  a  principle  of  humanity.  Several  of  the 
most  eminent  clergy,  principal  officers  and  nobility,  among  whom 
were  six  of  the  petty  princes  of  Munster,  fell  in  this  action.  Even 
the  abbot  of  Inis-Cathy,  who  was  the  occasion  of  all  this  bloodshed 
and  carnage,  was  nunibered  among  the  prisoners. 

The  king  of  Munster  had  exposed  himself  at  the  head  of  his 
troops  in  the  front  of  the  battle,  and  by  his  exertions  confuted 
Flaherty's  base  insinuations  of  cowardice.  Unfortunately  he  was 
flung  from  his  horse  into  a  pit  with  so  much  violence  that  he  was 
not  able  to  rise.  Some  of  his  troops,  who  were  making  their  escape 
from  the  field  of  action,  saw  his  critical  situation,  and  having  with 
great  difficulty  remounted  him  on  another  horse,  left  him  to  manage 
for  himself.  Cormac,  soon  after,  saw  one  of  his  oflicers,  who  was 
much  in  his  favour,  approaching,  and  having  learned  from  him  the 
entire  defeat   and  slaughter  of  his  army,  he  commanded  the  oflficer 

*  Whether  Magh  Albhe,  the  scene  of  this  battle,  is  in  the  King's  or  Queen's 
county,  we  cannot  presume  to  assert. 


453 

instantly  to  depart  and  insure  his  own  preservation  ;  which  injunc- 
tion was  reluctantly  obeyed.  The  unfortunate  kinfj  of  Munster  ex- 
pected that  his  enemies  would  overtake  him  to  fuilil  his  prediction, 
and  in  an  endeavour  to  ride  up  a  sleep  ascent,  rendered  exceedingly 
slippery  by  the  blood  of  the  slain,  his  horse  made  a  false  step,  and 
tumbling  with  his  rider  down  to  the  bottom,  the  king's  neck  and 
back-bone  were  broken,  and  he  died  upon  the  spot.  'His  death 
was  such,'  observes  Dr.  Warner,  '  as  might  have  happened  in  any 
other  field,  as  well  as  in  a  field  of  battle  ;'  but  it  certainly  was  occa- 
sioned by  the  ill-advised  contest.  Cormac's  body  having  been  found 
by  some  of  the  allied  army,  they  inhumanly  cut  off  the  head,  and 
carried  it  in  Iriiur.ph  to  the  monarch  of  Ireland.  Instead,  however, 
of  receiving  any  reward  or  commendation  for  tiiis  service,  as  in  all 
probability  tlifv  expected,  the  monarch  of  Ireland,  disgusted  at  such 
an  unexpected  siglit,  upbraided  those  barbarous  ruffians  for  violating 
the  law  of  nations,  which  forbids  the  mangling  of  the  dead,  and 
ordered  them  instantly  to  «]uit  his  presence  :  then  taking  up  the 
head  and  kissing  it,  with  tears  in  his  eyes,  lie  lamented  the  instability 
of  all  human  greatness,  and  the  untimely  fate  of  this  venerable  king 
and  prelate. 

As  soon  as  Flan  had  refreshed  his  troops  after  the  victory,  and 
received  the  acknowledgments  of  the  king  of  Leinster  for  his  ser- 
vices, he  marclied  to  Ossory,  in  order  to  settle  the  succession  to  the 
sovereignty  of  that  petty  kingdom,  which  was  under  the  king  of 
Munster  ;  there  having  been  some  dispute  among  the  brothers  of 
the  king  of  Ossory,  who,  as  before  intimated,  had  been  slain  in  this 
battle.  The  monarch  of  Ireland  settled  this  to  his  satisfaction  by 
placing  the  crown  on  the  head  of  Dermod,  the  elder  brother,  and 
returned  with  his  army  to  his  own  palace.  In  a  short  time  after, 
Flan  died  a  natural  death,  having  reigned  thirty-seven  years,  (a  pro- 
tracted reign  indeed  for  this  age)  and  was  succeeded  by  Nial  the 
fourth,  son  of  Hugh  the  sixth,  his  predecessor,  A.  D.  916. 

Though  Cormac  Maccuillnan  had  called  a  council  for  the  pur- 
pose of  settling  the  succession  to  the  crown  of  Munster,  and  had 
nominated  Lorcan  in  form,  yet  the  council  after  his  death,  annulled 
the  nomination,  and  gave  the  crown  of  Munster  to  another.  This 
is  a  signal  instance  of  the  vanity  of  human  foresight ;  kings  may 
decree,  but  the  ratification  depends  upon  the  will  of  Heaven — this 
indeed  leaves  the  character  of  Cormac,  as  a  prophet,  very  question- 
able ;  and  proves  that  he  was  not  so  beloved  by  the  people,  as  histo- 
rians have  laboured  to  represent. 

Carroll,  the  king  of  Leinster,  had  derived  considerable  booty  from 
this  battle  ;  and  his  triumph  was  graced  by  a  great  number  of 
prisoners  of  the  most  distinguished  rank.  Among  the  foremost  of 
these,  was,  as  before  observed,  Flaherty,  the  abbot  of  Inis-Cathy, 
who  was  of  the  blood-royal  of  Munster.  The  clergy  and  peo])Ie  of 
Leinster  were  so  enraged  against  this  man,  and  so  deservedly,  as 
the  chief  author  of  the  war,  and  the  cause  of  all  the  bloodshed  on 
both  sides,  that  they  upbraided  him,  while  he  was  led  along,  in  the 
most  opprobrious  language,  which  must  have  been  a  mortification, 
more  painful  perhaps  than  death,  to  one  of  his  imperious  disposition. 


454 

Nor  was  this  the  only  punishment  he  met  nith  ;  he  was  closely  im- 
prisoned and  most  severely  treated  during  the  life  of  Carroll,  and 
for  a  year  after  his  death.  When  he  had  received  a  pardon,  and 
was  released  froin  his  captivity,  the  abbess  of  St.  Bridget,  appre- 
hending that  the  people  would  tear  him  to  pieces,  prevailed  upon 
some  of  the  clergy  to  go  with  a  guard  to  escort  him  out  of  the  pro- 
vince of  Leinster.  Flaherty  then  retired  to  his  monastery  of  Inis- 
Cathy,  and  gave  himself  up  to  devotion.  Here  he  continued  in  the 
regular  exercise  of  piety  and  repentance,  til!  the  throne  of  Munster 
became  vacant  by  the  death  of  Cormac's  successor,  to  which  he  was 
then  called  as  the  next  heir.  He  now  proved  the  sincerity  of  his 
contrition  by  his  meritorious  government  of  that  province  till  his 
death,  having  been  as  mucii  beloved  by  his  subjects,  as  he  liad  been 
previously  execrated  by  the  people. 

The  Danes  having  been  informed  of  the  late  dissensions  in  Ire- 
land, judged  this  to  be  a  favourable  opportunity  to  renew  their 
attacks  upon  this  island  ;  for  they  were  well  aware  that  an  expedi- 
tion for  this  purpose,  would  not  only  be  dangerous  but  unsuccessful 
as  long  as  the  Irish  remained  united  among  themselves.  A  great 
fleet  was  therefore  fitted  out  by  the  Danes  for  the  invasion  of  Ire- 
land, and  scarcely  had  Nial  tasted  tlie  luxuries  of  royalty,  before  he 
was  obliged  to  endanger  both  his  life  and  kingdom  in  a  battle  with 
these  foi  eign  enemies  in  the  plains  of  Ulster  ;  which,  though  it  ter- 
minated in  his  favour,  was  attended  with  considerable  loss  to  both 
parties. 

Another  body  of  the  Danes  landed  on  the  coast  of  Leinster  about 
the  same  time,  and  ravaged  that  province  with  their  usual  rapacity. 
The  king  of  Leinster  gathered  his  troops  as  soon  as  possible  and 
gave  them  battle  ;  but  his  forces  were  completely  routed  by  the 
enemy,  and  above  six  hundred  of  them  massacred.  The  Danish 
general,  encouraged  by  this  success,  sent  home  for  an  immediate 
supply  of  men  and  arms,  in  order  to  enlarge  his  conquests.  A 
reinforcement  was  sent  with  all  ])ossible  expedition,  under  the  com- 
mand of  Sitrick  and  the  sons  of  the  Danish  general,  who  had  obtained 
the  victory  in  Leinster.  As  soon  as  the  enemy's  forces  were  united, 
the  Danes  recommenced  hostilities  with  their  accustomed  violence, 
and  the  city  of  Dublin  was  taken  by  storm. 

The  monarch  of  Ireland,  alarmed  at  the  success  of  the  Danes 
against  his  capital,  and  determined  to  oppose  their  progress,  col- 
lected all  the  forces  he  could,  to  give  them  Ijattle.  Had  Nial  made 
the  necessary  delay  to  muster  the  choicest  troops  of  the  four  pro- 
vinces instead  of  two,  though  it  would  have  been  at  the  expense  of 
more  plunder  and  violence,  his  resentment  in  the  end  would  have 
been  cheaper  to  the  people  ;  for  the  defeat  of  these  foreign  enemies 
might  have  been  rendered  complete,  and  the  misfortunes  of  his 
country  for  many  years  prevented.  l>ut  such  were  the  resolution 
and  intrepidity  of  Nial,  and  such  his  impatience  to  take  revenge  on 
these  implacable  enemies,  that  he  marched  against  them  only  with 
the  northern  forces,  whose  number  was  greatly  inferior  to  the  enemy. 
A  bold  attack  was  made  by  the  Irish,  who  cut  to  pieces  the  ranks 
of  the  Danes  ;  but  as  fresh  numbers  of  the  enemy  continually  poured 


^ 


455 

in,  the  Danes  renewed  the  battle  with  increased  vigour  ;  the  ex- 
hausted natives  gave  way  and  a  sanguinary  pursuit  succeeded.  Nial 
shared  the  fiite  of  most  of  his  generals ;  lie  fell  in  tlie  field  of  battle 
with  his  sword  in  his  hand,  bravely  fighting  in  defence  of  his  coun- 
try and  worthy  of  a  better  fate,  after  a  reign  of  only  three  years. 

Donough,  the  second,  a  son  of  the  late  king  Flan,  succeeded  to  the 
throne,  A.  D.  919.  If  we  may  judge  from  the  inc(jnsiderable  figure 
which  he  made  in  a  reign  of  five  and  twenty  years,  and  no  better 
criterion  can  be  desired,  as  the  country  was  then  in  a  most  dis- 
tracted state,  we  must  deem  him  a  man  of  humble  abilities,  unworthy 
of  his  descent,  and  of  the  exalted  situation  which  he  filled.  The 
first  public  occurrence  of  this  reign,  which  history  has  handed  down 
to  us,  relates  to  a  short  contest  about  the  succession  to  the  throne  of 
INIuuster,  on  the  death  of  Flaiierty,  the  abbot  of  Inis-Cathy,  whose 
accession  thereto  we  have  already  mentioned.  Kennedy,  the  son  of 
Lorcan,  whom  Cormac  iiad  nominated  for  his  successor,  put  in  his 
claim  upon  this  vacancy,  and  was  supported  by  a  great  party.  The 
mother,  however,  of  Ceallacli,  a  prince  of  that  house,  apprehensive 
that  her  son  should  be  excluded  from  his  right,  as  he  had  no  military 
force  to  espouse  his  cause,  and  being  a  woman  of  considerable  ad- 
dress and  spirit,  went  to  Kennedy  unattended,  and  having  asserted 
her  son's  right  and  expostulated  with  him  about  the  injustice  of  his 
design,  prevailed  upon  his  rival  to  relinquish  his  pretensions.  Ceal- 
lacli was  accordingly  proclaimed  king  of  Munster.  The  Danes  now 
made  such  bold  incursions  into  this  ]M'ovince,  that  Ceallach  was 
obliged  to  have  recourse  to  arms  to  defend  his  .crown.  A  battle 
ensued;  in  which,  and  in  several  others  which  rapidly  succeeded, 
the  advantage  was  on  the  side  of  the  jirovincial  troops,  the  wife  and 
sister  of  the  Danish  general  having  been  taken  prisoners  in  one  of 
them.  The  captive  ladies  were  treated  with  great  politeness  at 
Waterford,  by  the  king  of  IMunster;  and  when  they  were  released, 
the  Danes,  who  had  encountered  many  ditficulties  during  their  de- 
feats, thought  proper  to  abandon  this  province  and  look  out  for 
other  settlements.  They  accordingly  joined  themselves  for  the 
present  to  their  countrymen  in  Dublin  and  its  adjacent  territorie."?, 
appointing  Sitrick,  the  general,  to  be  their  king.  This  Danish 
general,  is  said  by  historians,  to  have  been  the  son  of  the  tyrant 
Turgesius,  by  whose  devastations  and  usurpations,  this  country  had 
suffered  so  much  above  eighty  years  before.  Dr.  Warner  thinks  it 
more  likely  that  he  was  his  grandson,  and  regrets  that  the  old  his- 
torians paid  such  little  attention  to  chronology,  for  '  though  it  was 
not  impossible,  it  was  highly  improbable,  he  should  have  been  his 
son.'  It  is  certain,  however,  that  the  same  ferocity,  malice  and 
deceit,  which  were  practised  by  Turgesius,  were  equalled,  if  not  ex- 
ceeded, by  Sitrick.  The  proud  heart  of  this  Dane,  was  sorely  net- 
tled on  being  driven  by  force  of  arms  f>om  the  fertile  jjrovince  of 
Munster,  where  his  countrymen,  under  his  conduct,  had  made  them- 
selves settlements  in  and  near  the  seaports,  and  he  was  therefore 
resolved  that  what  could  not  be  effected  by  valour,  should  be  accom- 
plished by  treachery. 

Ceallach,  the  king  of  Munster,  had  refused  to  pay  Donough,  the 


456 

monarch  of  Ireland,  the  usual  tax,  or  chief  rent,  claimed  by  his 
predecessors  as  sovereigns  of  the  island,  and  the  homage  and  sub- 
mission always  made  to  them  as  such.  His  reasons  for  this  refusal 
are  not  recorded.  The  monarch,  however,  had  the  old  remedy  of 
calling  him  to  an  account  at  the  head  of  his  army  ;  but  Ceallach 
had  given  so  many  shining  proofs  of  his  valour  in  his  engagements 
with  the  Danes,  that  the  monarch,  convinced  of  his  enterprising 
spirit  and  of  his  genius,  which  was  far  superior  to  his  own,  chose 
rather  to  submit  to  the  aftront,  than  seek  redress  by  arms.  Sitrick, 
apprised  of  this  difference  between  the  monarch  of  Ireland  and  the 
king  of  Munster,  deemed  it  expedient  for  the  success  of  a  stratagem, 
which  he  had  devised  for  the  destruction  of  the  latter,  to  whom  his 
recent  defeats  had  been  chiefly  owing,  to  communicate  it  to  the 
monarch,  without  whose  approbation  it  would  not  be  policy  to  at- 
tempt the  execution  of  it. 

The  monarch  of  Ireland,  instead  of  being  startled  and  shocked  at 
the  base  treaciiery  of  Sitrick,  when  apprised  of  his  perfidious  de- 
sign against  the  king  of  Munster,  not  only  consented  to,  but  ap- 
plauded the  foul  conspiracy  ;  and  even  promised  the  villain  who 
projected  it,  his  friendship  and  alliance  after  its  execution.  Having 
secured  this  material  point,  the  artful  Dane  proceeded  immediately 
upon  his  plan:  he  sent  a  messenger  to  Ceallach,  to  inform  him  that 
as  he  did  not  intend  to  renew  hostilities  against  the  province  of 
Munster,  and  yet  was  very  desirous  to  remain  in  Ireland,  he  should 
be  very  happy  to  enter  into  a  treaty  with  him  offensive  and  defen- 
sive;  and  in  order  to  prove  his  sincerity  in  this  ])roposal,  and  to 
cement  the  alliance  the  stronger,  he  oti'ered  him  his  sister  of  the 
royal  house  of  Denmark,  a  lady  of  great  beauty,  in  marriage,  and 
to  whom  the  king  was  no  stranger,  as  she  had  been  his  prisoner  in 
Waterford. 

The  king  of  Munster,  being  himself  an  honest  open  hearted  man, 
entertained  no  suspicion  of  treachery;  so  that  when  the  proposals 
were  made  by  the  messenger  he  readily  accepted  them.  The  recol- 
lection of  the  lady's  beauty  with  wiiom  he  had  often  conversed, 
tended  to  rekindle  the  flame  of  love  ;  and  being  naturally  amorous, 
the  dishonour  of  marrying  into  tlie  family  of  tiie  mortal  enemy,  and 
invader  of  his  country,  and  of  acquiescing  in  their  settlement  there, 
appeared  under  the  specious  disguise  of  establishing  peace  and  tran- 
quillity in  his  province.  Thus  delighted  with,  instead  of  being 
alarmed  at  the  proposal,  he  required  no  hostages;  he  started  no 
objections  to  a  treaty  which  was  offered  by  an  inveterate  and  van- 
quished enemy  ;  but  taking  it  for  granted  that  the  proposals  con- 
tained every  thing  which  these  savage  invaders  could  do  to  atone 
for  the  miseries  which  tiiey  had  brought  upon  his  native  country,  or 
which  the  Irish  ought  to  desire  for  their  future  security,  Ceallach 
sent  back  the  Danish  messenger,  with  an  assurance  of  his  consent 
to  the  proposed  treaty,  and  of  his  intention  to  repair  as  soon  as 
possible  to  the  court  of  Sitrick,  in  order  to  ratify  it  by  a  marriage 
with  his  sister. 

The  noble  and  expensive  preparations  for  the  king's  journey  and 
marriage,  now  occupied  the  whole  attention  of  the  province  of  Mun- 


457 

ster.  Besides  a  splendid  retiiuie,  and  princely  equipaj^e,  orders 
were  j^iven  for  the  guards  and  the  choicest  troops  of  the  province  to 
be  ready  to  attend  him,  for  the  purpose  of  conducting  the  queen 
home  to  his  prdace,  with  all  that  state  and  magnificence  which  were 
suitable  to  the  occasion.  \\'hen  Kennedy  was  informed  of  the  king's 
intention,  for  whom  he  had  kindly  waved  his  own  pretensions  to  the 
crown,  and  with  whom  he  had  lived  always  after  upon  terms  of  strict 
friendship,  he  represented  to  Ceallach  the  great  imprudence  of 
taking  the  flower  of  the  troops  as  well  as  guards,  and  for  the  sake 
of  a  little  more  empty  parade,  leaving  the  province  defenceless  and 
open  to  any  invader.  Kennedy,  notwithstanding,  approved  of  the 
king's  intended  marriage,  for  a  suspicion  of  treachery  on  the  part  of 
Sitrick,  never  entered  his  mind,  no  more"  than  it  did  that  of  Ceal- 
lach. Indeed  the  terms  of  accommodation  appeared  so  advan- 
tageous to  the  foreigners,  without  any  acquisition  to  the  natives,  but 
a  wife  for  one  of  their  kings,  who  well  deserved  her,  that  there  was 
no  room  for  suspecting  any  insidious  design.  But  as  the  monarch 
of  Ireland  had  been  incensed  at  th.e  king  of  Munster's  refusal  of  tlie 
usual  homage  and  tribute,  there  was  some  reason  for  apprehending 
that  Donough  might  seize  this  opportunity  of  invading  and  plunder- 
ing his  province,  if  left  unguarded.  This,  no  doubt,  was  tiie  cause 
of  Kennedy's  ap[)rehensions,  when  he  advised  the  king  to  take  only 
a  few  of  his  body  guards,  and  some  of  the  young  nobility  with  him, 
oflfering  his  own  son,  a  prince  of  the  bouse  of  Munster,  to  attend 
liim.  Ceallach  was  so  sensible  of  the  propriety  of  Kennedy's  ad- 
vice, that  he  was  determined  to  follow  it  ;  and  accordingly,  with  a 
few  of  the  nobility,  with  Dunchan,  the  son  of  Kennedy,  and  only 
his  body  ijuards,  he  commenced  his  journey,  committing  to  Dun- 
chan's  father  the  care  of  his  province  during  his  absence. 

The  news  of  the  arrival  of  the  king  of  Munster,  within  the  envi- 
rons of  Dublin,  where  Sitrick  kej)t  his  court,  having  been  brought 
to  the  Danish  chief,  his  wife,  who  was  an  Irish  lady  of  great  family, 
upiiraided  her  husband  for  his  imprudence  and  mean  spiritedness  in 
ortering  for  a  wife,  so  fine  a  woman  as  his  sister  was,  to  the  mortal 
enemy  of  his  country  people,  by  whom  so  many  of  the  Danish  no- 
bility had  been  destroyed.  As  the  lady  appeared  to  take  this  re- 
ported alliance  so  much  in  dudgeon,  Sitrick,  in  order  to  pacify  her, 
candidly  assured  her  that  it  was  oidy  a  stratagem  to  entice  the  king 
of  Munster  from  his  province,  that  he  might  efl^ect  by  deception, 
what  he  could  not  achieve  by  power.  Instead  of  the  nuptial  plea- 
sures which  the  king  flattered  himself  he  should  enjoy  with  bis 
sister,  be  assured  her  that  Ceallach  should  be  made  a  sacrifice  to 
the  ghosts  of  those  renowned  Danes  whom  be  had  destroyed. 

Though  Sitrick's  disclosure  of  his  vile  purpose,  struck  the  lady 
with  horror  and  astonishment,  she  had  ingenuity  enough  to  conceal 
her  emotions,  and  seem  delighted  with  the  cowardly  plan.  Early, 
however,  the  next  morning  she  arose,  and  disguising  her  jjcrson  as 
much  as  possible,  quitted  Dublin  with  great  privacy,  and  took  the 
road  through  which  she  knew  the  king  of  Munster  must  come.  As 
soon  as  Ceallach  arrived  at  the  place  where  she  was  waiting  for 
him,  she  discovered  herself  to  the  king,  confessed  her  husband's 
58 


458 

treacherous  design,  and  advised  him  to  return  with  precipitation, 
and  escape  the  snare  which  was  hiid  for  him.  Havinjj^  tlius  unbur- 
dened her  mind  without  brinjijing  her  husband  into  any  danger,  she 
returned  to  h'itrick's  palace  in  Dublin  in  the  same  private  manner. 
The  anxiety  of  this  lady  in  thus  endeavouring  to  save  tlie  life  of  the 
king  of  Munster,  and  baffle  the  vile  intention  of  iier  husband,  cannot 
be  wondered  at,  when  we  consider  that  she  was  a  native  of  Ireland, 
and  that  she  thus  exerted  herself  in  favour  of  a  countryman.  But 
her  apparent  aversion  to  tiie  marriage  of  that  countryman  to  her 
husband's  sister,  is  thus  accounted  for  by  Dr.  Warner,  'she  had 
been  secretly  in  love  with  Ceallach  from  the  time  that  she  was  his 
prisoner  at  Waterford  with  Shriek's  sister.  As  little  therefore 
could  she  endure  to  see  him  in  the  possession  of  another,  tiiongh 
she  was  a  woman  of  honour,  and  could  not  hope  to  enjoy  him  her- 
self, as  she  could  to  see  him  sacrificed  to  her  husband's  vengeance.' 
Love  is  certainly  a  powerful  reason  ;  but  it  is  probable  that  this 
woman  of  honour  suspected  there  was  some  secret  villany  in  her 
husband's  proposal,  and  that  her  expostulations  on  the  intended 
marriage  were  merely  dissembled.  When  a  woman's  curiosity  is 
excited,  dissimulation  is  always  at  hand,  to  assi-^-t  her  in  gratifying 
it;  she  knew  Sitrick's  malicious  disposition,  and  by  affecting  a  dis- 
like to  the  king  of  Munster,  won  his  confidence. 

The  discovery  of  Sitrick's  treachery  both  mortified  and  aston- 
ished Ceallach,  who  turned  back  with  his  retinue  in  order  to  escape 
the  machinations  of  his  enemy.  His  retreat,  however,  was  unex- 
pectedly impeded  by  two  j)arties  of  Danish  soldiers,  one  on  each 
side  of  the  road,  at  a  distance  not  to  be  discovered,  when  the  king 
of  Munster  had  passed  them.  Whether  Sitrick  had  any  susf)icion 
that  his  secret  had  transpired,  or  whether  he  a[)prehended  that  Ceal- 
lach might  escape  the  assassination,  when  he  had  him  in  his  power 
at  Dublin,  that  these  forces  had  been  thus  despatched  to  cut  off  his 
retreat,  cannot  be  ascertained.  The  former  is  more  likely,  for  it  is 
possible  that  the  conduct  of  his  wife,  notwithstanding  her  disguise 
and  secrecy,  had  been  observed.  Though  thus  surprised  and  sur- 
rounded by  the  Danish  soldiers,  who  attacked  the  king's  body 
guards  with  great  violence,  yet,  when  they  had  recovered  them- 
selves, and  had  received  Ceallach's  orders  to  take  vengeance  in  the 
best  manner  they  could,  no  time  was  lost,  and  no  valour  was  want- 
ing, in  making  a  just  and  furious  resistance.  Indeed  the  Irish 
retaliated  with  such  prowess,  that  had  it  not  been  for  continual 
reinforcements,  the  Danes  would  have  been  completely  routed  :  for 
they  were  so  near  the  city,  when  the  skirmish  commenced,  that  the 
alarm  was  instantly  given,  and  fresh  forces  poured  in  so  fast  upon 
the  Irish,  that  they  could  never  diminish  the  number  of  the  enemy, 
though  their  own  was  decreasing  every  moment.  The  resistance 
of  the  Irish  was,  notwithstanding,  long  and  resolute,  but  their  defeat 
was  inevitable  :  and  it  was  the  hard  fate  of  the  king  of  Munster, 
and  of  his  friend  Dunchan,  the  son  of  Kennedy,  to  be  taken  prison- 
ers, and  led  in  triumph  to  Dublin. 

The  tyrant  no  doubt  would  have  been  better  pleased  had  they 
increased  the  number  of  the  slain,  as  the  end  of  his  diabolical    pro- 


459 


ject  would  then  have  heen  answered.  But  when  they  were  delivered 
up  to  him  as  prisoners  of  war,  there  was  no  feasible  pretence  for 
j)uttin<j  him  to  deatli  ;  for  as  Sitrick's  wife  and  sii^ter  had  been 
treated  with  profound  respect,  when  they  were  Ceallach's  prisoners, 
he  was  bound  by  tlie  laws  of  honour  to  be  equally  kind  to  his  pre- 
sent captives,  and  he  well  knew  that  a  flaf^ratit  violation  of  those 
laws  would  be  returned  upon  himself  and  his  own  people.  Thus 
perplexed  by  the  desire  of  vengeance,  and  the  apprehension  of 
breakintr  those  punctilious  rules  observed  in  all  civilized  countries, 
he  ofl'ered  them  such  terms  of  ransom  as  he  was  confident  would 
not  be  agreed  to  ;  and,  if  those  were  refused,  he  declared  his  reso- 
lution of  removing  them  to  Armagh  in  so  many  days,  and  of  trans- 
porting them  froni  thence  to  Norway.  Tl.e  terms  of  ransom  were 
no  less  than  tlie  delivering  into  his  hands  the  towns  of  Limerick, 
Cashel,  Waterford  and  Cork,  with  all  the  strong  garrisons  in  the 
province  of  Munster,  and  an  erick,  or  fine  for  every  ofticer  or  sol- 
dier killed  by  the  IMamonians  in  the  battles  fouglit  with  the  Danes 
by  Ce;>llach  ;  for  the  performance  of  which  conditions  the  prince  of 
3Iunster,  and  all  the  sons  of  the  princes  and  chiefs  of  the  province, 
were  to  be  hostages. 

Ceallach,  disguising  his  indignation  when  he  heard  those  exorbi- 
tant demands,  begged  permission  to  despatch  one  of  his  own  do- 
mestics, who  was  taken  ])risoner  with  him,  to  Munster,  in  order  to 
know  if  their  liberty  could  be  purchased  on  those  conditions.  This 
request  was  granted  by  Sitrick,  who  explained  the  terms  of  their 
ransom  to  the  messenger,  but  the  latter  had  been  privately  instructed 
by  Ceallach,  to  assure  Kennedy,  that  whatever  might  be  his  own 
and  Dunchan's  fate,  he  should  never  a4low  the  Danes  any  footing 
in  his  province,  that  he  should  assume  the  government  of  Munster 
in  his  absence,  send  Donough,  his  general,  with  the  best  troops  he 
could  get  together,  to  Armagh,  in  order  to  rescue  them  out  of  the 
hands  of  the  Danes,  who  would  soon  remove  them  thither,  and  to 
order  all  the  ships  in  the  harbour  of  Munster  to  Dundalk,  where  the 
Danish  fleet  lay,  lest  the  army  should  not  arrive  soon  enough  at 
Armagh.  The  messenger,  no  doubt,  received  these  instructions 
from  the  king  previous  to  his  returning  an  answer  to  Sitrick's  de- 
mand. Be  that,  however,  as  it  may,  the  messenger  on  his  arrival 
at  Munster,  absolutely  found  Kennedy  in  a  condition  almost  ready 
to  execute  the  king's  command.  Some  of  Ceallach's  guards,  it 
seems,  had,  in  their  unexpected  rencounter  with  the  Danes,  the 
good  fortune  to  escape  ;  and,  on  their  return  home,  they  made 
known  the  treachery  of  Sitrick,  the  slaughter  of  their  comrades, 
and  the  captivity  of  Ceallach  and  Dunchan.  This  discovery  set  the 
whole  province  in  an  uproar,  and  they  waited  for  nothing  but  the 
word  of  command  to  revenge  the  perfuly  of  the  Danes,  and  to  rescue 
the  royal  prisoners.  Keimedy,  who  was  next  in  succession  to  the 
king,  readily  anticipated  their  wishes,  and  the  troops  were  actually 
assembled,  when  the  messenger  from  Ceallach  arrived. 

As  soon  as  the  terms  which  Sitrick  had  demanded  for  the  ransom 
of  the  royal  prisoners  were  made  known,  the  resentment  of  the 
people   was  considerably  aggravated  against  the  Danes,  and  Ken- 


4C0 

nedy  had  no  further  trouble  than  this  communication  to  enable  him 
to  obey  the  king's  injunctions.  A  thousand  of  the  Daljrais  had  been 
assembled  by  his  orders  about  Cashel,  and  throuji^h  the  activity  of 
the  general  Donough,  three  thousand  of  the  Eugeneans  had  been 
collected.  These  were  immediately  united,  and  being  put  under 
the  command  of  Donough,  and  the  three  brothers  of  Kennedy,  they 
prepared  for  their  marcli  towards  Armagh.  In  order  to  inspire  the 
general  with  zeal  and  ardour  on  this  occasion,  Kennedy  addressed 
him  with  a  representation  of  the  nobihty  of  his  descent,  the  magna- 
nimity and  heroism  of  his  ancestors,  who  bad  been  kings  of  Mun- 
ster,  the  |)robabiIity  of  their  success  against  their  |)erfi(]ious  enemies, 
and  tlie  advantage  to  the  province,  and  the  glory  to  himself,  whicli 
would  be  derived  from  the  enterprise.  In  their  march  they  were 
joined  by  several  parties  of  the  Dalgais,  out  of  Thomond  and  other 
places,  which,  before  their  departure  from  the  province,  made  the 
army  not  less  than  six  thousand  strong. 

Ceallach  had  also  sent  instructions  for  all  the  naval  force  of  Mun- 
ster  to  be  made  ready,  in  order  to  engage  the  Danish  fleet,  which 
were  riding  in  the  harbour  of  Dundalk,  for  the  purpose  of  trans))ort- 
ing  him  to  Norway.  This  is  the  first  mention  of  a  naval  armament 
in  the  history  of  the  Irish,  though  they  were  situated  on  an  island, 
and  had  been  so  often  and  so  long  subject  to  the  ravages  of  tiie 
Danes,  whose  invasions  could  only  be  effected  by  sea.  Till  the 
present  occasion  the  Irish  seeni  to  have  displayed  no  military  skill 
on  board  shi[)s,  either  to  defend  themselves  or  to  attack  an  enemy. 
The  order  now  for  a  naval  armament  was  obeyed  with  the  same 
alacrity  and  promptitude,  which  were  exhibited  in  collecting  the 
land  forces,  and  the  conimaiKl  of  the  exhibition  was  given  to  Failbhe, 
the  king  of  Desmond  ;  and  the  fleet,  consisting  of  sixty  ships,  well 
manned  and  armed,  set  sail  for  the  harbour  of  Dundalk,  about  the 
same  time  that  the  army  began  its  march  towards  Armagh.  Though 
neither  cannon  nor  fire  arms  were  then  invented,  yet  they  were  at 
par  with  the  enemy,  and  capable  of  annoying  them  with  their 
arrows,  darts,  and  javelins  in  close  quarters,  and  with  their  swords 
and  daggers  when  they  laid  each  other  on  board.  If  the  Irish  had 
had  recourse  to  this  mode  of  defence  before,  they  might  have  pre- 
vented the  inroads  of  a  Turgesius  or  a  Sitrick  :  necessity  at  length 
prompted  a  measure  whicli  had  been  too  long  neglected. 

While  the  army  baited  at  Connaught  for  the  sake  of  forage  and 
provisions,  a  party  of  archers,  and  another  party  armed  with  swords 
and  targets  from  Mtnister,  to  the  number  of  five  hundred  each,  joined 
the  main  body,  and  rendered  the  forces  of  ]\Iunster  a  very  formida- 
ble army.  While  they  were  raising  contributions  on  the  country 
for  their  subsistence,  tlie  prince  of  Connaught,  who,  at  such  a  crisis, 
should  cheerfully  have  lent  his  aid  against  the  Danes,  deemed  his 
people  aggrieved  and  liarassed,  remonstrated  with  the  general 
against  the  injustice  of  plundering  those  who  were  not  parties  in  the 
quarrel,  and  desired  that  he  would  order  tlic  booty  to  be  restored, 
which  the  Mamonian  soldiers  had  collected.  Had  this  remonstrance 
and  demand  been  as  just  as  they  were  unreasonable,  it  was  not  in 
the   power  of  Donough   to   prevent  the  one  or  to  comply  with  the 


461 

other.  TJie  army  was  marching  against  the  common  enemy  of  the 
Irish:  it  was  impossible  to  carry  sufficient  provision  with  them  ;  it 
must  be  subsisted  on  its  march,  and  tlieir  country  people  ougiit  to 
have  made  themselves  parties  in  the  quarrel,  and  to  have  con- 
tributed voluntarily  to  their  necessities.  In  order  to  convince  the 
prince  of  Connanght,  that  it  was  merely  for  the  sake  of  subsistence, 
and  not  of  plunder,  that  the  army  distressed  the  subjects  of  his 
father,  Donough  assured  him,  that  if  any  provisions  remained  after 
the  wants  of  his  men  were  satisfied,  they  should  be  returned.  Deem- 
ing the  general's  noii-com|)!iance  with  his  demand  an  insult,  and 
finding  the  Mamonian  army  too  ])o\verful  for  him  to  meddle  with, 
the  hot  headed  prince  of  Connaught,  rather  than  not  take  his  re- 
venge, absolutely  took  it  at  the  expense  of  his  own  country,  and 
even  to  the  ad\antage  of  the  common  enemy,  by  privately  sending 
intelligence  to  the  Danes  that  the  MamoniaMS  were  on  their  marcli 
to  attack  them,  with  the  determination  of  liberating  their  king  and 
Dunchan,  the  son  of  Kennedy. 

While  Sitrick  was  waiting  at  Armagh,  where  the  royal  prisoners 
were,  for  Kennedy's  answer  to  the  proposed  terms  of  ransom,  he 
received  this  secret  information  from  the  prince  of  Connaught. 
Hereupon  he  ordered  the  Danish  earls,  who  had  the  care  of  the 
prisoners,  to  march  out  of  the  city  with  all  their  tron})s,  and  give  the 
Mamonians  battle,  whilst  he  with  his  guards  might  secreily  remove 
them  on  board  the  fleet  at  Dundalk.  Whether  Sitrick  thought  only 
to  make  a  diversion  for  this  purpose,  by  ordering  his  forces  to  give 
battle  to  the  Irish  army,  and  that  they  might  make  good  their  re- 
treat without  any  considerable  loss,  or  whether  he  intended  to  re- 
move the  prisoners  at  all  events,  even  to  the  sacrificing  of  his  own 
forces,  that  were  sent  to  cause  this  diversion,  does  not  appear,  but 
the  Irish  army  was  evidently  stronger  than  he  suspected.  In  the 
beginning  of  this  sudden  action  with  the  Danish  earls,  Donough  was 
informed  by  some  whom  he  had  made  prisoners,  that  the  king  of 
Munster  and  Dunchan  were  carried  awjiy  to  Dundalk.  This  disap- 
pointment so  enraged  him  that  he  ordered  no  quarter  to  be  given, 
and  few  of  the  enemy  escaped  the  slaughter.  Early  the  next  morn- 
ing he  marched  his  army  to  Dundalk,  with  the  hopes  of  surprising 
the  Danish  general  and  recovering  the  liberty  of  his  prisoners  ;  but 
the  few  Danes  who  had  made  their  escape,  repaired  thither,  and 
informed  Sitrick  of  the  great  strength  of  the  Munster  army.  Now 
convinced  that  it  was  impossible  fi)r  him  to  oppose  the  Mamonians, 
by  whom  the  chief  of  his  army  was  already  routed,  Sitrick  resolved 
to  secure  his  prisoners,  and  provide  for  his  ovt^n  safety  and  that  of 
his  men,  by  getting  them  all,  as  fast  as  possible,  on  board  his  ships 
which  lay  in  the  bay.* 

The  army  of  Munster  proceeded  to  Dundalk  with  the  determina- 

'^  Dundalk,  llio  capital  of  the  county  of  fjouth,  the  assize  town,  and  a  phice  of 
trade  and  opulence,  is  advantageously  situated  in  the  recess  of  a  noble  bay,  on  the 
north-eastern  coast  of  Leinster,  at  the  distance  of  50  English  miles  from  Dublin, 
on  the  high  road  running  from  the  metropolis  to  Newry  and  Belfast.  The  vicinity 
of  Dundalk  is  a  most  fertile  country,  and  ornamented  with  several  rich  and  beau- 
tiful domains.  At  a  proper  time  and  place  we  will  have  to  say  more  of  Dundalk. 
Boston,  April,  183G. 


462 

lion  of  surrounding  the  Danes,  and  making  them  prisoners  of  war, 
or  putting  them  all  to  the  sword  :  but  no  sooner  had  they  entered 
the  place  than  they  found  themselves  again  disappointed  :  the  em- 
barkation had  been  effected  ;  the  royal  prisoners  carried  aboard, 
and  the  enemy  out  of  reach.  While  they  were  crowding  along  the 
shore,  lamenting  this  misfortune,  and  considering  what  was  best  to 
be  done,  they  perceived  a  large  fleet  under  a  brisk  gale  of  wind 
steering  directly  towards  the  Danish  vessels,  which  they  soon  dis- 
covered to  be  the  fleet  from  Munster.  The  Irish  army  were  as 
much  delighted  at  this  discovery  as  the  Danes  were  surprised  and 
alarmed.  The  latter,  when  they  had  embarked,  thought  themselves 
as  much  out  of  the  reach  of  the  Irish,  as  if  they  had  been  landed  in 
their  own  country.  Instead  of  being  thus  secure  as  they  thought, 
they  found  themselves  on  a  sudden  in  the  greatest  danger:  there 
was  no  possibility  of  escaping  the  Irish  fleet,  which  would  be  almost 
along  side  of  them  before  they  could  weigh  anchor  and  get  under 
sail ;  and  if  they  attempted  to  disembark  they  were  sure  of  being 
cut  to  pieces  by  the  Irish  army.  In  this  dilemma  they  could  only 
trust  to  their  valour  and  dexterity,  which  was  all  that  they  had  now 
left  to  extricate  them  from  their  imminent  peril. 

Failbhe,  the  king  of  Desmond,  perceiving  the  Danes  in  the  utmost 
hurry  and  confusion  at  his  approach,  made  all  the  haste  he  could  to 
begin  the  attack,  consistently  with  that  order  and  disposition  of  his 
ships,  on  which  the  success  of  naval  engagements  in  a  great  mea- 
sure depends.  Though  the  Danes  were  under  a  manifest  disadvan- 
tage in  having  scarcely  time  enough  to  form  into  a  line  of  battle, 
yet  they  were  much  superior  in  number,  having  all  their  guards, 
and  the  remainder  of  their  land  forces  on  board  ;  which,  in  ships 
without  ordnance,  make  the  principal  part  of  their  strength.  The 
Irish  commander,  with  great  policy,  sought  out  the  ship  of  the  Dan- 
ish general,  and,  after  attacking  it  with  considerable  impetuosity, 
boarded  it  sword  in  hand.  He  had  scarcely  been  a  moment  on 
board  before  he  saw  Ceallach  bound  to  the  mast.  The  sight  of  the 
king  in  that  position,  whose  liberty  was  the  great  cause  of  the  expe- 
dition which  he  had  the  command  of,  so  stimulated  his  zeal  and 
valour,  that,  regardless  of  prudence,  safety  or  any  other  considera- 
tion, he  made  his  way  to  him  through  blood  and  slaugnter.  As  soon 
as  he  had  cut  the  cords  with  his  sword,  which  had  fastened  Ceallach 
to  the  mast,  he  advised  him  instantly  to  repair  on  board  the  Irit^h 
vessel  which  he  had  just  quitted,  and  leave  him  to  fight  it  out  with 
the  Danish  chief.  Ceallach  took  his  advice,  and  the  Irish  com- 
mander remained  dealing  death  and  destruction  around  him  :  but 
being  supported  only  by  the  few  seamen  who  assisted  in  boarding 
the  ship,  and  being  surrounded  at  last  by  the  Danish  guards,  his 
Ardour  and  intrepidity  were  insufficient  to  clear  the  deck,  and,  over- 
powered by  numbers,  the  valiant  Failbhe  fell,  covered  with  wounds. 

Sitrick  being  convinced  that  upon  the  loss  of  his  own  ship  would 
in  all  probability  follow  the  loss  of  all  his  fleet,  exerted  his  utmost 
skill  and  valour  to  save  it ;  and  that  he  might  strike  a  terror  and 
dismay  into  the  Irish,  he  ordered  the  head  of  Failbhe  to  be  cut  off 
and  exposed   to   view.     This  tended,  however,  to  exasperate  the 


463 

Irish,  and  Finji^al,  who  was  second  in  command  to  Failbhe,  when 
informed  of  his  predecessor's  fate,  called  aloud  to  his  men  to  foMow 
him,  and,  rescjlving  to  revenge  his  death,  boarded  the  Danes  with 
an  irresistible  fury.  The  contest  was  hot  and  sanguinary  ;  but  tiiere 
being  so  many  among  the  Danes  to  supply  the  place  of  the  slain  or 
wounded,  that  the  Irish  had  no  prospect  of  obtaining  the  victory. 
Seuj^ible  as  Fingal  was  of  his  inability  to  possess  himself  of  the 
Danish  ship,  yet  he  was  too  valiant  an  Irishman  to  think  of  retreat- 
ing to  his  own  ;  especially  without  his  revenge  on  Sitrick  for  his 
inhumanity  in  mangling  the  corpse  of  Failbhe.  He  therefore 
adopted  a  resolution  which  is  not  to  be  paralleled  in  any  history  : 
for,  making  his  way  up  to  Sitrick  with  his  sword  against  all  that 
opposed  him,  he  grasped  him  close  in  his  arms,  and  threw  himself 
with  his  enemy  into  the  sea,  where  they  both  perished  together. 
Two  other  Irish  captains  being  lired  with  the  magnanimity  of  Fiu- 
gal's  action,  and  being  intent  on  securing  the  victory  to  their  coun- 
trymen, made  their  way  through  the  enemy  with  redoubled  fury, 
and  boarding  the  ship  in  which  were  Tor  and  Magnus,  the  surviving 
brothers  of  Sitrick,  and  then  the  chief  commanders  of  the  Danes, 
they  rushed  violently  upon  them,  caught  them  up  in  their  arms  after 
the  example  of  Fingal,  and,  jumping  overboard  with  them,  shared 
with  their  adversaries  a  watery  grave. 

Astonished  and  dismayed  at  the  desperate  achievements  of  the 
Irish,  the  Danes,  who  had  lost  their  general  and  his  brothers,  as 
well  as  vast  numbers  of  other  officers  and  men  ;  began  to  slacken 
in  their  exertions,  particularly  as  the  royal  prisoners  were  restored 
to  liberty.  The  Irish  perceiving  the  enemy  dispirited  and  giving 
way,  pursued  their  success  with  increased  ardour,  and  boarded  most 
of  the  Danish  ships.  They  obtained  a  complete  victory,  but  not 
without  prodigious  loss.  The  Danes,  besides  their  numbers,  had 
greatly  the  superiority  of  skill  in  naval  encjunters  ;  and  they  not 
only  fought  for  their  present  safety,  but  for  their  future  establish- 
ment in  the  island.  On  the  other  side  the  Irish  contended  for  the 
recovery  of  their  king  and  country  out  of  the  hands  of  perfidious 
usurpers:  it  was  also  the  first  engagement  at  sea  which  they  ever 
attempted,  and  notwithstanding  the  disadvantages  of  number  and 
inexperience,  they  won  the  victory,  though  it  was  dearly  purchased. 
The  numerous  land  forces,  wliich  they  boasted,  were  incapable  of 
rendering  any  assistance :  they  stood  on  the  shore  in  sight  of  the 
whole  engagement  like  men  distracted;  because  they  could  not  join 
their  countrymen,  who  were  overmatched  in  skill  and  numbers, 
and  whose  defeat  they  every  moment  anticipated.  But  great  was 
their  joy  when  their  enemies  were  routed  ;  for  a  few  only  of  the 
lightest  gallies  of  the  Danes  escaped  to  sea  : — great  was  their  joy 
when  the  Irish  fleet  approached  the  shore,  after  a  victory  so  ex- 
traordiriary.  Nor  was  Ceallach  himself  less  delighted  with  his 
deliverance  from  a  constant  apprehension  of  death  or  slavery, 
through  the  savage  disposition  of  Sitrick,  with  whom  neither  hu- 
manity nor  the  laws  of  nations  had  any  weight.  The  king  there- 
fore ordered  the  most  grateful  acknowledgments  to  be  made  to  nil 
his  forces  by  sea  and  land  for  their  fidelity  and  affection;  and  espo- 


464 

cially  to  the  former,  by  whose  invincible  courage  he  was  enabled  to 
regain  his  freedom  ;  though  doubtless  had  the  latter  been  able  to 
have  overtaken  ti>e  enemy  the  victory  would  have  been  purchased  at 
a  less  price.  This  was  indeed  the  most  obstinate  and  bloody  battle 
that  had  been  known  between  the  Irish  and  Danes  for  many  years. 
After  giving  instructions  for  the  care  of  the  wounded  and  the  prison- 
ers, and  providing  sufficiently  for  his  fleet,  the  king  of  Munster  put 
himself  once  more  at  the  head  of  his  army,  in  order  to  return  to  the 
government  of  his  province. 

But  the  king  of  Leinster,  envious  of  the  glory  which  the  Mamo- 
nians  had  acquired,  thougli  over  the  enemies  of  his  country,  pre- 
pared to  obstruct  the  passage  of  the  king  of  Munster  through  his 
dominions,  and  to  harass  him  in  his  march.  For  this  despicable 
purpose  he  collected  all  the  firces  he  could  at  so  short  a  warning, 
and  detrMiiiined  to  place  them  in  dilTerent  ambuscades,  that  they 
might  fall  upon  Ceallach's  army  and  surprise  thorn  when  unprepared 
for  any  attack.  Though  this  base  and  treacherous  plan  against  his 
countrymen  was  secretly  meditated,  he  found  it  difficult  to  put  it 
into  execution  without  a  s])eedy  detection.  Indeed  the  gathering  of 
his  troops  together,  witliout  any  apparent  motive,  was  sufficient  to 
cause  an  alarm  ;  and  in  all  probability  there  were  some  about  him, 
who  had  too  much  honour — too  much  love  for  their  country,  to  en- 
courage such  a  nefarious  proceeding.  By  some  means  or  other,  it 
seems,  Ceallach  obtained  timely  notice  of  the  treacherous  design  ; 
and  being  just  incensed  at  the  king's  unnatural  conduct,  he  pro- 
claimed it  to  his  whole  army,  desiring  no  quarter  to  be  given  to  the 
men  c)f  Leinster  if  they  engaged  in  such  an  unworthy  enterprise. 
The  king  of  Munster's  severe  injunction  having  been  reported  by 
some  deserters  to  the  king  of  Leinster,  (probably  by  connivance,  if 
not  by  order,)  the  latter  so  much  dreaded  the  resentment  of  the  vic- 
torious Mamonians,  who  were  now  prepared  for  their  defence,  that 
he  thouglit  proyjer  to  decline  his  malignant  purpose  ;  and  dismissing 
the  forces  which  he  had  suddenly  assembled,  the  army  of  Munster 
prosecuted  their  march  without  any  molestation.  Hap])ily  the  king 
of  Leinster  was  afraid  of  executing  his  cowardly  project,  which 
would  have  been  productive  of  much  unnecessary  bloodshed,  and 
have  probably  rendered  Ireland  a  more  permaraent  settlement  for 
the  Danes. 

The  return  of  Ceallach  from  his  captivity  to  Munster,  was  the 
cause  of  universal  exidtation  among  his  subjects,  whose  joy  on  this 
occasion  was  a  testimony  of  their  great  respect  for  his  eminent  vir- 
tues. When  he  had  settled  himself  in  his  government  and  allowed 
his  forces  sufficient  recreation  after  their  toils,  he  resolved  on  expel- 
ling all  the  remaining  Danes  from  his  kingdoni,  through  whose 
oppression  the  Irish  bad  suftered  so  much,  and  from  whose  treachery 
he  had  such  a  narrow  escape.  Having  therefore  collected  the  whole 
strength  of  his  province,  he  began  with  those  that  inhabited  Lime- 
rick and  its  environs,  where  he  obtained  a  complete  victory ;  five 
hundred  having  been  put  to  the  sword  and  all  the  rest  taken  prison- 
ers. From  hence  he  marched  his  army  to  the  count v  of  Cashel, 
where  there  was  a  great  deal  of  plunder,  defended  by  five  hundred 


4C5 

Danes :  the  former  he  took,  the  hitter  he  put  to  the  sword.  The 
Danish  general  having  heard  of  this  defeat,  gave  hinn  battle,  with 
the  hope  of  recovering  the  phinder  and  revenging  the  shinghter  of 
his  countrymen  ;  but  the  Mamonians  were  too  powerful  for  him  ;  a 
great  part  of  his  army  was  slain,  and  with  much  ditficulty,  he,  and 
the  remainder,  escaped  on  board  their  sliips  and  j)ut  to  sea.  Having 
thus  rendered  his  country  free  from  those  invaders  and  secured  the 
blessings  of  peace  to  his  ])rovince,  he  made  an  alliance  with  the 
king  of  the  Deasies,*  to  whom  he  gave  his  sister  in  marriage ;  and 
in  a  short  time  after  descended  to  his  grave  to  the  inexpressible 
grief  of  all  his  subjects." 


CHAPTER  LXH. 


Prince  Mahon  is  raised  to  the  throne  of  Munstcr. — The  Danes  arc  otcrthroiim  and 
routed  in  several  battles. — Death  of  the  monarch  Donough, — is  succeeded  by  Con- 
gall. — Brian  Boroihme,  the  brother  of  Mahon,  becomes  King  of  Munstcr,  and 
bravely  revenges  his  brother's  death. —  The  (innity  and  envy  of  Donald,  King  of 
the  Deasies,  against  Brian. — Donald  O'SS'cil  succeeds  Congall  as  Monarch  of 
Ireland. — Internal  dissensions  amongst  the  Irish  Princes. — Donald  abdicates  the 
throne,  to  ichich  Malachy  II.  is  elevated. — Battle  at  Tara , — Dublin  besieged. — A 
peace  is  ratified  with  the  Danes,  who  soon,  however,  violate  the  terms  of  it ; — con- 
sequent hostilities. 

After  the  death  of  Ceallach,  which  event,  according  to  the  chro- 
nology of  O'Halloran,  occurred  in  the  year  952,  Feargradh,  a  prince 
of  the  Eugenean  dynasty,  was  invested  with  the  sov'ereignty  of  Mun- 
stcr. Immediately  after  the  accession  of  this  prince,  the  Danes,  in 
great  force,  penetrated  into  IMunster,  and  succeeded  in  capturing 
Limerick,  and  in  making  themselves  masters  of  all  the  islands  in 
the  Shannon.  Feargradh  raised  an  army  to  oppose  the  Danes,  of 
which  he  gave  the  command  to  his  brother,  Lachtna,  king  of  Tho- 

*  The  Deasies.  Under  this  name,  in  ancient  times,  was  designated  the  prin- 
cipal portion  of  the  county  of  Waterford,  of  which  the  O'Fays,  before  the  arrival 
of  the  English,  were,  for  many  ages,  sovereign  princes.  The  designation  is  de- 
rived from  the  Decii,  a  colony  that,  in  the  third  century,  inhabited  the  southern 
districts  of  the  two  Meaths.  In  the  year  27d,  that  people  rebelled  agaisnt  the 
monarch,  Cormac  Mac  Art,  in  consequence  of  an  affront  which  their  chief  had 
received  from  Prince  Kellach,  the  king's  son.  Determined  on  having  revenge, 
thev  forced  their  way  into  the  royal  palace  of  Tara,  and  slew,  during  the  absence 
of  Cormac,  before  the  queen's  eyes,  Prince  Kellach.  Their  revenge  being  thus 
gratified  by  the  massacre  of  the  unfortunate  prince,  the  Decii,  with  all  their  fami- 
lies, fled  from  the  punishment  which  they  knew  the  king  would,  had  they  re- 
mained in  the  Meaths,  have  justly  inflicted  on  them.  After  wandering  through 
the  country  for  some  time,  they,  at  length,  found  a  settlement,  in  tlie  county  of 
Waterford.  The  territory  of  the  Deasies,  which  now  comprehends  two  baronies, 
in  the  county  of  Waterford,  called  "  Deasies  within,  and  Deasies  without ;"  the 
former  being  bounded  on  the  so  ilh  and  east  by  the  sea,  and  on  the  west  by  the 
river  Blackwater,  and  on  the  north  by  the  Deasies  without  the  Drum  mountains. 
The  latter  barony  is  bounded  on  the  south  by  the  Deasies  within  Drum,  on  the 
south  east  by  the  sea,  on  the  west  by  Coshmore  and  Coshbride,  on  the  east  by 
upper  third  and  middle  third  districts,  and  on  the  north  by  the  barony  of  Glan- 
chiry,  all  in  the  county  of  Waterford. 
59 


466 

raond.*  While  this  prince  was  on  his  march  towards  the  Shannon, 
where  the  Danes  were  encamped,  at  Rillaloe,  he  received  tidings  of 
his  brother's  death,  which  induced  him  to  return  to  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Limerick,  wliere  he  was  crowned  by  the  bishop  of  tliat  see, 
king  of  Munster,  A.  D.  9513. 

Before  the  festivities  of  his  coronation,  however,  were  over,  he 
was  assassinated  by  two  conspirators  of  tlie  name  of  O'Flyn,  and 
O'Carney  ;  but  by  the  valour  and  resolution  of  Mahon  and  Brian, 
the  murdered  king's  brothers,  the  crown  was  wrested  from  the  hands 
of  the  bloody  conspirators.  Mahon  was  raised  to  the  throne  of 
Munster.  As  soon  as  he  had  obtained  the  sceptre,  he  and  his 
brotiier  Brian,  at  the  head  of  a  large  army,  attacked  the  Danes  at 
several  points,  and  succeeded  in  cutting  off  many  of  their  detach- 
ments, and  in  capturing  several  of  their  strong  holds  adjoining  the 
Shannon. 

We  should  have  mentioned  before,  that  Prince  Dunchan,  the 
brother  of  the  present  king  of  Munster,  who  was  with  Ceallach  at 
the  battle  of  Dundalk,  was  killed  in  battle,  fighting  against  the 
Danes,  in  A.  D.  952.  In  the  year  957,  Congall  was  killed  in  battle 
against  the  combined  forces  of  the  Danes,  Ultonians  and  Lagenians. 
His  successor  in  the  monarchy  of  Ireland,  was  Donald  O'Neil,  the 
son  of  King  Neil  Glun-duibh.  Scarcely  had  the  sceptre  been  a  year 
in  his  grasp,  when  Daniel,  the  son  of  tlie  late  monarch,  at  the  head  of 
an  army  of  Lagenians  and  Danes,  advanced  to  Tara  to  detiirone  the 
reigning  king.  Donald,  determined  to  maintain  his  power,  or  die, 
rather  than  relinquish  it,  gave  battle  to  his  enemies  at  a  place  called 
by  O'Halloran,  Cill-mona,  (or  the  wood  of  the  bog)  in  which  the  son 
of  Congall,  and  his  army,  were  defeated  after  a  brave  and  bloody 
struggle  for  life  and  victory.  This  engagement  took  place  in  A.  D. 
958,  and  in  it  were  slain,  Daniel,  the  pretender  to  the  throne,  and 
two  of  his  princely  allies,  Argal,  son  of  the  king  of  LTlster,  and 
O'Carroll,  son  of  the  prince  of  Orgial.t     Soon  after   gaining  that 

*  Thomond,  was  the  ancient  name  of  the  county  of  Clare.  The  district  owes 
its  present  appellation  to  the  historical  fact  of  Edward  I.  having  granted  that  por- 
tion of  Ireland,  in  A.  D.  129G,  to  the  sons  of  the  then  Duke  of  Gloucester,  Richard 
and  Thomas  de  Clare.  Its  ancient  proprietors  were  O'Briens,  McGees,  and  Ken- 
nedys, descendants  of  King  Olioll  Olinn,  who  reigned,  as  has  been  seen  in  this 
history,  in  Munster,  in  the  third  century.  The  election  of  Daniel  O'Connell, 
in  1828,  as  a  member  of  the  British  Parliament,  a  year  before  the  passage  of  the 
Catholic  Emancipation  Bill,  in  the  Imperial  Legislature,  will  ever  reflect  honour 
on  the  spirit  and  independence  of  the  men  of  Clare.  This  county  is  bounded  on 
the  east  and  south  by  the  river  Shannon,  on  the  north  and  west  by  the  county  of 
Galway,  and  the  Atlantic  ocean.  By  a  late  survey  it  appears  that  it  contains 
476,213  plantation  acres,?!)  parishes,  nine  baronies  (namely,  Corcomroe,Inchiquin, 
Ibrickan,  Moyferta,  Clanderlagh,  Bunratty,  two  in  the  Islands,  and  Tullagh,)  and 
110,000  inhabitants.  Ennis  is  the  capital  of  the  county,  a  fine  and  prosperous 
town,  which  stands  at  the  distance  of  142  English  miles  S.  W.  from  Dublin.  Bos- 
ton, April,  183G. 

t  In  a  preceding  chapter  of  this  history  we  have  stated  that  the  district  called 
Orgiul,  comprehended  the  present  counties  of  Louth,  Armagh  and  Monaghan. 
The  reason  it  was  called  Or/rial,  arose  from  the  fact,  that  in  the  year  336,  when 
the  three  champions,  the  Collas,  were  granted  this  territory,  they,  in  their  treaty 
with  the  monarch  Muireadhach,  stipulated  for  themselves  and  their  posterity, — 
"  that,''  writes  O'Halloran,  "  whenever  hostages  were  demanded  from  them,  if 
shackled,  the'w  fetters  were  to  be  of  pure  gold; — hence,  Orgial  from   Or-  (gold) 


467 

victory,  the  monarch  invaded  Connaught,  where  he  levied  large 
contributions,  and  compelled  the  king  of  that  province  to  dehver  to 
hitn  hostages  of  the  tirst  rank.  Meanwhile,  Mahon,  king  of  INIun- 
ster,  and  his  heroic  brother  Brian,  were  annoying  tlie  Danes  by  a 
vigorous  and  harassing  desultory  warfare.  In  A.  D.  959,  the  Danes, 
to  oppose  the  triumphant  progress  of  Mahon  and  Brian,  collected 
all  the  forces  whicli  could  be  spared  from  the  defence  of  Cork, 
Waterford  and  Limerick.  To  Muiris,  an  experienced  general,  was 
assigned  the  command  of  the  Danes.  Tliat  officer,  with  a  force  of 
3,000  of  the  best  Danish  troops,  advanced  to  the  camp  of  the  Mon- 
ster army  at  Sulchoid.*  jNIahon  and  Brian  made  a  desperate  charge 
on  their  assailants,  broke  their  centre,  and  threw  their  right  and 
left  wings  into  irreparable  disorder.  The  gallant  Brian,  to  profit 
by  their  confusion,  repeated  his  attack  with  redoubled  bravery,  and 
succeeded  in  killing  2,000  Danes,  including  Muiris  and  his  principal 
officers.  This  signal  victory  appalled  the  13anes  with  consternation. 
The  victorious  brothers  pursued  the  fugitive  Danes  to  tiie  city  of 
Limerick,  which  they  entered  pelhnell  with  the  enemy,  and  put  the 
garrison  to  the  sword,  and  set  fire  to  the  city.  To  follow  up  his 
success,  Mahon  fitted  out  a  large  fleet  of  sloops  at  Rillaloe,  and 
from  the  river  Shannon  made  a  descent  upon  Connaught. 

On  the  banks  of  Longhree,  a  lake  situated  between  the  counties 
of  Roscommon  and  Longford,  and  through  which  the  Shannon 
passes,  Mahon  and  Brian  encamped.  Here  Feargal,  son  of  Ruarc, 
king  of  Connaught,  in  conjunction  with  a  force  of  Danes,  attacked 
Mahon  ;  but  his  assault  was  repelled,  and  himself  and  his  army  put 
to  flight.  "  Feargal,"  says  Dr.  O'Halloran,  "  in  his  flight  plunged 
into  the  river,  and  threw  away  his  shield,  which  Mahon  found,  and 
his  posterity  used  it  in  all  succeeding  wars  with  the  Connacians. 
The  loss  of  a  siiiehl,  much  more  to  throw  it  away,  was  shameful, 
not  only  in  Ireland,  but  among  the  ancient  Celiac.''''  The  brave 
Mahon  and  his  valiant  brother  Brian,  returned  to  Munster,  where 
they  defeated  the  Danes  in  several  engagements.  Mahon's  good 
fortune  and  splendid  exploits  commanded  the  admiration  of  his 
friends,  and  excited  the  envy  of  his  princely  contemporaries. 
Amongst  his  most  implacable  enemies  was  Maohnuadh,  the  son  of 
Brain,  of  the  Eugenean  dynasty,  who,  with  his  own  adherents  joined 
with  a  considerable  force  of  Danes,  marched  against  Mahon,  in  the 
hope  of  defeating  and  dethroning  him.  In  two  engagements  fought 
in  the  county  of  Limerick,  victory,  as  usual,  attended  the  arms  of 
King  Mahon. 

The  bishop  of  Cork  and  his  clergy,  grieved  and  pained  that  two 
Irish  princes  should  be  engaged  in  a  civil  war,  and  frittering  away 
the  power  that  sliould  be  employed  against  tlie  common  enemy,  in- 
terposed their  mediation  for  the  patriotic  purpose  of  reconciling  the 
rival  chiefs.     Mahon,  whose  soul  was  the   mansion  of  religion   and 

and  friul  (or  anwioll)  a  hostage."  Before  the  invasion  of  the  Enolish  the  principal 
proprietors  of  Louth  were  the  O'CairoH's, — of  Monaghan,  the  McMohons, — and 
of  Armagh,  the  O'Neils  and  O'Hanlons. 

*  ScLCHou)  (in  Irish  Sulchath,  or  the  place  of  the  conflict)  is  situated  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  city  of  Limerick,  and  is  an  extensive  plain  almost  walled  round  by 
mountains. 


468 

heroism,  agreed  to  leave  the  settlement  of  the  existing  difference 
betwixt  himself  and  Maolmuadh,  to  the  arbitration  of  the  bishops  of 
Cork  and  Limerick.  O'Donovan,  chief  of  Kerry,  the  ambassador 
of  Maolmuadh,  appointed  a  place  in  the  county  of  Limerick,  where 
the  competitors  should  meet  to  adjust  their  disputes  by  the  decision 
of  the  prelates.  On  the  appointed  day,  the  confiding  and  courageous 
Mahon,  attended  by  only  twelve  noblemen,  repaired  to  the  desig- 
nated place  of  rendezvous.  But  as  the  brave,  but  unfortunate  king 
was  approaching  the  point  of  destination,  the  treacherous  O'Dono- 
van, at  the  head  of  a  chosen  band  of  soldiers,  rushed  from  an  ambus- 
cade on  the  prince,  killed  all  his  attendants,  and  seized  and  mana- 
cled himself,  and  then  carried  him  off  to  the  camp  of  Maolmuadh. 
He  was  thence  conveyed  to  the  fortress  of  Macroom,*  in  the  county 
of  Cork,  and  atrociously  murdered. 

As  soon  as  Brian  heard  of  his  brother's  cruel  death,  he  became 
inflamed  with  a  desire  for  revenge, — he  marched  into  Kerry,  in  the 
spring  of  the  year  9GG,  attacked  O'Donovan,  whose  forces  were 
augmented  by  a  large  body  of  Danish  mercenaries,  overthrew  them, 
and  killed  O'Donovan  with  his  own  hand.  After  this  victory,  Brian 
was  crowned  by  the  archbishop  of  Cashel,  king  of  the  two  ]\Iunsters. 
The  usurper  Maolmuadh,  still  kept  the  field,  and  assumed  the  title 
of  king  of  Munster.  Brian,  resolved  to  crush  his  rival,  marched  to 
his  camp  with  a  formidable  force,  attacked,  defeated  and  slew  him. 
In  this  battle,  Prince  Murrough,  Brian's  eldest  son,  though  then  but 
thirteen  years  of  age,  displayed  the  manly  prowess  of  a  hero.  It 
has  been  even  asserted  by  some  of  our  historians,  that  it  was  he  that 
killed  Maolmuadh.  The  heroic  Brian,  having  now  "  no  rival  near 
the  throne,"  fitted  out  in  the  Shannon  a  large  fleet  of  boats,  in  which 
he  embarked  with  the  flower  of  his  army,  and  sailed  to  the  island  of 
Scattery,t  where  the  Danes  were  encamped  in  great  force.  In 
spite  of  their  opposition  he  eflected  a  landing,  and  succeeded  in 
storming  their  camp,  and  in  forcing  their  shattered  remains  to  fly 

*  The  market  and  post  town  of  Macroom,  is  situated  on  the  river  Sullane,  in 
the  barony  of  Muskerry,  county  of  Cork,  at  the  distance  of  184  English  miles 
from  Dublin,  and  IS  from  the  city  of  Cork,  in  a  western  direction.  The  mail 
coach  road  from  Cork  to  Killarney,  runs  through  this  town.  "  This  place," 
writes  Brewer,  in  his  Beauties  of  treland,  "  is  said  to  take  its  name  from  a  cele- 
brated crooked  oak,  which  formerly  grew  here  ; — and  those  who  are  fond  of  inves- 
tigating etymologies,  will  not  fail  to  observe  that  there  are,  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
town,  several  vestiges  of  monuments  appearing  to  have  been  erected  in  ages 
during  which  the  oak  was  an  object  of  religious  sanctity.  The  river  Lany  unites 
with  the  Sullane,  at  a  short  distance  from  the  town,  and  the  conjoined  streams 
shortly  afterwards  fall  into  the  river  Lee.  The  buildings  of  this  town  have  ex- 
perienced some  improvement  in  recent  years,  and  there  are  now  several  neat  and 
good  houses.  This,  however,  is  a  place  of  but  little  trade,  and  it  has  no  staple 
manufacture.  The  castle  of  Macroom  is  boldly  situated  on  an  acclivity  that  over- 
hangs the  river  Sullane,  at  the  west  part  of  the  town,  in  the  vicinity  of  llic  Budge. 
It  is  believed  that  this  fortress  was  originally  built  in  the  reign  of  John,  either  by 
the  Carews  or  the  Daltons."  On  the  forfeiture,  in  IGflO,  of  the  estates  of  the  Earl 
of  Clancarty,  King  William  made  a  grant  of  tlie  Earl's  lands  in  this  neighbour- 
hood, to  the  ancestors  of  the  present  Loid  Bandon,  and  those  of  Robert  Eyre,  Esq., 
who  now  inhabits  the  castle. 

t  ScATTERv,  or  J  Ills- Cathy,  is  an  island  situated  in  the  mouth  of  the  river 
Shannon,  between  the  counties  of  Clare  and  Ker^3^  In  addition  to  the  brief  de- 
scription of  it  which  we  have  already  given  in  a  preceding  chapter  of  this  history. 


469 

from  the  island.  The  victorious  Brian  marched  towards  Limerick, 
besieged  that  city,  and  soon  compelled  the  Danish  garrison  to  sur- 
render. According  to  Dr.  O'Halloran,  the  Danes  of  Limerick  sur- 
rendered to  Brian  in  the  year  970. 

"Tlie  great  success  of  tlie  Lish  under  Brian,  in  the  southern  pro- 
vince," writes  JMcDekmott,  "  had  a  good  effect  on  their  countrymen 
in  the  north,  who  resolved  to  oppose  the  progress  of  tlie  Danes  in 
Ulstei".  Accordingly  the  provincial  troops  were  all  assembled  under 
tiie  command  of  Murtough,  the  son  of  Neil,  the  general  :  tlie  attack 

we  would,  for  the  interest  of  our  readers,  quote  from  a  work,  recently  published, 
entitled  •'  Landscape  Illustrations  of  Moore  s  Irish  Melodies,"  the  followino-  sketch  : 

"  luniscattery,  or  the  Island  of  Scattory,  near  the  mouth  of 

'  The  spacious  Shenan  [Shannon]  spreading  like  a  sea,' 
has  been  styled  in  an  Irish  MS.  called  the  Book  of  Baliiniotc,  '  the  wonder  of  Ire- 
land.'    And  well  it  may,  if  we  are  to  credit  the  legend  which  Mr.  Moore  has  fol- 
lowed in  his  version  of  the  dialogue  between  St.  Senanus  and  the  lady  who  souo-ht 
his  holy  Isle,  in  a  vessel  guided  by  an  angel,    ' 

'  'i'hrough  wintry  winds  and  billows  dark,' 
and  was  inhospitably  rc[)elled.  This  lady,  it  appears,  was  no  less  charming  a  per- 
son than  St.  Cannera  of  Bantry,  a  celebrated  beauty  in  her  day;  but  Senanus 
adhering  literally  to  the  stern  doctrine  of  St.  Augustin,  that  even  angels  are  not  to 
be  loved,  to  prevent  all  chance  of  .such  a  result,  most  rudely  refused  tlie  visit  of 
the  pious  sister. 

Our  author  here  enters  minutely  into  the  personal  character  of  the  saint,  passino- 
over  all  which,  we  proceed  to  the  Island  of  Scattery,  where  he  took  up  his  abode ; 
and  here  we  are  informed  that — no  fewer  than  eleven  churches  are  recorded  to 
have  been  built  upon  luniscattery  by  its  patron  saint,  who  is  stated  to  have  died 
there  on  the  1st  of  Alarch,  544.  The  word  church,  however,  thirteen  hundred 
years  ago,  and  even  some  centuries  after,  had  a  very  different  meaning,  as  apj)lied 
to  a  building,  from  the  import  of  the  word  at  present.  It  was  in  fact  a  mere  cell, 
hermitage,  sanctuary,  or  even  grave,  as  the  name  ceil  or  cill,  which  corresponds 
with  the  Latin  cella,  imports,  and  which  in  the  form  of  hil  is  to  be  found  so  fear- 
fully compounded  in  Irish  local  names,  that  perhaps  no  better  motto  could  be 
found  for  Holbein's  *  Dance  of  Death,'  than  Pat's  well  known  speech  of  'I've 
been  at  Kihnau}',  and  I'm  going  to  Kilmore.' 

Connected  with  the  former  sanctity  of  luniscattery,  the  most  remarkable  object 
at  present  is  the  Round  Tower.  We  have  used  the  word  '  remarkable'  advisedly ; 
for  this  tower  is  an  important  landmark  in  the  navigation  of  the  Shannon,  and  it 
is  also  probably  the  most  ancient  building  upon  the  island.  It  is  said  to  measure 
one  hundred  and  twenty  feet  in  height,  and  springs  from  a  base  twenty-two  feet 
in  circumference.  Although  scathed  and  rent  by  lightning,  the  original  roof 
remains.  While  its  fellow  pillar-towers,  as  at  Kildare  and  Cloyne,  have  been 
compelled  to  assume  embattlcments,  that  of  luniscattery  retains  its  primitive  cover- 
ing, and  stands  proudly  crowned  with  that  barrad,  or  conical  cap,  which,  accord- 
ing to  Walker,  the  national  architects  and  sculptors  of  Ireland  regarded  as  a  dress 
becoming  even  to  angels. 

Although  it  has  been  asserted  that  eleven  churches  were  built  upon  the  island 
by  Senanus,  the  remains  of  seven  churches  or  cells  only  are  now  to  be  traced  ; 
from  a  glance  at  which  it  is  evident  to  the  eye  of  the  architectural  antiquary,  that 
the  date  of  the  building  of  three  of  these  ruins,  must  have  been  long  subsequent 
to  the  days  of  the  ungallant  saint.  '  The  cathedral,  St.  Mary's  church,  and  one 
other,'  observes  a  modern  pilgrim  to  Scattery, '  are  in  pointed  style,  but  possess 
no  particular  attraction.  The  neighbourhood  of  the  latter  is  used  as  a  burying 
ground,  and  the  interior  of  the  cathedral  has  been  cleared  away,  and  converted  by 
the  irreverent  islanders  into  a  ball-alley.  Three  more  ancient  structures,  one  of 
them  called  Simon's  own,  stand  to  the  northwest  of  the  cathedral,  the  largest  of 
which  is  but  twenty-two  feet  long,  and  the  smallest  twelve,  and  of  proportionate 
breadth.  Tcampnl  an  eird,  i.  e.  the  church  on  the  height,  is  of  similar  dimensions, 
and  equally  unadorned.  "The  light  was  admitted  into  each  of  these  Lillijjutian 
temples  by  one  or  two  very  small  windows,  little  superior  to  loop-holes,  so  nar- 
row, that  when  entirely  open,  we  must  be  struck  with  surprise,  liow  the  liglit 
which  they  admitted  could  have  sufiiccd.'  " 


470 

was  made  with  so  much  vigour  and  resolution,  and  the  action  con- 
ducted with  so  much  military  skill  by  the  Irish  general,  that  the 
Danes  were  entirely  routed,  with  the  loss  of  eight  hundred  men  and 
three  of  their  chief  commanders.  These  two  defeats  were  produc- 
tive of  some  happy  consequences  to  the  natives  :  for  the  Danes, 
having  lost  their  principal  officers  and  the  greatest  part  of  their 
forces,  became  exceedingly  humble,  apprehensive  that  the  Irish, 
seeing  so  few  of  them  remaining,  might,  for  the  purpose  of  exter- 
minating their  enemies,  doom  them  to  destruction,  before  they  had 
procured  a  fresh  supply  from  Norway.  This  apprehension  induced 
them  to  cease  from  all  hostility  and  oppression,  and  the  natives 
began  to  enjoy  a  state  of  freedom  and  tranquillity,  to  which  they 
had  been  strangers  for  some  years.  It  was,  however,  a  temporary 
tranquillity  ;  for  the  Danes  received  a  reinforcement  which  encour- 
aged them  to  return  to  their  former  violence  and  rapine.  The  Irish 
had  so  much  experience  of  the  treachery  of  these  people,  that,  in 
the  intervals  of  peace,  they  were  obliged  to  be  upon  their  guard,  lest 
their  security  should  prove  their  ruin;  and  they  soon  saw  the  good 
effects  of  their  vigilance  and  precaution.  At  a  celebrated  fair  of 
Roscrea,*  at  this  time,  when  it  was  supposed  all  their  attention 
would  be  engaged,  a  very  forujidable  body  of  the  Danish  army  made 
a  stolen  march  in  order  to  surprise  them,  and  carry  off  all  the  goods 
and  merchandize  exhibted  on  that  occasion.  But  the  natives  were 
prudently  provided  with  arms  to  defend  their  property  in  case  it 
should  be  attacked  ;  and  having  received  intelligence  that  the  Danes 
were  on  their  march  against  them,  they  unanimously  quitted  the 
fair  to  meet  the  enemy  :  and  though  they  had  neither  skill  nor  oppor- 
tunity to  draw  up  in  a  reofular  order,"  yet  the  Irish,  animated  with 
the  desire  of  revenge,  gallantly  resolved  to  repel  their  treacherous 
assailants  or  die  in  the  brave  attempt.  Thus  determined  they  made 
an  overwhelming  charge  on  the  Danes  which  broke  their  ranks,  and 
spread  death  and  dismay  through  their  whole  force.  Such  was  the 
success  of  the  Irish  in  the  conflict,  that  the  Danes,  before  they  com- 
menced their  flight,  left  4,000  of  their  killed  on  the  field  of  battle. 
This  memorable  engagement,  in  which  Irish  valour  won  so  miich 
glory,  and  achieved  so  signal  a  victory, — although  the  victors,  let  it 
be  remembered,  were  composed  of  merchants,  traders  and  farmers, 
uninured  to  arms,  who  were  attacked,  unexpectedly,  at  a  public  fair, 

*  Roscrea  is  a  large  and  populous  town,  situated  in  the  county  of  Tipperary, 
at  the  distance  of  75  English  miles  from  Dublin.  The  description  of  its  magnifi- 
cent round  tower,  we  extract  from  the  first  volume  of  the  Anthologia  Hihcrnica, 
one  of  the  most  interesting  magazines  that  was  ever  published  in  Ireland.  "  The 
round  tower,"  says  the  writer,  "is  80  feet  high,  and  15  in  diameter,  with  two 
steps  round  it  at  the  bottom.  At  fifteen  feet  from  the  ground  is  a  window  with  a 
regular  arch  ;  and  at  an  equal  height  is  another  window  with  a  pointed  arch." 
In  A.  D.  1213,  King  John  built  a  castle  in  Roscrea.  Mulrony  O'Carroll,  styled 
King  of  Munster,  in  the  year  1400,  founded  a  Franciscan  friary  here.  The  town 
is  surrounded  by  a  very  fertile  tract  of  country.  Mr.  Seward,  the  author  of 
"  Topuora/jhia  llihrniica,"  writes  of  its  church  thus  : — "  The  church  is  very  old — 
the  front  consists  of  a  door  and  two  flat  niches,  on  cither  side,  of  Saxon  architec- 
ture, with  a  mezzo  relievo  of  the  patron  saint,  much  defaced  by  time.  At  a  little 
distance  is  a  cross,  in  a  circle,  with  a  crucifix  on  one  side,  adjoining  which  is  a 
stone  carved  in  various  figures,  and  on  each  end  a  mezzo  relievo  of  a  saint,  which 
is  called  the  shrine  of  St.  Cronan." 


471 

by  an  array  of  veteran  soldiers,  is  an  eminent  instance  of  what  a 
band  of  heroic  men,  where  united  in  purpose,  and  coniiected  by  a 
patriotic  sympathy,  can  perform  and  eflect  in  defending  tlieir  hves 
and  hberties.  Tlie  people  of  Connaught,  now  pressed  down  by 
Danish  tyranny,  and  groaning  in  slavery,  began,  at  length,  to  emu- 
late the  spirit  and  resolution  of  their  fellow  countrymen  in  the  south, 
and  rousing  from  the  sleep  of  their  inglorious  apathy,  they  mustered 
all  their  forces,  and  after  a  succession  of  hard-fouglit  battles,  tiiey 
finally  succeeded  in  driving  the  rapacious  invaders  out  of  their  pro- 
vince. About  this  juncture,  A.  D.  945,  we  are  informed  by  some  of 
our  historians,  that  Roderick,  prince  of  Wales,  made  a  descent  on 
the  soutli  eastern  coast  of  Ireland ;  but  he  and  his  soldiers  were 
compelled  by  the  natives  to  abandon  the  country  and  to  seek  safety 
in  their  ships. 

The  splendid  victories  of  Brian  Boroihme  over  the  Danes,  instead 
of  gaining  for  him  the  admiration  of  his  contemporary  princes,  ex- 
cited, on  the  contrary,  in  their  breasts,  the  ungenerous  feelings  of 
envy  and  jealousy.*  Amongst  those  who  were  actuated  by  this  un- 
worthy passion,  was  Donald,  the  king  of  tiie  Deasies,  wiio  had  the 
temerity  to  invade  Brian's  dominions,  and  to  commence  there  all 
the  ravages  and  devastations  with  ^^hich  fire  and  sword  could  visit  a 
country.  Brian,  enraged  at  the  invasion  of  his  territories,  quickly 
took  the  field  and  defeated  Donald's  forces,  among  wliich  there  was 
a  large  army  of  mercenary  Danes,  and  obliged  the  king  of  the  Dea- 
sies, with  the  shattered  remains  of  his  troops,  to  cotnmence  a  dis- 
astrous retreat  towards  the  city  of  Waterford,  to  which  place  they 
were  rapidly  pursued  by  the  victorious  Brian,  who  came  up  to  tiieni 
before  they  had  time  to  enter  the  gates,  attacked  them  furiously,  and 
put  the  greater  part  to  the  sword.  The  king  of  the  Deasies  fell,  as 
he  should  have,  amongst  the  slain.  Brian  carried  oft'  an  immense 
quantity  of  booty  from  Waterford,  where  the  Danes  had  collected 
all  their  spoils  and  treasures.  Brian's  popularity  and  fame  now 
ascended  to  the  very  zenith  of  glory,  and  all  the  petty  princes  of 
Ireland  feared  and  hated  him.  Every  day  and  every  act  of  his 
reign  developed  the  superiority  of  his  martial  and  legislative  talents, 
and  proved  that  he  was  richly  endowed  with  all  the  mental  and  per- 
sonal qualities  requisite  in  the  formation  of  the  noblest  character  of 
a  magnanimous  and  patriotic  king.  Brave,  resolute  and  accom- 
plished, he  seemed  to  have  been  destined  by  nature,  to  command  in 
battle,  and  to  wield  a  monarchical  sceptre.  The  higher  his  reputa- 
tion rose  in  arms,  the  more  he  became  endeared  to  the  soldiers  and 
people,  who  were  dazzled  by  the  splendour  of  his  exploits,  and  the 
nobleness  of  his  sentiments.  Considering  his  sphere  of  action,  he 
might,  perhaps,  be  almost  ranked,  in  character,  with  Ca-sar  or  Na- 
poleon. As  a  king,  a  leader,  a  legislator,  a  pliiloso|)her,  on  each  of 
which  spheres  his  talents  shed  lustre,  he  displayed  a  cajjacity  and  a 
rare  union  of  virtues,  admirably  fitted  to  give  eminence  and  conse- 
quence to  any  of  these  exalted  stations.     Brian,  at  the  head  of  the 

*  Brian  got  the  surname  of  Boroihme  from  the  vast  number  of  cows  that  were 
sent  to  him  in  tribute  ;  because  Bo  is  the  plural  designation  of  cows,  and  roihmc, 
in  Irish,  the  soil,  which,  when  compounded,  signifies  the  cows  of  the  soil  or  earth. 


472 

Dalgais  or  Dalcas*  performed  many  prodiges  of  gallantry  and 
greatness.  Having  vanquished  all  his  enemies,  he  returned  to  his 
palace  to  cultivate  the  arts  of  peace.  With  the  parental  solicitude 
for  his  people,  of  a  good  king,  he  enacted  wise,  impartial  and  just 
laws  to  govern  them.  The  tribunals  of  justice  were  filled  with  up- 
right, discreet  and  competent  judges,  so  that  the  laws  were  equally 
and  impartially  administered. t  In  obedience  to  his  orders,  houses 
of  hospitality  were  opened  for  the  entertainment  of  strangers,  and 
the  lands  originally  appropriated  to  them  in  the  counties  of  Cavan, 
Monaghan,  Louth  and  Fermanagh,  restored.  He  caused  the  ruined 
abbeys  and  churches  to  be  repaired,  and  extensive  and  numerous 
colleges  to  be  erected  and  endowed  for  the  instruction  of  the  youth 
of  his  kingdom, — in  fine,  prosperity,  beneficence  and  education  were 
the  bright  and  beneficial  emanations  that  flowed  from  his  liberal, 
enlarged  and  enlightened  policy.  Besides  the  improvements  which 
he  made  for  the  benefit  of  his  subjects,  in  the  civil  and  judicial  in- 
stitutions of  the  country,  and  the  impelling  impulse  that  his  munifi- 
cence and  patronage  gave  to  the  arts  and  sciences,  he  supported  the 
grandeur  of  the  royal  dignity  in  a  splendid  style.  The  several  regal 
palaces  of  Munster,  he  caused  to  be  enlarged  and  beautified  with  all 
the  embellishments  and  decorations  which  architecture,  painting  and 
sculpture  could  bestow,  in  order  that  they  might  afford  suitable 
accommodations  for  his  own  residence,  as  well  as  for  the  becoming 
reception  of  foreign  princes  and  ambassadors  visiting  him  at  his 
courts.  In  this  manner  did  the  good  and  generous  monarch  dis- 
tinguish the  glory  and  happiness  of  his  auspicious  reign,  by  making 
his  people  participate  in  the  blessings  and  benefits  of  the  peace  and 
prosperity  of  which  it  was  the  centre  and  source.  Brian  now  claimed 
the  sovereignty  of  the  two  Munsters,  and  he  soon  compelled  the 
people  of  both  states  to  swear  allegiance  and  pay  tribute  to  him. 
At  this  era,  968,  the  king  of  Leinster  refiising  to  pay  to  Brian  the 
tribute  which  he  had  promised,  the  king  of  Munster,  in  consequence, 
invaded  Leinster.  The  king  of  Leinster,  at  the  head  of  a  formida- 
ble army  of  his  own  subjects  and  his  Danish  auxiliaries,  advanced 
to  the  frontiers  to  oppose  the  powerful  invader.  The  belligerents, 
on  approaching  each  other,  commenced  battle.  Both  parties  strug- 
gled bravely  for  victory  ;  but  Brian's  superior  generalship,  and  the 
heroic  valour  of  his  army,  gained  the  fortune  of  the   day,  and  the 

*  The  Dalgais,  so  called  from  being  the  personal  guard  of  King  Cormac  Cas, 
(or  the  beloved)  who  was  king  of  Munster  in  the  year  A.  D.  2'23.  Like  the  im- 
perial guards  of  Napoleon,  their  ranks  were  filled  only  with  gentlemen  of  valour 
and  respectable  birth.  They  were  proverbial  as  the  very  champions  of  heroism 
and  courage. 

t  Du.  Warner,  the  English  Historian  of  Ireland,  in  passing  a  deserved  enco- 
mium on  the  character  of  Brian,  says — "  The  people  were  inspired  with  such  a 
spirit  of  honour,  virtue  and  religion,  by  the  great  example  of  Brian,  and  by  his 
excellent  administration,  that  as  a  proof  of  it,  we  are  informed  that  a  young  lady 
of  great  beauty,  adorned  with  jewels  and  a  costly  dress,  undertook  a  journey  alone 
from  one  end  of  the  kingdom  to  the  other,  with  a  wand  only  in  her  hand,  at  the 
top  of  which  was  a  ring  of  exceeding  great  value ; — and  such  an  impression  had 
the  laws  and  government  of  this  monarcli  made  on  the  minds  of  the  people,  that 
ho  attempt  was  made  upon  her  honour,  nor  was  she  robbed  of  lier  clothes  or 
jewels."  On  this  incident  Moore  has  composed  one  of  his  finest  and  most  in- 
teresting melodies — entitled  "  Rich  and  rare  icere  the  gems  she  wore.''' 


473 

king  of  Leinster  was  put  to  flight  after  losing  five  thousand  of  his 
best  troops  in  the  engagement.  The  victorious  Brian  pursued  the 
Danes  to  Dublin,  where  to  evade  his  vengeance,  they  shut  them- 
selves up  in  their  fortresses.  The  king  of  Leinster  had  not  only  to 
pay  the  tribute  but  to  submit  to  such  terms  as  the  conqueror  thought 
proper  to  prescribe.  Brian,  flushed  with  victory,  and  enriched  witl) 
the  spoils  of  conquest,  accompunied  by  his  troops,  returned  in  tri- 
umph to  his  palace  at  Rincora,*  in  the  county  of  Clare. 

Tho  extensive  conquests  of  Brian  now  yielded  him  an  immense 
revenue.  Dr.  O'llalloran,  in  his  history,  enumerates  and  specifies 
them  as  follows  : — "  According  to  the  Leahar  ncC  Ccart,  (the  Book 
of  Rights)  Brian's  annual  revenues,  as  king  of  the  two  Munsters, 
consisted  of  66,400  oxen,  8,000  cows,  5,800  sheep,  0,000  hogs,  5,000 
lambs  ;  the  like  number  of  calves  ;  5,000  common,  200  green,  and 
GO  scarlet  cloaks  ;  520  tons  of  iron  :  moreover,  the  annual  revenues 
of  Limerick  were  305  tons  of  claret ;  of  Waterford  400  tons ;  and 
the  like  quantity  from  Cork  ;  besides  spices,  cloths  and  silks  from 
each  of  these  cities."  Congall,  the  monarch  of  Ireland,  envying 
Brian's  conquest  and  glory,  conceived  such  feelings  of  jealousy  and 
enmity  against  him,  that  he  marched  with  his  army  into  Munster; 
but  he  had  not  proceeded  far  before  he  met  Brian,  who  attacked 
him,  and  reduced  him  to  the  necessity  of  seeking  his  safety  in  an 
inglorious  flight  back  to  his  own  territories.  "  No  historical  records," 
writes  McDermott,  "  relative  to  this  contest,  are  in  existence  ;  and 
indeed  all  other  accounts  of  this  reign  are  very  scanty.  Some 
mention  is  made  of  the  great  successes  of  the  Danes  under  the  com- 
mand of  Godfrey,  the  son  of  Sitrick — of  their  confederacy  with  the 
Irish  in  the  province  of  Leinster — of  their  plundering  the  churches 
and  religious  houses,  and  of  their  carrying  away  three  thousand 
Irish  prisoners,  besides  gold,  silver,  and  other  booty  to  an  immense 
value.  Congall  having,  after  being  defeated  by  Brian,  marched  his 
army  to  Armagh  to  put  a  stop  to  these  depredations,  was,  after  a 
reign  of  twelve  years,  slain  in  a  battle  with  the  Danes  and  their  un- 
natural allies,  the  troops  of  Leinster,  who  obtained  the  victory." 
The  Irish  throne  becoming  vacant  by  the  death  of  Congall,  Donald 
O'Neil,  a  prince  of  the  Ileremonian  dynasty,  was  elected  to  fill  it, 
in  the  year  965.  Donald  had  not  long  possessed  the  sceptre  before 
he  invaded  Connaught,  to  avenge  some  quarrel  which  occurred  be- 
tween him  and  the  prince  of  that  province,  previous  to  his  elevation 
to  the  Irish  monarchy,  the  cause  of  which  is  not  explained.  The 
king  of  Connaught  not  being  able  to  oppose  a  vigorous  resistance  to 
the  monarch,  could  not  prevent  the  invader  from  devastating  his 
province,  or  from  carrying  oflf  vast  spoils,  and  a  great  number  of 
prisoners. 

We  will  conclude  this  chapter  by  quoting  from  McDermott's 
History  of  Ireland. 

"The   Danes   who    inhabited    Dublin  made   incursions    into   the 

*  We  have  searched  in  vain  in  several  topographies  of  Ireland,  in  order,  accord- 
ing to  our  plan  of  giving  '■'  a  local  habitation"  to  every  place  in  Ireland,  to  which 
we  may  have  occasion  to  allude  in  this  history  ;  but  we  could  not.  in  any  of  them, 
find  any  mention  or  description  of  Kincora,  in  Clare. 

60 


474 

county  of  Rildare,  which  they  phmdered  under  the  command  of 
Amelanus,  their  generah  But  these  foreign  enemies  were  not  always 
successful :  the  Mamonian.s,  under  Brian,  their  king,  attacked  the 
Danes  who  inhabited  Limerick,  defeated  them,  and  set  the  place  on 
fire.  The  king  of  Ulster  also,  provoked  with  the  Lagenians  for  their 
unnatural  confederacy  with  the  common  enemy  against  their  coun- 
try, raised  a  formidable  army  among  his  subjects,  and  having 
marched  with  it  into  Leinster,  plundered  all  the  province  from  the 
barrow  eastward  to  the  sea.  Here  he  encamped  for  two  months, 
and  withstood  tiie  united  efforts  of  the  Danes  and  Lagenians  to  dis- 
lodge and  make  him  retire. 

Notwithstanding  the  opposition  they  met  with,  and  the  discom- 
fitures which  they  so  often  experienced,  the  Danes  still  continued 
their  ravages  in  many  parts  of  the  island.  Donald  was  at  length 
induced  to  attack  those  who  inhabited  tiie  city  of  Dublin,  and  their 
unworthy  associates,  the  Lagenians  ;  which  occasioned  a  most  despe- 
rate, sanguinary  battle  at  Kilmf.inhani  ;*  so  great  was  the  slaughter 
on  both  sides,  especially  among  the  chiefs^  that  the  victory  is  ascribed 
to  neitiier.  About  the  same  time,  Brian,  the  patriotic  king  of  Mun- 
ster,  engaged  the  Danes  of  Inis-Cathy,  eight  hundred  of  whom  he 
put  to  the  sword,  and  routed  all  the  rest. 

*  KiLMAiNHAM,  long  famous  for  being  the  seat  of  the  Danish  and  English  gov- 
ernments in  Ireland,  (it  was  occupied  by  the  latter  until  after  the  completion  of 
the  Dublin  castle)  is  situated  on  an  eminence  encircled  in  a  grove  of  ancient  and 
stately  elms,  near  the  left  bank  of  the  Lift'ey.  A  magnificent  priory  was  founded 
here,  in  A.  D.  1174,  for  hospitalers  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem,  by  Strongbow,  earl 
of  Pembroke.  The  royal  hospital  of  Kilmainham  was  erected  by  order  of  Charles 
II.  "  for  such  officers  and  soldiers  of  his  Majesty's  army,"  says  the  charter,  in 
Ireland,  as  are,  or  may  become,  unfit  for  service,  by  reason  of  age,  wounds,  or 
other  infirmities."  The  merit  of  suggesting  the  plan  of  that  praiseworthy  estab- 
lishment, is  attributed  to  the  Earl  of  Granard  ;  but  the  honour  of  carrying  it  into 
effect,  history  assigns  to  the  Duke  of  Orniond.  It  was  finished  in  the  year  1683, 
after  the  sum  of  nearly  £24,000  had  been  expended  on  its  erection.  The  fabric, 
which  is  very  spacious,  resembles  in  its  architectural  mass  and  details,  the  hos- 
pital of  Chelsea.  "  The  structure,  writes  Brewer,  "  forms  a  rectangle  30G  feet  by 
288,  and  encloses  an  area  of  210  feet  square.  Three  of  the  fronts  presented  to 
view  by  this  form  of  ground-plan,  are  composed  of  brick,  and  are  plain,  but  regu- 
lar, comprising  three  stories.  The  principal  front  is  built  of  rough  stone,  and  is 
lighted  by  twelve  large  circular-headed  windows.  In  the  centre  of  this  front  is 
the  great  entrance,  ornamented  with  an  angular  pediment,  supported  by  four 
Corinthian  pilasters.  From  the  central  part  of  the  same  front  arises  a  clock-turret, 
of  two  stories,  surmounted  with  an  octagonal  spire  of  no  great  height  or  beauty," 
The  number  of  in-pensioners  in  the  hospital,  or,  as  they  are  locally  and  properly 
designated,  "  old  men,"  is  always  300,  who  are  comfortably  lodged  and  fed.  De- 
pendent also  on  the  allowance  of  the  establishment,  are  about  3,0()0  out-pensioners, 
each  of  whom  is  paid  an  annual  sum  proportionate  to  the  term  of  his  service  in 
the  array.  The  dining  hall  is  large  and  lofty,  being  100  feet  in  length  and  50  in 
breadth.  The  walls  are  covered  with  portraits  of  English  sovereigns,  and  taste- 
fully ornamented  with  arms  and  militarj'  trophies.  Attached  to  tlio  hospital  is  a 
spacious  chapel  which  stands  on  the  site  of  tlie  ancient  abbey.  The  liospital  is 
approached  from  Dublin  by  a  fine  military  road,  at  the  beginning  of  which  is  a 
superb  towered  gateway  which  was  designed  by  the  late  Francis  Johnston,  Esq., 
in  the  ancient  style  of  military  architecture.  The  court-house,  where  the  sessions 
for  the  county  are  held,  and  the  knights  of  the  shire  elected,  is  a  statel}'  and  ele- 

fant  Ionic  structure  of  much  architectural  grandeur.  The  prison,  the  largest  in 
reland,  resembles  a  fortress  more  than  a  gaol,  as  it  is  a  rectangular  building  of  283 
feet  by  190,  enclosed  by  a  thick  and  lofty  wall.  It  was  here  the  Danes,  for  centu- 
ries, held  their  strongest  hold. 


475 

Strange  and  unnatural  as  it  may  seem  for  a  man  of  a  sacred 
function  to  assist  t!ie  avowed  enemies  of  his  country,  and  endeavour 
to  bring  Iiis  countrymen  under  their  yoke,  yet  Cionnatli,  the  pri- 
mate, so  far  forgot  liis  religion  and  himself,  that  he  absolutely  aided 
the  Danes  at  Dublin,  in  their  hostilities  against  tlie  Irish.*  It  is  im- 
possible to  say  what  provocations  could  have  induced  him  to  act  a 
part  so  unworthy  of  his  character  ;  but  let  them  be  what  they  might, 
they  could  not  justify  his  conduct.  Tiie  people  of  Leinster,  who 
had  suftered  considerably  through  their  base  confederacy  with  the 
enemy,  now  became  weary  of  the  vassalage  in  which  they  were 
held,  and  taking  advantage  of  the  great  slaughter  which  was  made 
of  the  Danes  in  the  action  between  tiiem  and  the  monarch  of  Ire- 
land, refused  any  longer  to  be  their  auxiliaries.  The  Danes^  who 
had  been  accustomed  to  great  submission  from  them,  were  so  in- 
censed at  this  refusal,  that  with  the  assistance  of  Cionnath,  they 
made  war  upon  the  provincial  troops,  and  the  chief  of  Leinster  was 
killed  in  the  engagement.  Even  though  these  Danes  were  of  the 
number  of  those  converted  to  the  faith,  it  could  be  no  excuse  for  the 
primate.  But  another  extraordinary  circumstance  occurred  at  this 
period  :  soon  after  his  victory  over  the  Danes,  Donald,  the  monarch, 
abdicated  his  throne,  and  terminated  his  days  in  the  convent  at  Ar- 
magh. That  a  king  should  quit  his  throne,  and,  in  a  time  of  immi- 
nent danger,  leave  his  subjects,  whom  he  was  bound  to  defend 
against  their  enemies,  to  put  on  the  habit  of  a  monk,  and  shut  him- 
self up  in  a  convent,  is  an  instance  that  can  only  be  paralleled  by 
that  of  a  primate  turning  his  crosier  into  a  sword  in  favour  of  those 
whom  he  was  bound  by  every  tie  to  oppose. 

On  the  abdication  of  Donald,  Malachy,  the  Second,  was  elected 
monarch  of  Ireland.  This  Malachy  is  by  Ware  called  his  son,  for 
which  there  is  no  authority  ;  and  by  Keating  he  is  stated  to  be  the 
son  of  the  monarch  Flan,  which  appears  to  be  another  mistake,  as 
Flan  had  at  that  time  been  dead  above  sixty  years.  Lynch  and  the 
'  Cook  of  Reigns,'  also  style  him  the  son  of  Donald,  but  this  is  ex- 
plained by  O'Flaherty,  who  accounts  for  the  mistakes  of  Ware  and 
Keating,  by  informing  us  that  Malachy  was  the  son  of  another 
Donald,  who  was  the  son  of  Donough,  the  monarch,  and  therefore 
the  grandson  of  Flan.  It  is  certain  that  INIalacliy,  the  Second,  was 
of  the  Heremonian  line,  and  during  the  first  years  of  his  reign  he 
proved  himself  worthy  of  his  high  descent,  by  opposing  the  enemies 
of  his  country  witli  consummate  valour  and  activity.  The  battle  of 
Tara,  which  he  fought  against  the  Danes  of  Dublin,  and  the  sons  of 
Humphrey,  one  of  the  generals  whom  Brian  had  taken  prisoner,  in 

''  Dr.  O'IIalloran,  in  alluding  to  tlie  above  rol:itcd  circnnistanr-e,  says, 
"  Keating  tolls  us  that  the  Danes  of  Dublin,  by  tlie  aid  of  Cionnath  O' Hnrtcgan, 
primate  of  Armagh,  took  Ugairo.  prince  of  Leinster,  prisoner;  but  I  have  not 
found  in  the  catalogue  of  archbishops  of  thiit  see,  or  of  Dublin,  and  cannot  find 
one  prelate  of  such  a  name  in  that  century ;  so  if  the  alleged  fact  be  admitled.  be 
must  have  been  some  clergyman  of  inferior  rank."  We  think  the  opinion  of  Dr. 
O'Halloran  is  founded  in  reason  and  fact,  because  no  surli  name  as  Ciontialli.  can 
be  found  in  any  history,  extant,  of  the  Irish  bishops.  It  docs  not  appear  in  the 
accounts  which  Archbishop  Usher,  and  Sir  James  Ware,  have  given  to  us  of  the 
arch  prelates  of  Armagh  and  Dublin. 


476 

which  five  thousand  were  slain,  makes  a  principal  figure  in  the 
annals  of  his  reign.  This  action  was  soon  succeeded  by  the  siege 
of  Dublin.  Encouraged  by  his  success  at  the  battle  of  Tara,  the 
monarch  of  Ireland  made  an  alliance  with  the  king  of  Ulster,  by 
which  they  agreed  to  join  their  forces  and  attack  the  city  of  Dublin  ; 
the  place  of  refuge  for  the  Danes,  to  which  they  retired  upon  a  de- 
feat, and  where  they  received  their  supplies  from  Norway.  All  the 
necessary  preparations  for  a  siege  having  been  made,  the  allied 
army,  which  was  numerous  and  well  disciplined,  appeared  before 
the  walls.  As  they  were  without  cannon,  bombs,  mortar,  and  the 
other  implements  which  modern  times  have  invented,  the  siege  of  a 
fortified  city  depended  a  great  deal  more  on  courage  and  activity, 
than  on  skill  and  perseverance.  Accordingly  when  the  allied  army 
were  three  days  entrenched,  a  general  assault  was  made  ;  and  in 
proportion  to  the  violence  of  the  attack  was  the  slaughter  which  on 
both  sides  ensued.  The  impetuous  Irish  at  length  prevailed  ;  their 
standard  was  fixed  upon  the  ramparts,  and  the  Danes  having  made 
way,  they  entered  the  city  sword  in  hand.  The  violence  usual  on 
those  occasions  was  now  restrained  ;  the  conquerors  were  contented 
with  their  victory  and  the  plunder  which  it  afibrded,  without  putting 
the  wretched  inhabitants  to  the  sword.  All  the  Irish  prisoners, 
among  whom  were  the  king  of  Leinster,  his  children,  and  several 
hostages  of  the  first  rank,  who  had  suftered  a  long  and  severe  cap- 
tivity, were  immediately  liberated,  and  the  principal  Danish  oflScers 
confined  in  their  places.  The  Danes  by  this  conquest  were  reduced 
to  extreme  difliculties,  and  were  obliged  to  submit  to  whatever  con- 
ditions the  monarch  of  Ireland  thought  fit  to  impose.  No  doubt 
these  conditions  were  deemed  very  hard  by  the  Danes,  and  proba- 
bly were  accepted  with  a  determination  of  breaking  them  as  soon  as 
they  had  it  in  their  power.  These  conditions  were  to  quit  all  their 
conquests  from  the  Shannon  to  the  sea  eastwards;  to  refrain  from 
all  hostilities  and  incursions  under  the  penalty  of  being  cut  to  pieces 
without  quarter  ;  and  to  submit  to  the  payment  of  a  large  tribute. 
The  Danes  were  wiUing  at  all  events  to  save  their  lives,  and  their 
possession  of  the  city  of  Dublin,  and  therefore  were  ready  to  agree 
to  any  terms  of  peace  which  Malachy  might  propose.  But  as  soon 
as  they  had  recovered  themselves  by  abundant  supplies  of  every 
kind  from  Norway,  and  deemed  themselves  upon  an  e(|ual  footing 
of  strength  with  the  Irisli,  they  renewed  their  arbitrary  practices, 
and  in  spite  of  tiie  treaty  whicli  they  had  agreed  to,  attempted  to 
recover  their  former  settlements  and  sway  in  the  island.  This 
brought  on  a  rencounter  between  them  and  the  monarch  of  Ireland, 
in  which  Malachy  defeated  two  of  their  champions,  whom  he  at- 
tacked successively,  taking  from  the  neck  of  the  first  a  collar  of 
gold,  and  carrying  off  the  sword  of  the  other  as  trophies  of  his  vic- 
tory. 

The  Danes,  however,  were  so  incensed  at  tl-.e  hard  conditions 
which  the  Irish  had  imposed,  that  when  they  received  further  rein- 
forcements, they  exerted  themselves  with  redoubled  fury,  and  the 
natives  were  in  danger  of  being  again  reduced  to  a  state  of  slavery. 
The  monarch  of  Ireland  had  at  this  time  devoted  himself  to  indo- 


477 

lence  and  pleasure,  so  that  the  welfare  of  his  country  was  sacrificed 
to  his  love  of  ease  and  luxury.  All  the  provincial  kinj^.s,  except  the 
king  of  Munster,  appeared  wholly  indiflercnt  ahout  the  public  wel- 
fare. Brian  was  continually  at  the  head  of  his  brave  Mamonians, 
chasing  and  harassing  the  enemies  of  his  country  from  one  end  of 
the  island  to  the  other.  ]Malachy,  however,  was  not  so  addicted  to 
a  life  of  ease  and  pleasure,  but  that  he  could  indulge  a  spirit  of  ani- 
mosity against  his  countrymen,  and  carry  hostilities  into  xMunster, 
for  the  sake  of  gratifying  some  spleen  which  he  had  against  the 
tribe  of  the  Dalgais.  He  seized  an  opportunity  while  the  king  of 
Munster  was  assisting  the  province  of  Connaught  with  his  army 
against  the  Danes,  to  make  this  incursion  :  but,  as  soon  as  Brian 
was  informed  of  it,  he  marched  back  with  all  speed  to  the  rescue  of 
his  country,  which  Malachy  quitted  on  his  approach,  and  returned 
to  his  indolent  habits.  This  animosity  was  remembered  by  Brian, 
when  the  monarch  who  indulged  it,  thought  it  was  forgotten. 

The  remainder  of  Malachy's  life  was  so  inactive,  and  the  popu- 
larity of  Brian  was  so  great  on  account  of  his  successful  exertions 
against  the  Danes,  it  is  no  wonder  that  the  former  should  lose  the 
affections  of  his  people,  and  the  latter  acquire  all  their  esteem.  A 
striking  proof  of  this  was  immediately  given,  for  the  natives  began 
to  form  the  design  of  deposing  Malachy  and  of  conferring  the  sove- 
reignty on  Brian,  to  whose  protection  they  owed  their  lives  and 
liberties.  If  the  people  in  general  were  inclined  to  transfer  the  hon- 
our to  the  king  of  Munster,  there  is  no  doubt  but  that  his  own  sub- 
jects, who  had  great  cause  to  love  him,  would  use  all  their  exertions 
to  promote  it.  They  saw  a  fiir  opportunity  of  advancing  their  hero 
to  the  monarchy  of  the  kingdom  ;  and  they  were  glad  to  have  it  in 
their  power  to  prove  their  gratitude  for  his  excellent  administration. 
But  as  it  might  seem  to  be  rather  the  eft'ect  of  partiality  in  them, 
than  of  merit  in  their  king,  if  the  people  of  this  province  should 
stand  alone  in  the  design  of  raising  him  to  the  monarchy  of  Ireland, 
they  represented  to  the  nobility  and  gentry  of  Connaught,  the  dis- 
tressed state  of  the  island  under  the  government  of  Malachy;  and 
how  much  more  miserable  it  would  have  been  through  the  ravages 
of  the  Danes,  if  Brian  Boroihme,  their  king,  had  not  stood  up  a 
champion  for  the  common  cause,  and  singly  with  his  Mamonians 
opposed  the  continual  encroachments  of  their  enemies  :  they  there- 
fore requested  thitt  the  chiefs  of  Connaught  would  join  with  them  in 
the  resolution  of  deposing  the  monarch,  and  setting  the  king  of 
Munster  on  his  throne.  The  chiefs  of  the  two  provinces  having 
agreed  to  the  proposition,  met  in  council  to  deliberate  on  the  man- 
ner in  which  they  should  proceed ;  for  as  the  deposition  of  a  mon- 
arch, any  otherwise  than  in  battle,  or  by  assassination,  and  one  by 
banishment,  was  a  thing  unknown  in  Ireland,  it  required  some  con- 
sideration to  eftect  it  with  success  and  quietness.  They  at  length 
determined  to  send  an  embassy  to  Malachy,  and  politely  request  his 
resignation  of  the  crown  ;  but,  in  case  of  refusal,  to  adopt  compul- 
satory  measures.  They  accordingly  sent  ambassadors  of  the  first 
rank,  who,  in  pursuance  of  the  resolution  of  the  chiefs,  signified  to 
the  monarch,  that  as  he  neglected   the   protection  of  his  subjects, 


473 

and  tamely  permitted  their  o|)prepsioii  by  the  Danes,  he  was  unworthy 
of  his  exalted  sitnatinn — that  a  king  of  Ireland,  who  had  the  happi- 
ness of  his  country  at  heart,  would  never  suffer  the  ravages  of  those 
rapacious  enemies  to  pass  with  impunity — that  Brian  Boroihme,  the 
renowned  king  of  Munster,  had  ah)ne  undertaken  the  cause  of  Irish 
liberty,  and  therefore  that  he  alone  was  deserving  of  the  crown  of 
Ireland,  who  possessed  both  the  inclination  and  ability  to  defend  it 
witli  honour  to  himself  and  with  success  to  the  nation.  In  short, 
the  ambassadors  informed  Malachy  that  the  chiefs  of  the  two  pro- 
vinces whom  they  represented,  were  determined  to  dethrone  him  ; 
and  therefore  they  hoped,  for  the  sake  of  public  tranquillity,  he 
would  cheerfully  accede  to  their  wishes,  and  resign  the  crown  with- 
out any  apparent  reluctance. 

Notwithstanding  the  monarch  of  Ireland  had  been  for  several 
years  past,  addicted  to  a  life  of  ease  and  dissipation,  yet  he  was 
naturally  of  a  martial  disposition,  till  thoughtless  indulgence  had 
enervated  his  enterprising  spirit :  and  it  is  no  wonder  that  he  should 
shake  off  some  of  his  indolence  on  being  thus  addressed— it  is  no 
wonder  that  his  ardour  should  revive,  and  his  indignation  glow  on 
receiving  this  embassy  ;  that  he  should  peremptorily  refuse  to  de- 
liver up  his  crown,  and  express  a  bold  determination  to  defend  his 
right  to  the  last  extremity." 

The  import  of  this  message  roused  liim  from  his  inglorious  apathy, 
and  kindled  again  the  warlike  spirit  which  beamed  out  so  brilliantly 
at  tne  battle  of  Tara,  and  the  capture  of  Dublin.  Like  a  Pha:^nix, 
rising  with  renewed  vigour  from  the  ashes  of  his  indolence  and 
effeminacy,  he  quickly  made  the  necessary  preparations  for  main- 
taining tne  inviolability  of  his  crown. 

"  Hitherto,"  continues  McDermott,  "  the  king  of  Munster  had 
not  appeared  to  have  any  hand  in  dethroning  Malachy,  but  seems 
to  have  waited  with  expectation  that  his  Mamonians  would  have 
been  able  to  have  placed  the  crown  of  Ireland  on  his  head  without 
any  commotion.  Had  it  been  thus  accomplished  ii  would  not  only 
have  lessened  the  envy,  and  perhaps  prevented  the  opposition  of 
other  competitors  for  the  monarchy,  but  it  would  also  have  abated 
the  odium  of  Brian's  usurpation,  who  was  of  the  Ilebcrian  line,  and 
consequently  of  his  infringing  that  constitution  which  had  been  pre- 
served inviolate  for  many  ages.  But  when  on  the  return  of  the  am- 
bassadors the  king  of  Munster  was  assured  that  nothing  could  be 
expected  from  Malachy  without  force,  he  laid  aside  all  reserve  ;  and, 
availing  himself  of  the  popularity  which  he  had  acquired  among  the 
natives,  was  determined,  with  their  assistance,  to  make  the  crown  of 
Ireland  his  own.  He  therefore  raised  a  formidable  army,  not  only 
of  his  own  province,  but  in  other  parts  of  the  southern  half  of  the 
kingdom,  of  which  he  claimed  the  government ;  and  even  took  those 
Danes  into  his  pay  whom  he  had  subdued,  and  who  had  promised 
homage  and  subjection  to  him.  When  all  these  forces  were  assem- 
bled, he  put  himself  at  the  head  of  his  veteran  Dalgais,  and  marched 
directly  to  Tara  :  bfit  before  he  began  any  hostilitities,  he  sent  a 
herald  to  Malachy  to  demand  his  resignation  of  the  monarchy — to 
bring  hostages  of  the  first  quality  for  the  security  of  his  obedience, 
and,  in  case  of  refusal,  to  declare  war  against  him. 


479 

Though  the  monarch  of  Ireland  could  not  have  been  ignorant  of 
the  great  army  whicli  the  king  of  Munster  had  collected,  yet  he 
made  no  preparations  whatever  to  oppose  them  ;  his  answer  there- 
fore was,  that  as  his  army  was  separated,  he  was  in  no  condition  at 
present  to  give  battle;  but  if  the  king  of  Munster  would  suspend 
hostilities  for  a  n)onth,  in  order  to  enable  him  to  collect  his  forces, 
he  would  then  accept  the  challenge  ;  or  if  his  subjects  refused  to 
support  him  with  their  assistance,  he  would  send  hostages  to  Brian 
at  the  expiration  of  that  period,  for  his  resignation  of  the  crown, 
and  for  his  own  obedience  to  him  as  the  lawful  monarch.  In  the 
mean  time  Malachy  requested,  as  a  favour,  that  the  country  of 
Meath  might  not  be  plundered,  and  that  the  Mamonians  might  con- 
tinue quiet  in  their  camp  at  Tara.  The  king  of  Munster  was  too 
generous  an  enemy  not  to  accept  of  these  conditions  ;  and  his  obe- 
dient army,  though  eager  for  the  action,  were  restrained  without 
any  difficulty,  from  raising  contributions  on  the  country. 

It  is  supposed  as  the  monarch  of  Ireland  had  made  no  prepara- 
tions for  his  defence,  that  he  was  either  deceived  by  false  intelli- 
gence of  Brian's  army,  or  that  he  did  not  suspect  it  had  been  raised 
against  himself.  But  neither  of  these  suppositions  are  probable, 
particularly  the  latter.  JMalachy  was  evidently  determined  not  to 
resign  his  crown  without,  at  least,  the  appearance  of  being  com- 
pelled thereto,  and  he  trusted  to  the  conduct  of  the  enemy  for  the 
chance  of  still  retaining  it.  Having  thus  gained  time,  he  despatched 
messengers  to  the  chiefs  and  nobility  of  Leath  Con,  or  the  northern 
half  of  the  kingdom,  soliciting  their  assistance  and  advice  upon  this 
momentous  occasion.  lie  sent  particularly  to  the  famous  Hugh 
O'Neil,  a  prince  of  the  north  Hy-Nials,  and  chief  of  the  territory  of 
Tyrone,  of  the  Ilcremonian  house,  to  recpiest  his  proportion  of 
troops  to  succour  him  in  a  battle  on  which  his  crown  depended  ; 
and,  in  case  of  refusal,  to  insist  on  his  sending  some  hostages  which 
Malachy  might  deliver  up  to  Brian  as  a  security  for  his  own  obe- 
dience, these  being  the  conditions  to  which  he  had  been  obliged  to 
submit  for  a  suspension  of  hostilities.  The  same  message  was  sent 
to  the  king  of  Ulster  and  Connaught;  and  the  messengers  were 
authorized  to  say,  that  if  they  were  unwilling  to  support  him  against 
the  army  of  Munster,  his  resignation  of  the  crown  would  be  no  dis- 
honour to  himself,  but  an  everlasting  opprobrium  to  them,  whose 
ancestors  had  filled  the  throne  of  Ireland  for  many  ages,  and  who 
refused  to  assist  the  lawful  monarch  in  preserving  it. 

The  chiefs  of  the  northern  division,  however,  refused  to  obey  the 
summons  of  Malachy,  and  the  kings  of  Ulster  and  Connaught  also 
negatived  his  demand.  O'Neil  sent  him  word  that  when  the  palace 
of  Tara  was  possessed  by  his  great  ancestors,  they  knew  how  to 
defend  and  preserve  it;  and  if  Malachy  was  not  able  to  kee[)  pos- 
session of  it,  he  had  better  relin(iuish  what  he  was  unworthy  of; 
that  he  had  been  too  regardless  of  the  lives  and  prosperity  of  the 
natives,  whose  blood  had  been  wantonly  shed  ;  whose  wives  and 
children  were  starving  in  the  woods  ;  whose  cities,  lands  and  har- 
bours were  in  the  jiossession  of  foreign  enemies  ;  wiiose  churches, 
monasteries   and  chapels  were   laid  in   ashes;  and  that  Brian  Bo- 


480 

roihme,  like  a  true  patriot  and  valiant  chief,  had  reduced  the  com- 
mon enemy,  restored  tlie  liberty  of  the  subject,  and  employed  his 
time  and  abilities  for  the  public  j^ood.  It  is  no  wonder  then  tiiat 
the  affections  of  the  people  should  be  alienated  from  the  monarch  of 
Ireland  and  transferred  to  the  king  of  Munster,  and  if  this  was  not 
the  case,  O'Neil  declai-ed  tliat  he  would  not  oppose  the  Mamonians, 
and  especially  the  tribe  of  the  Dalgais,  whose  virtues  he  respected, 
and  whose  friendship  he  courted. 

When  Malachy  received  O'Neil's  answer  to  his  application,  he 
dreaded  the  consequences  of  his  refusal,  and  was  determined,  if 
possible,  to  win  him  over  to  his  interest.  He  therefore  personally 
addressed  O'Neil,  and  as  an  argument  which  he  thought  would  be 
irresistible,  he  offered  to  resign  to  him  his  right  to  Tara  and  its  de- 
mesnes, (which  had  always  been  appendant  to  the  crown  of  Ireland) 
and  to  secure  his  posterity  in  the  possession  of  it.  Whether  it  was 
in  the  monarch's  power  to  dismember  so  valuable  an  estate,  and  the 
ancient  palace  from  the  crown,  for  any  longer  time  than  he  held  the 
sovereignty  of  the  island,  and  whether  any  succeeding  monarch 
would  have  thought  himself  bound  by  such  agreement,  may  be  justly 
doubted,  if  not  denied.  O'Neil,  however,  required  time  to  consider 
on  the  subject,  and  to  take  the  opinion  of  his  chiefs  upon  a  matter 
of  such  importance  to  his  family  and  to  the  public. 

When  O'Neil  assembled  his  cliiefs,  and  acquainted  them  with  the 
motives  of  Malachy's  journey,  and  the  advantageous  ofters  which 
he  made  for  assistance  against  Brian,  they  suspected  the  integrity 
of  the  monarch,  and  that  if  he  had  it  in  his  power  to  make  good 
those  ofl'ers,  (for  it  was  a  matter  of  doubt  with  them)  that,  should 
he  be  re-established  in  his  kingdom,  he  would  not  be  inclined  to 
fulfil  them.  Thus  bewildered  they  at  first  advised  O'Neil  to  return 
a  polite  answer,  but  to  refuse  taking  any  part  in  his  contention  with 
Brian,  as  it  might  be  attended  with  serious  consequences.  But 
afterwards,  as  they  imagined  they  might  be  able  to  derive  some  ad- 
vantages for  themselves  from  the  distress  of  Malacliy,  they  proposed 
that  if  he  would  deliver  up  one  half  of  the  county  of  Meath  to  them- 
selves and  their  posterity,  as  well  as  the  lands  of  Tara  to  O'Neil 
and  his  heirs,  in  consideration  of  the  dangers  they  must  expose 
themselves  to  in  engaging  in  his  defence  against  the  Mamonian 
army,  they  would  immediately  prepare  themselves  for  an  engage- 
ment. 

These  conditions  were  of  course  offered  by  O'Neil  to  the  monarch 
of  Ireland,  who,  deeming  them  too  exorbitant  and  severe,  rejected 
them  with  indignation  and  returned  home  to  his  court.  In  this  di- 
lemma, he  summoned  the  nobility  of  the  tribe  of  Colman,  who  were 
under  his  immediate  jurisdiction  as  king  of  Meath,  and  representing 
to  them  the  present  state  of  affairs  and  the  insolent  demands  of 
O'Neil  and  his  chiefs,  he  requested  they  would  advise  him  how  to 
act,  and  hoped  they  would  not  forsake  him  at  such  a  critical  junc- 
ture. Though  the  tribe  of  Colman  still  retained  their  loyalty  to 
Malachy  as  their  lawful  sovereign,  yet  they  had  lost  all  affection  for 
him — though  they  would  not  join  with  Brian,  who  was  a  pretender 
to  the  crown,  yet  they  would  not  take  up  arms  for  a  monarch  who 


481 

liad  permitted  the  enemies  of  tlieir  country  to  oppress  and  enslave 
them  without  an  attempt  to  redress  their  grievances.  Their  advice 
to  JMalachy  was,  that,  as  it  was  not  in  his  power  to  resist  the  kin<>- 
of  Munster's  army,  lie  sliould  immediately  repair  to  his  camp  at 
Tara,  make  his  submission,  and  get  the  best  terms  he  could  for  the 
remainder  of  his  life.  Had  the  monarch  remained  undisturbed  in 
his  government,  no  doubt,  this  honest  tribe  would  have  been  truly 
allegiant  and  trancpiil  :  but  as  he  tottered  on  his  throne,  througli 
his  own  indiscretion,  they  deemed  it  expedient  to  express  their  sen- 
timents with  candour  and  sincerity. 

Thougli  mortified  as  Malachy  must  have  been  when  he  received 
this  advice,  yet  he  found  himself  under  the  disagreeable  necessity  of 
comi)lying  with  it  :  and  taking  with  him  a  guard  of  twelve  hundred 
h(jrse,  he  went  to  Brian  Boroihme's  camp,  where  he  was  received 
with  all  the  honour  due  to  his  rank.  Here  Malachy  related  with 
indignation  the  treatment  which  he  had  met  with  from  Hugh  O'Neil 
and  his  chiefs  ;  and  though  being  thus  abandoned  by  his  allies,  he 
was  obliged  to  resign  his  crown  and  dignity,  yet  he  honestly  owned 
to  the  king  of  jMunster,  that  it  was  absolute  necessity,  and  not  any 
want  of  courage  or  resolution,  which  compelled  him  to  abdicate  his 
crown.  Keating  tells  us  that  Brian  was  so  moved  by  Malachy 's 
ingenuous  declaration  of  his  misfortunes,  that  he  gave  him  another 
year  to  try  his  friend-^,  and  returned  with  his  army  to  IMunster.  But 
this,  which  has  not  the  air  of  probability,  is  contradicted,  says  Mac 
Curtin,  by  the  chief  antiquary  of  Ireland,  who  wrote  the  life  of  Brian 
Boroihme  ;  and  he  tells  us  that  he  was  then  proclaimed  and  crowned 
at  Tara,  by  the  unanimous  voice  of  all  the  chiefs  and  clergy  of  the 
southern  division  of  Ireland,  and  with  the  consent  of  Malachy  him- 
self" 

Brian  now,  in  virtue  of  IMalachy's  abdication,  and  the  election  of 
the  states,  as  the  acknowledged  and  rightful  king  of  Irehind,  made 
his  triumphal  entry  into  Tara,  accompanied  by  all  the  princes  in 
the  island,  who  came  to  offer  their  submission  to  him,  as  well  as  by 
all  the  nobles  and  bishops,  that  attended  to  give  eclat  and  pomp  to 
the  ceremony  of  his  coronation. 

"  After  this,"  says  McDermott,  "  Brian  assigned  to  the  deposed 
monarch  his  old  inheritance  as  king  of  Meath  ;  made  him  a  present 
of  two  hundred  and  forty  horses,  besides  gold  and  silver  to  his  reti- 
nue ;  and  the  next  year  went  to  Athlone,*  and  received  hostages 
and  submission  from  the  kings  and  chiefs  of  Connaught  and  Ulster. 

Thus  Malachv,  the  Second,  after  a  quiet  reign  of  three  and  twenty 
years,  was  deposed  from  the  throne  of  Ireland  without  any  blood- 
shed, or  even  the  least  commotion  :  and  the  renowned  Brian  Bo- 
roihme acquired  the  submission  of  all  the  chiefs  in  the  island,  and 
was  universally  acknowledged  by  all  ranks  as  monarch  of  Ireland. 

*  Athlone,  a  town  of  considerable  extent  and  respectability,  is  seated  on  both 
sides  of  the  river  Sliannon,  part  in  the  connt}^  of  Roscommon,  ami  part  in  the  county 
of  Westmealli,  at  the  distance  of  7^)  En^'lish  miles  from  Dublin.  As  it  was  the 
theatre  of  several  historical  occurrences,  we  must  reserve  a  comprehensive  descrip- 
tion of  it  for  a  future  note.  The  Shannon  is  spanned  here  by  a  superb  bridge  of 
several  arches. 

61 


482 

If  they  did  not  in  their  hearts  approve  of  the  expulsion  of  Malachy, 
and  the  interruption  of  the  succession,  yet  their  acquiescence  was 
cheerful  and  without  murmur,  hucli  a  revolution  is  extraordinary  ; 
particularly  at  this  time  in  Ireland,  where  the  monarchy  was  elec- 
tive, and  where  the  contests  for  the  crown  were  extremely  violent." 


CHAPTER  LXIII. 


Eminent  Irish  writers  of  the  ninth  and  tenth  centuries. — Brian  s  success  in  sup- 
pressing the  insurrection  of  the  Irish  malcontents,  who  icere  aided  by  the  Dunes. 
The  valour  evinced  by  Miirrough ,  the  crown  prince. —  The  Monarch  exerts  himself 
to  improve  the  intellectual  and  moral  cojulition  of  his  people. — He  augments  his 
navy. — Mul-Morda,  King  of  Leinster,  his  brother-in-law,  visits  his  court. — .4 
quarrel  occurs  between  Prince  Murrough  and  his  step-uncle,  the  King  of  Leinster  ; 
its  consequences. —  The  King  of  Leinster  declares  icar  against  Brian. — Malachy, 
the  deposed  king,  affects  friendship  for  the  cause  of  Brian;  his  treacherous  and 
hypocritical  conduct. —  The  great  battle  of  Clontarf — defeat  of  tho  Danes,  and 
death  of  the  venerable  and  valiant  Brian,  and  of  his  heroic  son,  Prince  Murrough. 
Brian's  character. 

The  wasting  wars  and  destroying  devastations  of  the  Danes  op- 
posed a  detrimental  and  material  obstruction  to  the  progress  of  edu- 
cation in  Ireland,  during  the  ninth  and  tenth  centuries.  Hence  the 
cause  which,  in  these  ages,  diminished  the  lustre  of  Irish  genius, 
and  dimmed  the  glory  of  that  beaming  constellation  of  learned  men, 
whose  enriched  minds  raised  monuments  of  literary  light  during  the 
two  preceding  centuries,  in  every  nation  of  Europe.  Notwithstand- 
ing the  barbarities  of  the  Danes,  however,  great  men  emerged,  in 
that  disastrous  epoch,  from  the  flood  of  their  despotism.  To  avoid 
persecution  Albin  and  Clement  fled  to  France,  where  their  exten- 
sive erudition  and  brilliant  eloquence  soon  procured  for  them  the 
notice  and  patronage  of  Charles,  the  Great.  Under  the  encourage- 
ment of  the  French  monarch,  Clement,  in  the  ninth  century,  founded 
the  university  of  Paris.  Albin  crossed  the  Alps,  and  journeyed  to 
Pavia,  where  he  founded  an  academy.  Clement  wrote  a  series  of 
epistles  on  rhetoric,  and  on  the  agreement  of  the  Evangelists.  Al- 
bin wrote  a  learned  disquisition  on  Irish  and  Latin  grammar. 
" Lupoldus  Behbiiburgius,''''  says  Sir  James  Ware,  "  who  lived  in  A. 
D.  1340,  makes  mention  of  our  Clement.  '  The  French,''  says  hej 
'■may  compare  with  the  Romans  and  Athenians  hy  means  of  Clement, 
an  Irishman.''  "  Claud,  who  flourished  in  the  same  age,  became 
celebrated  on  the  continent  for  his  commentary  on  the  epistles  of 
St.  Paul.  John  Erigena,  "a  man,"  says  Sir  James  Ware,  '*of 
searching  wit  and  great  eloquence,  who,  from  his  infancy,  applied 
himself  to  letters  in  liis  own  country,"  holds  a  fifth  rank  among  the 
Irish  literati.  Early  in  life  he  made  a  journey  into  France,  and 
paid  a  visit  to  Heric,  the  abbot  of  Anxerre,  who  became  so  pleased 
with  his  learning  and  sanctity,  that  he  gave  him  a  letter  of  recom- 
mendation to  Charles,  the  Bald,  in  one  passage  of  which  he  says, 
as  Sir  James  Ware  tells  us, — "  W'liy  do  I  speak  of  Ireland — that 
whole  nation  almost  despising  the  danger  of  the  sea,  resort  to  our 


483 

coasts  with  a  numerous  train  of  pfiilosopliers,  of  whom  the  more 
famous  abdicating  their  native  soil,  account  themselves  hap])y  under 
your  favour,  as  the  servants  of  the  wise  Solomon."  At  the  especial 
soHcitation  of  King  Alfred,  Erigena  came  to  England,  where  the 
king  employed  him  "  for  many  years  in  the  restoration  of  learning 
in  the  university  of  Oxford."  He  died  at  INIalnisburg  abbey,  Eng- 
land, in  the  year  887.  His  works  in  Greek,  Latin,  Arabic  and 
Chaldaic,  were  extensive,  and  some  of  them  were  extant  in  the  age 
of  Honorius.  In  the  tenth  century  King  Cormac  of  ]Munster,  who 
wrote  the  celebrated  psalter  of  Cashel,  flourished,  and  contemporary 
with  him  was  Prohus,  the  author  of  a  life  of  St.  Patrick,  and  of  a 
commentary  on  Juvenal.  Prohus,  according  to  the  annals  of  the 
four  masters,  died  in  the  year  920. 

Brian's  accession  to  the  throne  of  Ireland  took  place  in  the  year 
1002,  in  the  seventy-sixth  year  of  his  age.  After  gaining  possession 
of  the  reins  of  regal  power,  the  pious  monarch  made  a  pilgrimage 
to  the  cathedral  of  Armagh,  where  he  humbled  himself  in  prayer 
and  penance,  and  laid  on  the  altar  an  oftering  of  twenty  ounces  of 
gold.  On  his  return  to  his  palace,  which,  according  to  Dr.  O'Hal- 
loran,  was  near  Killaloe,  in  the  county  of  Clare,  he  received  intelli- 
gence that  some  petty  princes  were  discontented  at  his  elevation  to 
the  monarchy,  in  consequence  of  his  not  being  descended  from  the 
Heremonian  dynasty.  Although  they  had  more  prudence  than  to 
raise  the  standard  of  revolt,  they  yet  openly  expressed  their  dislike 
and  disaftection  to  the  new  monarch,  and  boldly  refused  to  recog- 
nize him  as  king  of  Ireland.  Brian,  ever  |)rompt  in  his  resolutions, 
took  instant  measures  to  crush  the  incipient  insurrection  in  its  bud. 
For  this  purpose,  he  caused  his  son,  Murrough,  at  the  head  of  some 
])rovincial  troops,  to  march  into  their  territories,  and  bring  them  to 
obedience.  The  monarch  himself  proceeded  to  the  districts  of  the 
northern  malcontents,  who,  on  his  approach,  submitted,  paid  him 
tribute,  and  delivered  into  his  hands  hostages  as  a  security  for  their 
future  allegiance. 

While  Brian  and  his  son  were  employed  in  suppressing  the  spirit 
of  disaftection,  the  Danes  were  plotting  and  conspiring  to  regain 
their  former  power  in  the  country.  Finding  that  Brian  v.as  far 
distant,  they  made  an  incursion  on  the  coast  of  Ulster,  where  they 
committed  many  excesses  of  rapine  and  tyranny.  Another  body  of 
these  ravagers  plundered  Cork,  and  then  set  fire  to  the  city.  A 
third  party  of  them,  in  conjunction  with  their  old  allies,  the  Lage- 
nians,  penetrated  into  Meath,  where  their  aggressions  and  devasta- 
tions were  enormous.  But  on  their  retreat  from  Meath,  Prince 
Murrough  fell  upon  them  from  an  ambuscade,  cut  the  greater  part 
of  them  to  pieces,  and  captured  the  Danish  chief  and  his  son,  whom, 
for  their  cruelty,  he  doomed  to  a  disgraceful  death. 

The  monarch,  having  now  crushed  all  his  foreign  and  internal 
foes,  devoted  his  thoughts  to  the  most  effectual  means  of  affording 
all  the  blessings  of  peace  and  prosperity  to  his  people.  To  secure 
the  devotion  and  loyalty  of  the  nobles,  he  confirmed  them  in  all  their 
possessions  and  privileges.  His  next  act  was  to  summon  a  synod  of 
the  bishops  and  clergy,  in  order  that  the   government  of  every  see 


484 

should  be  restored  to  the  bishop  who  had  been  ejected  by  the  Danes, 
if  living.  He  gave  the  prelates  money  to  expend  in  the  sepairs  of 
the  churches  and  abbeys  which  the  Danes  had  mutilated.  New  col- 
leges were  built  and  richly  endowed  by  the  monarch,  and  filled  with 
professors  eminent  for  their  mental  capabilities.* 

Tlie  Danes  being  a  very  commercial  and  marine  people  who  im- 
ported rich  and  various  commodities  from  foreign  countries,  Brian, 
to  benefit  his  people,  and  to  aft'ord  the  princes  and  nobles  costly 
dresses  and  rare  luxuries,  permitted  them  to  reside  and  open  their 
warehouses  in  DubUn,  Cork,  Limerick,  Waterford  and  Wexford,  first 
obtaining  from  them  security  for  their  allegiance,  and  the  payment 
of  annual  tribute.  "In  order,"  says  Dr.  O'Halloran,  "to  prevent 
confusion,  and  to  preserve  and  regulate  genealogies,  he  appointed 
surnames  of  distinction,  assumed  from  some  particular  heroic  an- 
cestors, to  all  the  several  branches  of  the  Milesian  race,  and  to  the 
other  principal  families  in  the  kingdom  ;  a  thing  then  unknown  in 
Ireland  ;  and,  according  to  the  observation  of  some  writers,  it  was 
not  till  this  time  that  surnames  began  to  be  ascertained  in  France, 
England  and  Scotland  ;  first  among  persons  of  distinction,  and 
afterwards  among  the  inferior  classes."'  To  facilitate  inland  trade 
and  agriculture,  he  caused  bridges  to  be  built  over  the  principal 
rivers  in  Ireland,  and  ordered  roads  to  be  made  through  almost 
every  part  of  the  kingdom.  Under  such  a  salutary  and  benign  sys- 
tem of  government,  the  country  was  now  enjoying  the  beneficial 
efl:ects  of  jirofound  peace, — and  the  expanded  intellect  of  the  mon- 
arch grasped  every  means  that  could  prolong  their  happy  continu- 
ance. To  counteract  the  designs  of  the  Danes,  and  resolved  to  act 
according  to  the  maxim,  "a  wise  prince  in  the  midst  of  peace  should 
be  ready  for  war,"  and  to  frustrate  any  future  attempt  which  they 
might  make  to  disturb  the  national  tranquillity,  he  kept  a  standing  ar- 
my in  the  camps,  and  placed  strong  garrisons  in  the  raths  and  fortreses 
which  the  Danes  had  lately  occu|(ied  in  all  parts  of  the  kingdom. 
He  forbade  by  roval  ordinance  any  Dane  lujkling  privilege  or  citi- 
zenship in  Ireland,  who  did  not  conform  in  spirit  and  practice  to 
the  Roman  Catholic  religion.  "  This  condition,"  observes  an  Irish 
historian,  "  was  so  well  observed  by  these  foreigners,  that  they  not 
only  ])rofessed  to  believe  in  Christ,  and  were  baptized,  but  many  of 
them  became  so  learned  and  exemplary  as  to  be  consecrated  bishops 
of  the  cities  which  they  inhabited,  by  the  Norman  archbishops  of 
Canterbury." 

Notwithstanding  Brian's  grandeur,  power  and  riches,  he  preferred 
residing  in  the  bumble  palace  of  Kincora,  where  he  was  born,  rather 
than  in  one  of  his  other  marble  mansions  on  which  architecture  and 

*  "  In  the  library  of  Trinity  College,  Dublin,"  says  Ware,  "  there  is  a  manu- 
script history  of  Ireland,  by  McGeohegan,  translated  from  an  old  book  which  is 
said  by  the  author  to  be  compiled  from  Columcil!  O'More,  and  others  that  were 
professed  Irisli  chroniclers,  which  states  that  '  Brian,  observinjr  into  what  igno- 
rance the  kingdom  was  fallen  by  tiie  devastations  and  outrages  of  the  Danes, 
liaving  assembled  all  the  nobilitj',  bishops,  and  great  men  at  Cashel,  he  caused  all 
their  history  from  the  time  in  which  it  liad  been  left  off,  to  be  recorded  in  the 
psalter  there,  which  they  all  signed  ;  copies  of  which  were  sent  into  every  pro- 
vince for  the  use  of  eacli  provincial  king,  and  no  credit  was  to  be  given  to  any 
other  relations  of  public  affairs,  than  what  were  contained  in  those  chronicles.'  " 


485 

sculpture  had  lavished  all  their  beauties  and  splendour.  "  But  here," 
says  his  bin<rrapher,  "his  court,  his  retinue,  and  the  sumptuous  hos- 
pitaHty  of  his  table,  were  in  all  respects  beconiinfj  the  sovereign  of 
Ireland.  Tlie  astonishini^  quantity  of  provisions  which  was  animally 
sent  in  by  tiie  other  tlirei'  provinces,  bedsides  a  constant  revenue  from 
his  own  province  of  Munster,  may  atl'ord,  in  some  degree,  an  idea 
of  the  ma<inilicence  and  splendour  witli  which  liis  royal  dignity  was 
supported."* 

For  the  purpose  of  rendeiino-  Ids  naval  power  more  formidable, 
the  monarch  ordered  three  new  sliips  of  war  to  be  built  in  the  port 
of  Limerick,  of  the  largest  dimensions.  During  this  preparation, 
Brian  sent  njcsscngers  to  Mal-Mordo,  king  of  Leinster,  whose  sister 
he  had  lately  espoused,  requesting  as  a  favour,  that  three  of  the 
finest  and  loltiest  trees  to  be  found  in  his  kingdom,  might  be  fur- 
nished to  him  to  make  masts  for  the  new  ships.  The  king  of 
Leinster  promptly  and  ciieerfully  complied  with  the  solicitation  of 
his  brother-in-law.  Carpenters,  appointed  by  Mal-Morda,  surveyed 
the  great  wood  of  Sldlltlagh.i 

When  the  trees  were  brought  to  Ferns,  the  royal  residence,  the 
king,  in  order  to  enhance  the  i)resents,  signified  his  intention  of 
accompanying  the  conveyance  of  the  masts  to  the  court  of  Brian. 
On  coming  near  Kincora,  a  hot  dispute  arose  between  the  tribes 
that  were  ojjpointcd  to  convey  the  masts,  about  the  point  of  prece- 
dency in  approaching  the  monarch,  and  in  presenting  to  him  the 
masts.  As  soon  as  Mal-JMorda  ascertained  the  cause  of  the  alterca- 
tion, he  rode  up  to  them,  and  not  only  decided  which  of  the  tribes 
should  have  the  honour  of  first  going  to  the  presence  of  Brian  ;  but 
in  the  ardour  of  his  zeal  and  tiie  warmth  of  his  solicitude,  he  dis- 
mounted from  his  steed  and  assisted  his  favourite  tribe  to  drag  on 
the  carriages  which  bore  the  masts.  While  the  king  was  thus  toil- 
ing, the  golden  clasp  which  fastened  the  collar  of  his  silk  mantle, 
flew  off",  and  was  lost.  The  mantle,  which  was  gorgeously  studded 
with  diamonds  of  the  purest  water,  was  a  present  which  Brian  bad's 
made  to  him  on  the  day  of  his  marriage  with  his  sister,  as  a  token 
of  regard  and  friendship.  After  the  masts  were  presented  to  the 
monarch,  and  the  usual  ceremonies  had  been  gone  through,  and  the 
cordial  greetings  of  congratulation  and  welcome  were  warmly  re- 
ciprocated, the  king  of  Leinster  retired  to  the  private  apartment  of 
his  sister,  the  queen,  and    informed   her  of  the   cause  of  the  loss  of 

*  "  It  appears  evident  from  his  vast  income  in  money,  oxen,  wines,  clotlis,  &c., 
that  the  exchequer  revenues  of  the  monarch  Brian,  were  equal  to  those  of  any 
prince  in  Europe  at  this  day,  (17li(3)  being  appropriated  only  to  support  the  splen- 
dour of  the  diadem." — O'IIallorax. 

i  Siiir.i.Fi.Aon — Once  so  fatuous  for  its  extensive  forests  of  irigantic  oaks,  is  the 
name  of  a  fertile  barony  in  the  county  of  Wicklow,  the  lit  le  capital  of  which 
bears  the  same  name,  and  is  distant  tiiirty  Irisli  miles  from  Dublin.  The  oak  of 
Shillelagh  was,  from  the  twelfth  to  the  fourteenth  century,  deemed  b^^  architects 
the  best  in  Europe,  in  consequence  of  its  elastic  and  durable  qualities.  When 
Richard  II.,  in  A.  D.  13!)!),  rebuilt  Westminster  Hall,  lie  caused  that  edifice  to  be 
roofed  with  Shillelagh  oak,  which  roof  is  still,  after  the  lapse  of  centuries,  sound, 
unimpaired  and  solid.  Vast  quantities  of  that  wood  were  exported  to  the  conti- 
nent of  Europe.  All  the  ancient  sires  of  the  Titan  oaks  of  Shillelagh,  have  fallen 
from  tlieir  loi^ty  heirrlit  like  the  sons  of  Coelus,  and  few  and  distant  are  the  now 
dwarfisii  groves  of  the  once  wood-covered  Shillelagh. 


486 

the  clasp,  and  heorged  that  she  might  affix  another  to  his  mantle,  as 
lie   wished  to  wear  it  at  the  audience  which   her  husband  intended 
to   give,  on  the  following   day,  to    princes  and   ambassadors.     The 
queen,  a  woman  of  a  most  exalted  spirit,  although   she   loved  her 
brother  with  tlie  sincerest  affection  of  a  sister,  felt  her  pride  so  hum- 
bled, and  her  resentment  so  incensed,  at  the  acknowledgment  of  the 
king  of  Leinster,  that  she   tauntingly  replied  to  him  in  these  severe 
terms: — "Oh  !  my  brother,  sliame  be  upon  you, — your  ignoble  con- 
duct makes  my  blood  boil  with  indignation — it  severs  my  affection 
for  you.     Then  away  !  from  my  sight,  and  know,  fallen  prince  !  that 
it  is  not  for  the  daughter  of  a  long  race  of  Heremonian  monarchs, 
on  whose  majesty  centuries  of  glory,  greatness  and  virtue  have  shed 
their  splendid   lustre,  to  array  and  deck  out  in  the  servile  livery  of 
subjection,  the  pusillanimous  representative  of  her  illustrious  ances- 
tors, who  wouhi   sooner  die  than  bend  the  knee  of  homage  at  the 
footstool  of  a  Heberian  conqueror,  or  offer,  like  you,  the  incense  of 
flattery,  with  craven  and  sycophantic  groups  of  tributary  and  vassal 
kings.     The  royal  blood  of  Heremon,  which  warmed  with  the  fire 
of  enthusiastic   courage,  the  bounding  hearts  of  a  legion  of  heroic 
kings,  has  become  frozen,  degenerate  and  corrupt  in  your  veins  ;"  * 
and  then   snatching  the  mantle  from  his  shoulders,  she  threw  it  into 
the  fire.     The  king,  no  wonder,  appeared   like  a  man   struck   by  a 
thunderbolt,  at  this  very  satirical  rebuke  from  his  sister.     But  though 
justly  maddened   with  rage  and  resentment   at  her  unkind  and  un- 
gracious treatment,  he   yet  suppressed   his  anger,  and  refrained,  at 
that  time,  from   mnking  a  recriminatory  reply.     "Probably,"  says 
an   Irish   historian,  "  il/aZ-J/orrfa  began  to  be   ashamed  of  himself ; 
the  remonstrance  of  his  sister  might  have  awakened  his  pride,  and 
he  might  have    repented  of  this  degeneracy  from   the  spirit  of  his 
ancestors."     Tlie  next  day,  as  the  king  of  Leinster  was  looking  upon 
a  game  of  chess,  in  which  Prince  Murrough  and  one  of  his  relatives, 
were  engaged,  he,  no  doubt,  unfairly  and  obstrusively,  as  a  stander- 
by,  suggested  to  the    prince's    opponent  a  move  which  caused  Mur- 
rough to  lose  the  game.     The  prince,  provoked  at  the  intrusive  ad- 
vice of  the   king  of  Leinster,  sarcastically  remarked, — "  If  your 
majesty  had  given  such  good  opinion  at  the  battle  of  Ghn-Molaur, 
(the    plentiful    valley  in  the  county  of  AVicklow)  the   Danes,  your 
fricnch.  would  not  have  suffered  so  signal  a  defeat."     Mal-Morda,  ir- 
ritated by  the  keenness  of  the  retort,  spiritedly  replied  in  his  kindled 
spirit  of  resentment — "  Sir,  if  the  Danes  have  been  defeated  by  my 
advice,  I  am  resolved  to  put  them  in  a  way  to  regain  their  lost  ground, 
and  to  take  their  full  revenge  on  you,  and  the  old  king,  your  father." 
"  Oh,  sir,"  replied  Murrough,  "my  father  and  myself  have  so  often 
conquered    foreign    enemies,  although    backed    Ijy   your   majesty's 
forces,  that  we  are  quite  ready  and  willing  to  meet  them  again,  even 
if  led  on  by  yourself."     "The  king  of  Leinster,"  writes  Cummer- 
ford,  "said  no  more, — but  immediately  retired  to  his  chamber  ;  and 
ruminating  upon  the  indignities  which  he  had  received  in  the  court 
of  Brian,  from  his  queen  and  eldest  son,  he  refused  to   appear  at 

*  The  Queen's  sarcastic  and   witlierinjj  address  to  her  brother,  we  have  trans- 
lated from  "  O'Shees  Legends  and  Karrative  of  Leinster." 


487 

supper.  Appreliensive,  however,  that  Murrough  might  take  an 
alarm  at  his  refusal,  and  for  the  purpose  of  baffling  his  revenge,  and 
preventing  him  of  a  chance  to  seize  his  person,  he  rose  very  early 
on  the  next  morning,  and  without  any  ceremony,  quitted  the  mon- 
arch's court,  fully  bent  and  determined  on  speedily  gratifying  his 
resentment,  let  the  consequences  be  what  they  might."  As  soon  as 
the  monarch  was  informed  of  the  strange  and  abrupt  departure  of 
the  king  of  Leinster  from  his  palace,  he  made  instant  inquiry  to 
ascertain  the  cause  of  his  setting  otF  so  unceremoniously,  and  on 
learning  all  the  particulars,  he  expressed  himself  displeased  with 
the  queen  and  Prince  JMurrough.  He  caused  an  officer  to  follow 
the  king  to  invite  him  to  come  back  to  Rincora,  for  the  purpose  of 
giving  to  him  an  op|)urtunity  of  bestowing  on  his  brother-in-law  the 
rich  presents  which  he  had  intended  for  his  acceptance.  But  scarce- 
ly had  the  officer,  on  overtaking  IMal-Morda  near  Rillaloe,  delivered 
the  message  of  Brian,  than  the  indignant  king  struck  him  violently 
three  times  on  the  head,,  by  one  of  which  blows  he  fractured  his 
skull.  Expostulation  or  argument  could  not  appease  the  anger  of 
the  enraged  king.  The  officer,  after  his  head  had  been  trepanned 
by  a  surgeon,  made  the  best  of  his  way  back  to  his  royal  master,  to 
whom  he  related  all  that  had  happened.  When  the  household 
troops  heard  of  the  indignity  offered  to  the  monarch's  messenger, 
they  loudly  and  indignantly  exclaimed  against  the  king  of  Leinster, 
and  in  the  glow  of  their  resentment,  which  was  probably  fanned  by 
Prince  Murrough,  entreated  of  Brian  to  allow  them  to  pursue, 
and  to  bring  him  back  a  ca))tive,  to  answer  for  the  unpardonable  in- 
sult which  he  had  given.  But  tlie  prudent  monarch,  conscious  that 
his  queen  and  son  were  the  first  aggressors,  and  that  their  treatment 
of  the  king  of  Leinster  was  not  only  rudely  insolent,  but  still  more 
aggravated  by  violating  the  laws  of  hospitality,  peremptorily  refused 
compliance  with  tlieir  request.  INLal-Morda,  burning  with  the  de- 
sire of  revenge,  on  reaching  his  palace,  instantly  summoned  a  con- 
vention of  all  the  chiefs  of  Leinster,  to  whom,  as  soon  as  they  were 
assembled,  he  pathetically  related  in  coloured  and  exaggerated 
terms  of  accusation,  the  ignominious  insults  and  indignities  with 
which  he  was  assailed  at  Brian's  court.  They,  led  away  by  the 
combustible  feelings,  to  which  the  king's  touching  appeal  to  their 
pride  and  patriotism  set  fire,  unanimously  resolved  to  ally  themselves 
with  the  Danes,  and  to  collect  such  a  numerous  army  as  would 
enable  them  to  take  ample  vengeance  on  Brian  at  the  very  gates  of 
his  palace,  before  he  could  have  placed  himself  in  a  posture  of 
defence.  "Thus,"  writes  McDermott,  "for  a  mere  trifle,  the 
tranquillity  of  the  country  was  to  be  again  disturbed — for  a  button, 
we  may  s.ay,  the  loss  of  which  had  occasioned  the  bitter  invectives 
of  a  proud  woman,  who,  advocating  the  dignity  of  her  illustrious 
ancestors,  worked  up  her  brother  to  irascible  madness,  and  endan- 
gered the  life  and  throne  of  her  husband  and  monarch."  Mal- 
Morda's  application  to  the  Danish  chiefs  was  soon  and  gladly  ac- 
ceded to, — for  his  standard  was  speedily  joined,  not  only  by  the 
Danes  in  Ireland,  but  by  fresh  detachments  of  troops  that  were 
shipped  from  Denmark   and   Norway  to  augment  his  force.     The 


488 

Danes  of  course  rejoiced  at  the  civil  war,  as  they  expected  its  results 
would  once  more  give  to  them  the  possession  of  "  a  land  overflowing 
with  milk  and  honey. '" 

The  king  of  Leinster,  perceiving  his  ranks  daily  increasing  to  a 
formidable  aggregate,  sent  heralds  to  Kincora,  to  declare  war 
against  Brian,  and  to  challenge  him  to  a  battle  in  the  vicinity  of 
Dublin.  The  monarch,  early  aware  of  the  great  preparations  that 
were  made  by  the  king  of  Leinster,  put  every  measure  in  practice 
that  could  tend  to  the  subversion  of  the  formidable  combination 
which  the  Lagenians  and  Danes  had  organized  against  the  welfare 
and  liberties  of  Ireland.  He  proclaimed  war  against  Mal-Morda, 
and  summoned,  as  monarch  of  Ireland,  all  the  tributary  princes, 
with  their  contingents  of  troops,  to  his  camp.  Arrayed  under  his 
standard  soon  appeared  the  heroic  Dalgais,  the  troops  of  Connaught 
with  their  several  princes  at  their  head,  and  the  forces  of  Ulster, 
commanded  by  the  brave  Sitrick,  his  nephew,  and  the  army  of  the 
Deasies, — the  whole  forming  a  combined  martial  mass  of  strength, 
number  and  power,  from  which  success  and  victory  might  be  justly 
anticipated. 

Although  the  veteran  njonarch  was  far  advanced  in  years,  having 
now  reached  the  eighty-eighth  year  of  his  age,  he  yet  retained  the 
mental  faculties  in  their  primitive  power,  and  all  the  vigour  and 
spirit  of  a  warrior  ;  and  his  ardent  patriotism  and  love  of  martial 
glory,  gave  a  stimulating  impulse  to  his  maitial  genius,  and  kindled 
in  his  heart  the  animating  courage  and  fire  of  youth.  In  the  brave- 
ry of  Prince  Murrough,  and  in  his  genius  and  capacity  as  a  general, 
the  whole  army  had  the  utmost  confidence.  Brian  led  on  a  well 
appointed  and  highly  disciplined  army,  in  the  beginninof  of  April, 
A.  D.  1014,  to  Dublin,  and  encamped  near  the  strong  Danish  for- 
tress of  Kilraainham. 

The  Danes,  dreading  the  monarch's  bravery  and  generalship, 
could  not  be  induced  to  come  out  of  their  fortresses  in  Dublin  ;  but 
Brian,  to  compel  them  to  give  him  battle,  broke  up  his  camp,  and 
made  a  movement  with  his  whole  army,  to  Clontarf,*  near  to  which 

•^  Clontarf,  the  glorious  Marathon  of  Ireland,  a  considerable  and  pretty  vil- 
lajre,  stands  on  the  margin  of  the  bay,  about  two  miles  from  tlie  city  of  Dublin. 
With  the  sea  before  it,  and  a  domained  country  behind  it,  fvw  phices  in  the  vicini- 
ty of  the  metropolis  equal  it  for  rural  grace  and  landscape  beauty.  "  On  the  edge 
of  the  water,"  writes  Brewer,  "  are  numerous  small  buildings  termed  the  sheds  o? 
Clontarf,  which  appellation  they  acquired  from  ths  former  residence  of  fishermen, 
who  erected  here  many  wooden  fabrics  for  the  puipose  of  drying  fish.  Neat 
dwellings,  used  as  lodging  houses,  are  now  interspersed  among  the  relics  of  those 
humble  sheds  ;  but  the  most  pleasing  parts  of  this  retired  and  agreeable  village, 
are  scattered  with  an  unstudied  diversity  of  site,  through  sliaded  and  rural  lanes. 
Several  of  the  buildings,  thus  widely  placed,  are  villas  of  some  e.xttmt  and  ele- 
gance. Others  are  cottages  of  a  soft  and  embellished  character,  and  well  adapted 
to  the  occupation  of  persons  who  seek,  on  this  tranquil  shore,  a  summer  residence 
for  the  advantage  of  bathing.  The  whole  district  is  adorned  with  sheltering 
woods;  and  prospects  of  considerable  beauty  aie  obtained  at  several  points  of  the 
green  and  devious  lanes."  A  monastery  was  fo\indcd  at  Clontarf,  in  A.  D.  550, 
and  dedicated  to  St.  Congall.  In  the  reign  of  Henry  II.  it  was  converted  into  a 
preceptory  for  knights  templars.  When  Henry  VII 1.  suppressed  the  Irish  abbeys, 
he  made  a  grant  of  it  to  Sir  John  Rawson,  prior  of  Kilmainham,  whom  that  mon- 
arch raised  to  the  dignity  of  Viscount  Clontarf.  In  consequence  of  the  Rawsons 
being  the  warm  adherents  of  Queen  Mary,  Elizabeth,  on  her  accession,  confiscated 


4S9 

tlie  wliole  Danish  fleet  was  riding  at  anclior.  This  ingenious  move- 
ment had  the  desired  eftect  ;  for  the  Danes  becoming  alarmed  for 
llie  safety  of  their  fleet,  marched  with  celerity  out  of  the  city,  and 
advanced  towards  Brian's  camp.  A  battle  now  became  inevitable. 
Brian  arranged  his  troo])s  with  his  accustomed  skill,  precision  and 
generalship.  He  ranked  his  army  in  three  divisions: — the  right 
wing,  which  took  up  a  position  along  tiie  west  bank  of  the  Lifi^ey  as 
far  as  the  site  of  the  ])resent  Carlisle  bridge  and  Sackville  street, 
Dublin,  was  composed  of  the  royal  guards,  the  Dalgais,  and  the 
Meathians,  under  their  Ring  jMalachy  ;  over  this  division  Brian 
placed,  as  chief  commanders,  his  eldest  son.  Prince  Murrough,  and 
his  younger  sons,  Tiege,  Donald,  Connor  and  Flan.  The  centre 
division  consisted  of  the  forces  of  Desmond,  of  South  Munster,  and 
a  large  i)halan\'  of  the  western  Connacians  ;  tlie  whole  of  tiiis  divi- 
sion, which  was  ranked  where  the  town  of  Clontarf  now  stands,  was 
commanded  by  Kiau  and  Donald,  two  gallant  Eugenian  princes, 
relatives  of  the  monarch  ;  and  holding  rank  as  oflicers  under  them, 
were  O'Donoghue  of  Killarney,  O'Donovan,  lord  of  Hy-Cairl*re, 
McCarthy,  ))rince  of  Desmond,  O'Dowling,  chief  of  Hy-Connell, 
O'Reefe  of  Fermoy,  and  many  other  brave  and  noble  youths,  whose 
names  and  exploits  are  only  to  be  found  in  their  genealogical  his- 
tory. In  this  force  was  also  comprehended  the  troops  of  O'Carroll, 
prince  of  Oriel.  The  left  wing,  stationed  on  the  site  of  Marino,* 
formed  of  the  troops  of  Connaught  and  Ulster,  was  commanded  by 
the  king  of  Connauorht,  by  Brian's  nephew,  the  prince  of  Ulster, 
with  his  tributary  chieftains,  the  McMahons  of  IMonaghan,  the 
O'Reillys  of  Cavan,  the  O'Donnells  of  Donegal,  the  O'llanlons  of 
Armagh,  the  McGuinises  of  Down,  and  the  McLoughlins  of  Tyrone. 
We  extract  from  Hardiman's  Irish  Minstrelsy,  an  account  of  the 
array  of  the  forces,  and  their  order  of  battle  at  Clontarf,  as  trans- 
lated from  the  annals  of  Innisfallen  and  Ulster,  by  Mr.  John 
O'DoxovAN,  a  profound  and  erudite  Irish  antiquarian:  "The  king 
of  Denmark  sent  his  two  sons,  Carolus-Kanutus  and  Andreas,  at 
the  head  of  twelve  thousand  men,  who  landed  safely  in  Dublin,  and 
were  kindly  received  and  refreshed  by  3Ial-jMorda.  Troops  now 
daily  poured  into  the  difierent  ports  of  Leinster,  from  Sweden,  Nor- 
way, Normandy,  Britain,  the  Orkneys,  and  every  other  northern 
settlement.  The  king  of  Leinster  was  also  indefatigable,  not  only 
in  raising  new  levies,  but  in  labouring  to  detach   different   princes 

their  estates,  and  bestowed  the  manor  and  town  of  Clontarf  on  Sir  Geoffrey  Fen- 
ton,  secretary  of  state,  wlio  was  designated  by  Sir  Richard  Cox,  "  a  moth  in  the 
garments  of  all  the  secretaries  of  his  time."  The  Protestant  churcli  of  Clontarf 
stands  on  the  site  of  St.  CongalFs  monastery.  In  the  vicinity  of  Clontarf  is  a 
large  charter  school. 

*  Marino,  the  magnificent  and  picturesque  residence  of  the  Earl  of  Charle- 
mont,  is  situated  in  the  vicinity  of  Clontarf.  The  high  minded  nobleman,  and 
incorruptible  Irish  iiatriot,  the  celebrated  .lames.  Earl  of  (^barlcmont,  found  tiie 
site  of  Marino  a  wild,  in  which,  it  might  be-  said,  he  opened  a  paradise  of  scenic 
beauty  and  grandeur,  under  the  two  aspects  of  rural  charms  and  architectural 
sumptuousness.  '•  The  mansion,"  says  Brewer,  "  contains  many  apartments,  ar- 
ranged with  much  classical  taste,  and  enriched  with  estimable  woiks  in  painting 
and  sculpture.  The  demesne  comprises  about  one  hundred  acres,  finely  wooded, 
and  elaborately  ornamented."' 
02 


490 

from  the  interests  of  their  country.  Never  were  such  efforts  made 
by  the  Danes  as  upon  this  occasion  :  the  best  men  were  every  where 
pitched  upon  for  this  service.  Among  others,  Broder  and  Anrudh, 
two  Norwegian  princes,  landed,  at  the  head  of  one  thousand  choice 
troops  covered  with  coats  of  mail.  These,  joining  their  countrymen 
and  the  treacherous  troo[)S  of  Leinster,  marched  to  Clontarf,  big 
with  the  hope  tliat  they  would  be  able  to  vanquish  Brian  before  his 
son  Donough,  who,  at  the  head  of  a  large  force,  was  ravaging  Lein- 
ster, could  return  from  his  expedition.  Tlie  Danes  formed  them- 
selves into  three  divisions: — the  first  consisting  of  1,000  northmen, 
encased  in  coats  of  mail,  and  commanded  by  Carolus  and  Anrudh. 
Under  their  orders  were  the  Danes  of  Dublin,  headed  by  Dolat  and 
Conmael.  The  second  division  consisted  of  Lagenians  about  9,000 
strong,  conniianded  by  their  king,  Mal-Morda,  and  under  him,  by 
several  minor  princes,  such  as  O'Toole,  O'Byrne,  and  the  O'Con- 
nors, chiefs  of  Ophaly,  county  of  Kildare.  The  third  division  was 
formed  of  the  northmen  collected  from  Scotland  and  the  Isle  of 
Man.  It  was  commanded  by  Loder,  earl  of  tlie  Orkneys,  and  Bro- 
der, admiral  of  the  fleet  which  had  brought  the  auxiliary  northmen 
to  Ireland."  Brian  viewed  the  opposing  ranks  without  fear  or  dis- 
may,— he  oflered  them  battle  on  Palm  Sunday,  A.  D.  1014,  which 
they  declined  ;  but  on  Good  Friday,  the  23d  of  April,  they  signified 
by  their  dispositions,  that  they  were  ready  for  the  conflict  which 
was  to  decide  the  fate  of  Ireland.  Brian  felt  much  grieved  that  a 
day  of  such  sacredness  and  sanctity  should  be  devoted  to  all  the 
horrors  of  mortal  strife  ; — but  fight  he  must,  no  other  alternative  re- 
mained ;  tlie  interest  of  his  country  and  the  injunction  of  honour, 
proclaimed  the  necessity  of  the  battle.  Both  armies  thus  drawn  up 
in  battle  array,  presented  a  most  magnificent  and  imposing  appear- 
ance ;  their  siiining  armour,  glittering  spears,  and  waving  banners, 
displayed  a  grand,  gorgeous  and  sj)lendid  spectacle. 

Prior  to  the  fatal  signal,  at  the  earliest  dawn  of  sunrise,  having 
been  given,  the  good  and  gallant  old  monarch,  accompanied  by  his 
son  Murrough,  and  his  grandson  Turlogh,  rode  through  the  ranks 
(his  horse  was  led  by  his  equery)  with  a  crucifix  in  one  hand,  and  his 
drawn  sword  in  the  other.  As  he  passed  through  the  different 
troops,  he  harangued  them  with  great  and  impressive  force  of 
eloquence.  He  earnestly  exhorted  them  to  do  their  duty,  as  sol- 
diers. Christians,  and  Irishmen  ;  and  reminded  the  Dalgais  of  their 
many  heroic  triumphs,  under  him,  in  thirty  combats.  The  greater 
part  of  the  army  formed  a  circle  around  him,  when  he  addressed 
them,  in  general,  thus,  as  we  translate  from  the  annals  of  Innis- 
fallen  :  "  Be  not  dismayed,  my  soldiers,  because  my  son  Donough 
is  avenging  our  wrongs  in  Leinster:  he  will  return  victorious,  and 
in  the  spoils  of  his  conquest  you  shall  share.  On  your  valour  rest 
the  hopes  of  your  country,  and  on  what  surer  foundation  can  they 
be  built  up  to  reality  ?  Oppression  now  bends  you  down  to  ser- 
vility,— will  you  not  burst  its  chains,  and  rise  to  the  independence 
of  Irish  freemen  ?  Your  cause  is  one  approved  of  by  heaven, — for 
it  is  a  cause  that  claims  a  heavenly  protection.  In  this  day's  battle 
the  interposition  of  that  God  who  can  give  victory,  will  be  signally 


491 

manifested  in  your  favour, — let  every  heart,  then,  be  the  throne  of 
courage  and  coniidence.  You  know  that  the  Danes  are  strangers 
to  religion  and  humanity, — they  are,  therefore,  inflamed  with  the 
desire  of  violating  the  fairest  daughters  of  this  land  of  beauty, — and 
of  enriching  themselves  with  the  spoils  of  sacrilege  and  plunder, — 
for  the  barbarians  have  impiously  fixed,  for  their  struggle  to  enslave 
us,  on  the  very  day  on  which  the  Redeemer  of  the  world  was  cruci- 
fied. Victory  they  siiall  not  have, — from  such  brave  soldiers  as  you 
they  can  never  wrest  it,  for  you  fight  in  defence  of  honour,  liberty 
and  religion, — in  defence  of  the  sacred  temples  of  the  Deity,  and  of 
the  sanctuaries,  your  wives,  daughters  and  sisters.  Tiien  consider 
that  such  a  holy  cause  must  be  tiie  cause  of  God,  who  will  deliver 
his  enemies  into  your  hands."  The  whole  army  received  this  ad- 
dress with  shouts  of  enthusiastic  acclamation.  Brian  a})peared 
greatly  affected,  and  was  proceeding  to  take  his  station  in  the  centre 
of  his  forces,  when  all  the  chiefs  interposed,  and  ini])!ored  him,  on 
account  of  his  age  and  infirmity,  to  retire  to  his  tent  from  the  field 
of  battle,  and  leave  the  chief  command  to  the  valiant  Murrough. 
He  reluctantly  yielded  to  their  entreaties.  No  sooner  had  the  old 
and  patriotic  hero  withdrawn,  than  the  Irish  army,  with  a  united 
voice,  called  upon  their  chiefs  to  lead  them  on  in  the  path  of  glory. 
A  sonorous  sound  of  trumpets  and  the  echoing  clangour  produced 
by  the  simultaneous  striking  of  thousands  of  swords  on  shields,  an- 
nounced the  coming  conflict.  The  intrepid  Dalcassians,  (so  O'Dono- 
van  styles  them)  ever  "eager  for  the  fight,"  raised  the  "  sz/??-i?<?'5i"  * 
standard  of  Fingal,  bearing  the  inscription.  Victory  or  Death  ! 
and  rushed  witli  their  wonted  courage  and  enthusiasm  to  the  charge, 
making  death  and  destruction  pave  their  pathway  through  the  ene- 
my's ranks.  The  onset  was  furious  and  terril)le, — it  was  the  heroic 
struggle  of  national  revenge  to  retaliate  on  the  ruthless  despotism  of 
foreign  barbarians.  As  soon  as  the  desperate  engagement  became 
general,  the  base  and  ignoble  Malachy,  to  gratify  his  secret  ven- 
geance against  Brian,  for  having,  twelve  years  before,  snatched  the 
supreme  sceptre  of  Ireland  out  of  his  feeble  hands,  seized  upon  the 
opportunity  thus  afforded,  of  deserting,  with  his  battalions,  the  posi- 
tion which  he  had  promised  to  defend,  wheeled  off  to  a  hill  at  some 
distance,  where  the  inglorious  traitor  remained  an  idle  spectator 
during  the  conflict.  AVhen  Prince  Murrough,  from  his  post,  espied 
the  treacherous  defection  of  Malachy  and  his  thousand  Meathians, 
he,  witii  great  presence  of  mind,  cried  out  to  his  courageous  Dal- 
gais,  "that  this  was  the  fortunate  moment  to  cover  themselves  with 
immortal  glory,  as  they  alone  should  have  the  unrivalled  honour  of 
cutting  oft' the  formidable  division  of  the  enemy  oppf)sed  to  them." 
Every  chief  and  every  regiment  of  the  Irish  army  vieing  with  each 
otiier,  evinced  a  valour  and  heroism  worthy  of  the  cause  and  fame 
of  Ireland.  The  Danes,  it  must  be  confe<ised,  fought  witii  a  despe- 
rate resolution  that  required  all  the  genius  and  valour  of  the  Irish 
generals  to  oppose  and  contravene.  Every  man  stood  immoveable 
in  his  rank  until   he  fell   by  the  sword   of  his   adversary,  when  his 

*  The  sun-burst  was  tlie  name  which  Ossian  gave  to  his  father's  banner,  because 
on  it  was  emblazoned  a  brilliant  sun  emerging  from  clouds. 


492 

place  was  quickly  supplied  by  another  ;  and  every  foot  of  ground 
was  obstinately  contested.  Never,  in  any  martial  engagement,  was 
there  more  desperate  valour,  or  more  raging  indignation  brought  into 
action,  than  in  this  sanguinary  fight, — it  was  the  terrible  battle  of 
animosity  against  animosity, — of  furious  revenge  against  furious  re- 
venge. The  commanders  of  the  contending  armies  performed  prodi- 
gies of  heroism.  The  prolonged  contest  displayed  such  an  equality 
of  bravery  and  resolution,  that  victory  remained  doubtful  in  the  hope 
of  each  of  the  rival  armies. 

Prince  Murrough  and  his  gallant  son,  Turlogh,  fought  like  invin- 
cible giants,  in  the  conflict  :  they  every  where  left  sanguinary  traces 
of  their  prowess ;  the  Danish  ranks  fell  before  them  as  forests  fall 
before  the  annihilatmg  lightnings  of  the  thunder  tempest.  By  their 
swords  fell  the  Danish  princes,  Carolus,  Sitrick  and  Conmael.  The 
king  of  Connaught  completely  defeated  the  corps  under  the  king  of 
Leinster,  who,  with  three  thousand  of  his  best  troops,  was  slain. 
About  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  Prince  Murrough,  determined 
to  conclude  the  gigantic  fight,  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  the  Dal- 
gais,  and  then  snatching  the  standard  of  Fingal,  he  exclaimed  while 
waving  it — "  before  the  lapse  of  one  hour  iJiis  must  float  cither  over  the 
tents  of  the  Danish  camp,  or  over  my  dead  body.''''  The  other  chiefs 
catching  the  fire  of  emulation  from  the  heroism  of  their  valiant 
leader,  furiously  precipitated  themselves  on  the  foe, — no  human 
force  could  resist  the  appalling  power  of  this  overwhelming  charge, 
which  soon  spread,  consternation,  panic  and  carnage  through  the 
enemy's  legions.  The  Danes,  being  thus  thrown  into  confusion, 
and  driven  to  despair  by  the  fall  of  their  principal  chiefs,  began  to 
fly  in  every  direction,  pursued  to  their  very  ships  by  the  victorious 
Irish,  who  committed  dreadful  carnage  iii  their  discomfited  ranks. 
Murrough's  right  hand  and  arm  became  now  so  swollen  and  disabled 
by  the  violent  exertion  in  wielding  his  sword,  that  he  could  not  raise 
them  up. 

"A  party  of  Danes,  retreating,  under  Anrudh,"  writes  O'Dono- 
van,  "observing  that  Prince  Murrough  and  tiie  Irish  chiefs  retired 
from  the  battle  more  than  twice,  and  after  each  return  seemed  to  be 
possessed  with  double  vigour  :  it  was  to  quench  their  thirst  and 
cool  their  hands,  swelled  from  the  violent  use  of  the  sword  and  battle 
axe,  in  an  adjoining  well."  As  Murrough  was  returning  from  this 
well,  accompanied  by  only  his  standard  bearer,  fatigued  and  ex- 
hausted from  the  great  exertion  and  labour  of  the  day,  he  was  at- 
tacked by  Anrudh  ;  but  the  prince,  although  not  able  to  use  his  right 
arm,  grasped  the  Dane  with  his  left  hand,  and  by  applying  his  shoul- 
der and  trip,  succeeded  in  prostrating  him  on  the  ground,  "  where," 
writes  O'Halloran,  "  he  shook  him  out  of  his  coat  of  mail,  and 
pierced  his  body  with  his  sword,  the  pummel  of  which  lie  fixed 
against  his  breast,  and  drove  it  with  the  pressure  of  his  body  through 
his  heart."  While  the  prince,  in  that  situation,  was  bending  over 
his  dying  foe,  the  latter  snatched  from  his  girdle  a  short  cimetar, 
and  plunged  it  into  the  abdomen  of  the  heroic  Murrough.  A  icw 
moments  after,  and  the  Danish  chief  was  no  more,  but  the  brave 
Murrough   Jived  until  the  following   morning,  when  he  received  all 


493 

tlie  rites  and  consolations  of  his  religion.*  Thus  terminated  the 
glorious  career  of  Priace  Murrough,  whose  courage  and  vah)ur,  as 
displayed  in  numerous  battles,  will  entitle  him,  like  another  INIar- 
SHAL  Ney,  to  the  appellation  of  the  "^  bravest  of  the  brfive.''^f  Cor- 
coran, an  officer  in  attendance  on  the  monarch,  on  seeing  the  stand- 
ard of  Murrough  struck,  which  indicatetl  the  death  of  the  prince, 
hastened  to  his  master's  tent,  and  implored  him  to  mount  liis  war 
horse,  and  make  his  escape.  Brian,  rising  from  his  prostration  he- 
fore  a  crucitix,  replied  witii  great  dignity,  "  Do  you  and  my  other 
attendants  take  horses  and  tly  to  Armagh,  and  communicate  my 
will  to  the  successor  of  St.  Patrick;  but  as  for  me,  I  came  here  to 
conquer  or  to  die,  and  the  enemy  shall  not  boast  that  1  fell  by  in- 
glorious wounds."  Broder,  with  a  battalion  of  Danes,  perceiving 
the  monarch's  tent  unguarded,  made  a  rush  towards  it.  The  aged, 
but  still  heroic  Brian,  on  seeing  them  enter,  seized  his  sword,  and 
with  one  blow  dealt  to  the  first  Dane  that  attempted  to  seize  liim, 
he  cut  off"  the  right  and  left  legs  from  his  knees.  Broder  then 
struck  the  venerable  king  with  his  battle  axe,  on  the  back  of  his 
head,  and  fractured  it  ;  but  in  spite  of  the  stunning  wound,  Brian, 
with  all  the  rage  of  a  dying  warrior,  by  a  fortunate  stroke,  cut  off 
the  head  of  Broder,  and  killed  the  tiiird  Dane  that  attacked  him, 
and  then  calmly  resigned  himself  to  death.  Thus,  in  tiie  eighty- 
eighth  year  of  his  age,  and  the  twelfth  of  his  reign,  died  the  great 
and  magnanimous  Brian,  whose  patriotism  and  valour  reached  a 
sublime  point  of  perlection.  His  career,  long  and  splendid,  irra- 
diated his  country's  martial  and  literary  fame  with  a  halo  of  glory 
that  will  oidy  die  with  earthly  immortality.  This  illustrious  mon- 
arch commanded  in  twenty-nine  pitched  battles  against  the  Danes, 
in  all  of  which  he  was  successful,  and  shared  the  glory  of  vanquish- 
ing them  in  twenty  severe  skirmishes.  His  remains  were  entombed 
in  the  abbey  of  Armagh.  The  victory  of  Clontarf  was  a  dear  bought 
trium])li,  for  in  achieving  it  the  brave  tnonarch,  his  valiant  son  Mur- 
rough, with  two  of  his  brothers,  and  his  grandson  Turlogh,  his  three 
nephews,  and  many  other  chieftains,  with  7,000  of  the  Irish  troops, 
lost  their  lives.  Mostly  a!J  our  historians  agree  in  estimating  the 
loss  of  the  Danes  at  1-1,000  men,  exclusive  of  their  officers.  There 
is  no  relation  in  our  annals,  of  the  fate  that  befcl  Brian's  queen,  the 

*  McDermott  gives,  we  know  not  on  wliat  liistoricnl  authority,  (jiiite  a  differ- 
ent version  of  the  manner  of  Prince  Miirrough's  death,  whicli  we  think  it  right  to 
submit  to  tiie  consideration  of  our  readers,  lie  writes — "  Wiiile  Prince  Mur- 
rough was  riding  throwgli  the  dead  and  wounded  after  the  enemy,  one  of  the  sons 
of  tiie  king  of"  Denmark,  wlio  knew  him,  implored  Jiis  assistance,  declaring  that 
his  wounds  were  not  mortal,  and  hoping  to  be  indebted  to  him  for  his  preservation. 
Tliis  magnanimous  chief,  whose  sympathy  was  equal  to  his  courage,  immediately 
dismounted,  and  as  he  was  li£\ing  the  wounded  Dane  up,  in  order  to  give  him 
succour,  the  perfidious  wretch  stabbed  him  to  the  heart." 

t  "  According  to  the  Munster  book  of  battles,''  says  a  learned  Irish  antiquarian, 
"  Prince  Murrough  was  buried  in  the  west  end  of  a  chapel  in  the  cemetery  at 
Kilmainham.  Over  his  remains  was  placed  a  lofty  stone  cross,  of  granite,  on 
which  his  name  was  %vritten.  About  forty-five  years  ago  the  cross  fell  from  its 
pedestal.  Under  its  base  were  found  Danish  coins,  and  a  fine  sword,  supposed  to 
be  that  which  the  prince  used  at  the  battle  of  Clontarf.  This  sword  i.s  hung  up 
in  the  hall  belonging  to  the  apartments  of  the  commander  of  tiic  forces,  where  it 
remains  a  highly  interesting,  though,  hitherto,  unnoticed  memorial." 


494 

sister  of  the  kin<j  of  Leiiister,  whose  pride  and  petulance  stirred  up 
the  disastrous  war  in  wiiich  lier  gallant  husband  and  irritable  brother 
perished. 

We  conclude  our  account  of  the  battle  of  Clontarf,  by  giving  to 
our  readers  King  Malachy's  description  of  it,  as  translated  by 
O'Donovan.  "It  is,"  says  the  king  of  Mcath,  "impossible  for  hu- 
man language  to  describe  that  mighty  conflict, — an  angel  from 
heaven  only  could  give  a  correct  idea  of  the  tremendous  horrors  of 
that  day  !  We  retired  to  the  distance  of  a  fallow  field,  from  the 
gigantic  combatants,  the  high  wind  of  the  spring  blowing  from  them 
towards  us.  And  we  were  no  longer  than  half  an  hour  there,  w  hen 
neither  of  the  two  armies  could  discern  each  other,  nor  could  one 
know  his  father  or  brother,  even  though  he  were  next  to  him,  unless 
ho  could  recognize  his  voice,  or  know  the  spot  on  which  he  stood, 
and  we  were  covered  all  over,  both  faces,  arms,  heads,  hair  and 
clothes,  with  red  drops  of  blood,  l)orne  from  them  on  the  wings  of 
the  wind.  And  should  we  attempt  to  assist  them,  we  could  not,  for 
our  arms  were  entangled  with  the  locks  of  their  hair  which  were  cut 
oflT  by  their  swords,  and  blown  towards  us  by  the  wind,  so  that  we 
were  all  the  time  engaged  in  disentangling  our  arms,  and  in  wiping 
away  the  human  blood  and  horses'  foam  from  our  faces.  And  it 
was  wonderful  that  those  who  were  in  the  battle  could  endure  such 
horror  without  becoming  distracted.'  They  fought  from  sunrise 
until  the  dusk  of  the  evening." 


CHAPTER   LXIV. 


Dismemherment  of  the  victorioiis  army  of  Clontarf — Contests  letween  the  sons  of 
Brian  and  the  Eugcncan  princes,  for  the  succession  to  the  throne  of  Munster. — 
Treacherous  conduct  of  the  King  of  Ossory  to  the  Dalgais. —  Prince  Donough's 
heroic  spirit :  the  consequence . — Restoration  of  King  Malachy  II.  to  the  monarchy 
of  Ireland. — Mahon,  the  son  of  Cian,  restored  to  the  throne  of  Destrnond. —  Quarrel, 
between  Tiege  and  Donough  :  baseness  of  the  Prince  of  Ely."* — Malachy  sets  fire 
to  Dublin,  and  reduces  the  Danes  of  Wtrford. — His  government  becomes  very  im- 
popular  :  the  rebels  punished. — Death  of  Malachy. — Disputes  about  the  succtssion 
of  the  Irish  throne. 

In  a  few  days  after  the  victory  of  Clontarf,  the  surviving  chiefs 
and  soldiers  that  achieved  it,  agreed  to  break  up  their  camp,  and  to 
return  to  their  respective  provinces.  The  Connacians,  under  the 
command  of  their  chiefs,  set  out  for  their  own  country  ;  but  before 
the  army  of  Munster  had  departed  from  the  vicinity  of  Dublin, 
Cian,  son  of  Maolmadh,  chieftain  of  the   O'Mahonies  of  Cork  and 

*  The  district  of  Ely-Carrol  compreiionded  in  those  days  of  which  we  are  writ- 
ing, the  present  King's  county, — an  appellation  hestowed  upon  it,  A.  D.  1557,  in 
honour  of  Philip  II.  of  Spain,  the  liusband  of  Queen  Mary  of  England.  Philips- 
town  is  the  capital  of  the  county, — a  town  that  does  not  present  cither  architectu- 
ral consequence,  or  commercial  importance.  The  O'Connors,  princes  of  OfFaley, 
held  their  court  at  Dingan  castle,  near  Philipstown,  where  the  ruins  of  that  feudal 
structure  are  still  to  be  seen.  Philipstown  is  distant  38  Irish  miles  S.  W.  frorn 
Dublin. 


495 

Kerry,  sent  an  embassy  to  Tieoje  and  Donoijgli,  while  on  their 
march  from  DubHn,  asserting  his  legal  claim  to  the  throne  of  Munster, 
in  right  of  the  will  of  their  common  ancestor,  King  O/iull  OJum, 
wliich  document  provided  that  the  crown  should  be  possessed,  in 
alternate  succession,  in  after  ages,  between  the  posterity  of  his  sou 
Corinoc,  and  of  his  grandson  Fiacadh.  He  set  forth  as  another 
title  to  the  throne  of  INIunster,  that  he  was  married  to  their  sister 
Sabina.  The  sons  of  Brian  answered,  that  as  the  will  of  Olioll  had 
been  often,  during  preceding  centuries,  violated,  and  as  their  father 
gained  the  throne  of  Munster  by  the  prowess  of  his  sword,  tiiat  they 
were  determined  to  maintain  the  inheritance  which  their  father  be- 
queathed to  them — an  inheritance  belonging  to  them  by  two  rights — 
the  right  of  blood,  and  the  right  of  conrpiest.  "  When  Donough  had 
dismissed  the  messenger,"  writes  McDermott,  "with  this  answer, 
which  he  perceived  the  JNIamonians  were  preparing  to  resent  by  arms, 
he  communicated  to  the  tribe  of  Dalgais  the  extraordinary  demand 
which  the  Eugenean  prince  had  made,  and  the  scorn  and  indigna- 
tion with  which  he  had  treated  it.  The  Dalgassians,  who  had  a 
double  tie  upon  them  to  revenge  his  cause, — their  righjt  of  sovereign- 
ty of  the  province,  won  by  their  own  swords,  and  their  adherence  to 
the  family  of  their  late  beloved  king — were  no  sooner  informed  of 
the  pretensions  of  the  Eugeneans,  than  they,  one  and  all,  declared 
they  would  stand  by  Donough  and  Tiege  to  the  last  extremity  ;  even 
though  the  Eugeneans,  with  their  superior  numbers,  should  attack 
them  in  their  present  helpless  situation.  The  Eugeneans,*  however, 
being  resolved  to  take  the  advantages  they  were  possessed  of,  in 
order  to  vindicate  their  right,  and  to  settle  the  succession  in  the  an- 
cient channels,  formed  themselves  in  battle  array.  When  Donough 
and  Tiege  saw  the  Eugeneans  stand  to  their  arms,  and  ready  to  fall 
upon  them,  animated  by  the  loyalty  and  resolution  of  their  little 
army,  and  by  the  remembrance  of  the  celebrated  hero  from  whom 
they  descended,  they  commanded  that  their  wounded  men  should 
retire  to  a  Danish  rath,  at  a  little  distance,  with  a  proper  guard  to 
protect  them,  whilst  they,  with  the  remainder,  should  engage  the 
enemy.  The  wounded  men,  however,  considering  that,  by  this 
means,  their  chiefs  would  be  deprived  of  a  third  part  of  their  forces, 
which  altogether  was  not  half  the  number  of  the  Eugeneans,  and 
being  determined  to  act  worthy  of  the  gallant  tribe  to  which  they 
belonged,  refused  their  proflered  kindness, — fdled  their  wounds  with 
green  moss  that  was  just  at  hand,  and,  calling  for  their  arms,  em- 
bodied themselves  with  tlieir  comrades,  bravely  resolved  to  share 
their  fate.  As  soon  as  the  Eugeneans  perceived  the  desperate  spirit 
of  the  Dalgassians,  and  probably  finding  their  own  soldiers  touched 
with  compassion  for  their  brave  unhappy  countrymen,  with  whom 
they  had  always  fought  before,  under  one  banner,  they  declined  the 
unmanly  engagement,  and  contented  themselves  with  marching 
home  by  a  different  route." 

*  Euircncans  are  so  called  by  our  historians,  from  their  illustrious  ancestor, 
Eooran,  the  Great,  king  of  Munster,  the  father  of  Olioll,  the  common  progenitor 
of  the  dynasties  of  the  Dalgais  and  Eugeneans.  lly  referring  to  a  i)rece(ling 
chapter  of  this  history,  it  will  be  seen  that  Eogan  fi'll  in  the  battle  of  Maii^lcna, 
King's  county,  fought  between  him  and  "  Con  of  the  hundred  battles,"  A.  D.  161. 


496 

Cian,  finding  that  neither  his  own  force?,  nor  those  of  his  ally, 
Donihnal,  prince  of  Kerry,  was  ready  to  engage  with  conrage  or 
zeal  in  his  cause,  gave  orders  to  his  troops  to  march  to  his  fortress 
in  the  county  of  Cork.  Cian,  cherishing  feelings  of  revenge  and  re- 
sentment against  his  late  ally,  Donihnal,  for  not  more  effectually 
assisting  him  in  his  projected  attack  on  the  sons  of  Brian,  declared 
war  against  the  Kerry  prince,  and  carried  fire  and  sword  into  his 
territories.  The  contending  princes  came  to  an  engagement  in  a 
plain,  called  by  O'Halloran  Magh-Guilkdhc,  near  Irrelagh,*  in  the 
county  of  Kerry,  in  which  Cian,  his  two  brothers,  and  three  sons, 
were  slain,  and  his  army  cut  to  pieces  by  the  forces  of  Domhnal. 
Several  of  our  ancient  historians  have  panegyrized  Cian  as  one  of 
the  greatest  statesmen  and  bravest  warriors  that  the  house  of  Heber 
ever  produced. 

As  the  Dalgassians,  under  the  sons  of  Brian,  were  proceeding  on 
their  march  to  the  frontiers  of  Ossory,t  they  were  met  at  a  place 
called  Dunamasc,f  by  heralds  from  Fitzpatrick,  informing  them  that 
unless  they  sent  hostages  for  a  security  and  j)]edge,  that  no  hostile 
act  should  be  committed  by  them,  nor  no  contributions  levied,  while 
passing  through  his  territories,  he  would,  in  that  case,  declare  war 
against  them,  and  oppose  with  ail  his  might,  their  farther  progress 
into  his  dominions.  This  menacing  message  from  a  prince  who  had 
been  the  tributary  vassal  of  their  father,  exasperated  tlse  feelings  of 
the  sons  of  Brian  to  the  highest  pitch  of  choleric  rage,  wiio,  mad- 
dened at  its  insolent  audacity,  bade  the  messenger  return  to  his 
master,  and  tell  him  that  they  and  their  devoted  Dalgais  were  deter- 

*  Irrelagh,  famous  for  its  magjiificent  abbey  ruins,  is  situated  near  the  town 
of  Killarney,  county  of  Kerry.  The  abbey,  now  a  pile  of  architectural  ruins,  was 
erected  by  Thady  McCarthy,  A.  D.  1440,  for  ininorit  monks,  under  the  invoca- 
tion of  the  Holy  Trinity. 

t  The  ancient  name  of  the  Queen's  Counhj  was  Osraig'd,  or  Ossory,  of  which 
district,  prior  to  the  English  invasion,  the  Muc-Giola-Phudruigs,  (or  Fitzpatricks) 
and  the  O'Mores,  princes  of  Leix,  were  the  chief  toparchs.  "The  district  origi- 
nally extended,"  says  Seward,  "  through  the  whole  country,  between  the  rivers 
Nore  and  Suir." 

X  DuNAMASE,  which  in  Irish  signifies  the  fort  of  the  plain,  is  situated  about  four 
miles  from  Maryborough,  the  capital  of  the  Queen's  county.  This  place  is  com- 
memorated in  Irish  and  English  history  as  the  scene  of  many  bold  and  bloody 
exploits.  In  the  beginning  of  the  third  century,  Lugha-Leagha,  brother  to  Olioll, 
king  of  Munster,  erected  a  strong  fortress  on  the  rock  of  Dunamase.  On  the 
arrival  of  the  English,  this  strong  hold  was  garrisoned  by  the  troops  of  their  de- 
voted ally,  but  the  betrayer  of  his  country,  Dermod,  king  of  Leinster.  When 
Marshael,  the  carl  of  Pembroke,  married  (A.  D.  1216)  Isabel,  only  daughter  of 
Strongbow,  by  the  princess  of  Leinster,  and  thereby  became  possessed  of  Duna- 
mase, he  built  a  large  and  magnificent  castle  on  the  summit  of  the  lofty  rock. 
This  towering  and  precipitous  rock  that  was  quite  inaccessible  on  all  sides  except 
the  east,  which  point  was  fortified  by  a  barbican,  was  surrounded  by  a  broad  and 
high  fosse  faced  with  a  ballium  uhose  walls  were  six  feet  thick.  Brewer,  in  de- 
scribino-  it  writes  thus: — "Tliis  rude  castrametation  of  the  Celtic  chieftains, 
frowned  contempt  on  the  world  below  with  the  same  natural  and  defying  security 
as  does  the  nest  of  the  eagle,  except  the  scath  of  heaven."  Owen  Roe  ONcil 
captured  the  castle  of  Dunamase  from  the  Parliamentarians, — but  in  A.  D.  l().^)n, 
it  was  retaken  by  Colonels  Huson  and  Reynolds,  two  of  Cromwell's  officers,  who 
blew  it  up.  The  rock  stands  in  the  midst  of  a  large  plain,  called  the  Grcal-heaili, 
and  forms  a  fine  feature  of  the  picturesque  ajitiquc.  in  the  domain  of  Sir  John 
Parnell,  to  whom  it  and  the  adjoining  lands  now  belong.  In  a  note  in  the  second 
volume  of  this  history,  wc  will  say  more  of  Dunamase. 


497 

mined  to  force  a  passage  through  Ossory,  or  perish  in  tlie  attempt. 
"  Inform  the  piisiilunimous  chief,"  said  they,  "  that  we  sliould  deem 
it  one  of  the  greatest  misfortunes  of  our  wliole  Hves,  to  he  thus  ex- 
posed to  the  insults  of  a  base  and  insignificant  chief,  who  had,  in  a 
cowardly  manner,  declared  war  against  us,  when  he  knew  that  our 
army  was  reduced,  and  that  we  Imd  but  a  little  more  than  a  tenth 
part  (if  the  forces  with  which  he  was  preparing  to  oppose  our  march  ; 
yet  tell  the  ignoble  chieftain  that  the  sons  of  Brian  are  not  afraid  to 
meet  him  in  the  field  of  battle,  where  our  courage  and  valour  will 
make  up  for  the  great  disparity  of  our  numbers,  and  prove  that  the 
Dalgais  are  still  invincible."  Donough  and  Tiege,  perceiving  the 
Ossorians  advancing  towards  them,  made  the  necessary  dispositions 
of  their  little  gallant  band  to  receive  and  resist  the  enemy's  attack. 
Donough  and  Tiege,  before  issuing  tlie  signal  for  the  charge,  en- 
treated of  the  wounded  men,  consisting  of  a  battalion  of  800,  to 
retire  to  an  adjoining  hill,  and  remain  there  during  the  strugiile  ; 
but  no  sooner  did  the  sick  and  wounded  Dalgais  hear  the  command 
of  their  princes,  than  they  unanimously  declared  that  they  would 
ratlier  die,  like  brave  men,  in  the  field  of  battle,  than  be  led  as 
chained  captives  to  the  fortress  of  the  king  of  Ossory  ;  they,  there- 
fore, earnestly  supplicated  their  chiefs  to  allow  them  to  share  the 
same  fate  with  their  fellow  soldiers.  They  further  suggested  to  the 
princes  that  they  should  shew,  on  an  occasion  being  alVorded  to 
them,  that  they  would  be  able  to  render  some  effective  aid  in  repel- 
ling the  foe.  "  Let  you,  brave  princes,"  said  they,  "  cause  a  suffi- 
cient number  of  stakes  to  be  cut  down  in  yonder  wood,  and  driven 
into  the  battle  ground,  between  every  two  of  us,  to  which  let  us  be 
tied  in  such  a  manner  as  to  leave  our  hands  and  arms  at  liberty  to 
wield  our  weapons."  The  princes,  moved  to  admiration  at  the 
magnanimous  recpiest,  reluctantly  complied  with  it.*  These  men, 
whose  illustrious  heroism  is  not,  perhaps,  to  be  paralleled  in  history, 
were  stationed  on  the  field  in  the  manner  they  had  described.  When 
the  advanced  guards  of  the  Ossorian  army,  while  rushing  to  the 
attack,  beheld  the  battle  array  and  desperate  resolution  of  the  Dal- 
gais, who  were  thus  ready  to  devote  themselves  to  destruction,  they 
suddenly  halted,  and  absolutely  refused  to  follow  up  the  charge. 
Such  was  the  force  of  compassion  and  admiration  with  which  the 
valiant  conduct  of  the  Dalgais  inspired  them,  that  all  the  eloquent 
appeals  and  powerful  persuasions  used  by  the  king  of  Ossory,  to 
impel  his  troops  on  in  the  attack,  proved  ineftectual  and  abortive, — 
so  that  he  was  constrained  to  retreat,  unrevenged,  into  the  fortress 

*  Our  matchless  poet-patriot,  in  one  of  liis  Irish  melodies,  entitled  "  Remember  tlie 
glories  of  Brian  the  Brave"  alludes,  in  the  following  stanza,  to  the  martial  great- 
ness of  soul,  and  chivalric  heroism  displayed  by  the  Dalgais  on  this  occasion,  at 
Dunamase : 

"  Forget  not  our  wounded  companions  who  stood 

In  the  day  of  distress  by  our  side  ; 
While  the  moss  of  the  valley  grow  red  with  their  blood, 

They  stirr'd  not,  but  conquer'd  and  died  ! 
The  sun  that  now  blesses  our  arms  with  his  light, 

Saw  them  fall  upon  Ossory's  plain  ! 
Oh  !  let  him  not  blush,  when  he  leaves  us  to-night, 
To  find  that  they  fell  there  in  vain  I" 
63 


498 

of  Dunamase.  After  the  princes  had  passed  the  fortress  of  Fitz- 
patiick,  on  their  marcli  homewards,  that  Httle  minded  prince  saUied 
out  of  his  citadel  to  pursue  and  liarass  their  rear  guards. 

In  a  few  weeks  after  the  battle  of  Clontarf,  in  May,  A.  D.  1014, 
the  national  estates  assembled  at  Ratoath,*  and  decreed  the  restora- 
tion of  Malachy  to  the  Irish  throne.  An  Irish  historian,  in  reference 
to  this  election  says,  "  Malachy,  indeed,  does  not  appear,  from  any 
thing  that  has  been  related,  to  have  been  entitled  to  a  restoration  to 
the  monarchy  :  his  cruel  and  unmanly  neutrality  when  he  acted  as 
pretended  auxiliary  to  Brian's  army,  might  have  been  the  cause  of 
the  heroic  veteran's  death  ;  for  had  he  done  his  duty  with  the  forces 
which  he  had  brought  to  the  field,  the  Danes  might  have  been,  in 
that  case,  cut  to  pieces  before  they  had  committed  the  foul  assassi- 
nation of  the  gallant  and  venerable  king  !"  Shortly  after  the  resto- 
ration of  Malachy,  on  the  arrival  of  Tiege  and  Donough  in  their 
own  country,  their  nephew,  Mahon,  son  of  Cian,  claimed  their  as- 
sistance to  recover  from  Domhnal  the  throne  of  Desmond.  In  con- 
formity to  Mahon's  request,  they  marched  at  the  head  of  a  large 
army,  into  the  territory  of  Domhnal,  attacked  and  defeated  his  forces, 
killed  his  son,  Cathal,  in  battle,  and  compelled  him  to  yield  up  the 
kingdom  of  Desmond  to  their  nephew,  and  place  in  their  hands 
hostages.  At  this  juncture,  A.  D.  1016,  a  violent  dispute  arose  be- 
tween the  brothers,  Tiege  and  Donough,  about  the  succession  to  the 
throne  of  Munster. 

The  rival  brothers  raised  an  army  and  fiercely  encountered  each 
other  in  battle,  near  Ennis,  in  the  county  of  Clare, — but  after  a 
whole  day's  conflict  neither  party  could  claim  a  victory.  During 
this  unhapj)y  difference,  Domhnal  made  a  sudden  incursion  into 
Carberry,  county  of  Cork,  laid  the  country  waste  by  his  devastations, 
and  slew  young  Mahon  by  his  own  hand.  By  the  remonstrance  of 
the  clergy,  Tiege  and  Donough  were  reconciled,  and  entered  into  a 
treaty  of  peace  and  amity,  and  combined  their  respective  forces  to 
repel  Domhnal,  their  inveterate  enemy,  who  was  on  his  march  to 
invade  their  hereditary  dominions.  They  attacked  him  near  Lime- 
rick, and  succeeded  not  only  in  defeating  his  army,  but  in  killing 
himself  and  his  principal  oflicers.  While  these  intestine  broils  were 
dividing  the  Irish  princes,  and  frittering  away  the  strength  which 
should  be  employed  against  the  common  enemy,  the  Danes  were 
secretly  accumulating  a  military  force,  with  which  they  soon  as- 
saulted and  took  possession  of  Dublin  and  Wexford.  Malachy,  on 
being  informed  of  the  rebellion  of  the  Danes,  mustered  all  his  troops, 
and  marched  to  Dublin  for  the  purpose  of  reducing  them  to  subjec- 
tion. The  Danes  refusing  to  surrender  Dublin,  on  the  summons  of 
the  monarch,  he,  in  consequence,  caused  the  walls  to  be  scaled,  and 
the  city  set  on  fire,  and  by  that  means  compelled  the  Danes  to  sub- 
mit to  such  terms  as  he  thought  proper  to  dictate.  "  Immediately 
after  Malachy  had  burned  the  city  of  Dublin,"  writes  a  historian  of 

*  Ratoath,  once  a  place  of  consequence  as  tlie  residence  of  three  or  four  of 
the  Irish  monarchs,  and  tlie  site  of  a  spacious  abbey  now  reduced  to  a  heap  of 
mouldering  ruins,  is  situated  in  the  county  of  Meath,  at  the  distance  of  thirteen 
Irish  miles  from  Dublin.  Tlie  country  which  encircles  this  little  town  is  rich  in 
beautiful  and  picturesque  scenery.     Boston,  May,  1836. 


499 

Ireland,  "he  marched  into  Wexford,  and  upon  what  provocation, 
yet  remains  unknown,  destroyed  that  territory  with  fire  and  sword 
in  a  most  dreadful  manner.  Tliese  people  were  inlinhitants  of  the 
province  of  Leinster;  and  though  they  did  not  first  propose  the  ex- 
pulsion of  Malachy  from  tlie  tlirone,  yet,  as  they  did  not  rise  in  his 
defence,  this  indifterence,  perhaps,  excited  him  to  take  this  bitter 
revenge."  At  this  epoch,  A.  D.  1020,  Donough  and  Tiege  again 
quarrelled  and  came  to  an  open  and  violent  rupture  about  the  crown 
of  Munster,  whicli  Brian,  before  his  death,  iiad  bequeatlied  to  the 
latter,  who  fouglit  gallantly  at  the  battle  of  Clontarf. 

Donougii,  ambitious  of  wearing  a  crown,  shut  his  heart  against 
fraternal  aftcction,  and  severed  the  holy  ties  of  nature  by  conspiring 
and  concerting  with  O'Carroll,  toparch  of  Ely,  in  the  diabolical  and 
treacherous  design  of  putting  his  brother  Tiege,  secretly,  to  death. 
The  base  and  wicked  plan  which  they  adopted  for  the  unsuspecting 
prince's  death,  was,  that  O'Carroll  should  inveigle  him  into  iiis  dis- 
trict, under  the  pretence  that  the  atrocious  assassin  wished  to  hon- 
our Tiege  with  hospitality  at  his  court.  The  iniquitous  feint  of  the 
sanguinary  conspirators  succeeded,  and  the  devoted  Tiege  had 
scarcely  entered  Ely  when  he  was  assassinated.  Donough  and 
O'Carroll,  to  screen  themselves  from  the  imputation  of  being  impli- 
cated in  the  barbarous  deed,  caused  reports  to  be  circulated  far  and 
wide,  that  Tiege  was  murdered  by  robbers  in  the  bog  of  Cloncarl* 
in  the  Kings  county.  As  degrading  wages  for  the  execrable  act, 
Donough  rewarded  O'Carroll  with  rich  presents,  and  made  his 
county  a  palatinate,  exempt  from  tribute.  While  these  events  were 
passing  in  Munster  and  Ely,  the  monarch,  Malachy,  to  avenge 
some  real  or  imaginary  oflonce,  invaded  Ulster,  and  devastated  and 
ravaged  the  country  from  Newry  to  Newtownards,t  in  the  county 
of  Down,  and  carried  ofl;'  much  spoils  and  many  captives.  Division 
and  discord  prevailed  once  more  over  the  friendship  and  harmony 

*  Clonearl,  situated  at  tlie  distance  of  two  miles  from  Pliilipstown,  King's 
county,  presents  a  wild  tract  of  marshy  bog-gronnd  ;  but  which  is  now  studded 
with  numenus  cabins  full  of  inhabitants,  in  consequence  of  the  abundance  of  fuel 
which  it  yields  witiiout  much  labour  or  expense.  The  bleak  and  bare  aspect  of 
the  gloomy  landscape  is,  however,  relieved  and  animated  by  the  elegant  mansion 
and  embellished  demesne  of  William  Magan,  Esq,.,  at  Ckogiian-hii.l, — a  pros- 
pect commanding  eminence  which  rises,  as  it  were,  over  the  boggj'  lowlands,  like 
the  genius  of  cultivation,  seemingly  spuming  away  the  frowning  demon  of  the 
wild.  In  the  dajs  of  Spenser  this  beautiful  and  lolly  height  must  have  had  land- 
scape charms,  as  he  has  poetically  celebrated  it  in  his  Falrij  Qiiccn. 

\  Nkwiownauds,  a  fine  and  flourishing  town,  is  situated  on  the  northwest 
point  of  Strangford  lough,  the  largest  salt  water  lake  in  Ireland,  being  twenty-one 
miles  in  length,  and  seven  in  breadth,  at  the  distance  of  ten  miles  from  Belfast. 
The  town  contains  many  respectable  houses,  and  its  inhabitants  are  remarkable 
for  their  industry,  intelligence  and  liberality.  The  suburbs  of  the  town  are  pictu- 
resque, pretty,  handsome  and  diversified, — Strangford  lough,  with  its  numerous 
green  isles,  and  tlie  extensive  and  beautiful  demesne  of  JNIount  Stewart,  the  coun- 
try residence  of  the  Marquis  of  Londonderry,  serve  lo  enliven  the  landscape  with 
contrast  of  scene,  variety  of  features,  and  rurality  of  appearance.  The  piincipal 
edificial  ornaments  of  Newtownards,  are  the  Protestant  church  and  the  market 
house.  The  mansion  of  Newtown-Stewart,  has  no  claim  to  architi-clural  taste, — 
it  is  a  plain  and  ponderous  pile,  built  in  that  graceless  style  of  architecture  which 
prevailed  in  Ireland  during  the  Gotliic  reigns  of  William  and  Anne.  The  abbey, 
now  an  interesting  heap  of  ruins,  was  erected  in  A.  D.  1244,  for  Dominican 
monks,  by  Walter  de  Bourg,  earl  of  Ulster. 


500 

of  some  of  the  Irish  princes.  The  kinsf  of  Ossory  invaded  the  south 
of  Leinster,  and  carried  the  terror  of  fire  and  sword  to  the  town  of 
Leighlin,  county  of  Carlow,  where  he  entered  by  night,  and  not 
only  sacked  the  town,  but  forced  the  palace,  and  put  the  king  of 
Leinster  and  all  his  nobles  and  courtiers  to  the  sword.  The  Lein- 
sterians,  enraged  and  maddened,  sent  messengers  to  Malachy,  in- 
forming him  of  the  atrocious  aggression  and  violent  outrage  of  the 
prince  of  Ossory,  and  imploring  from  him,  as  monarch  of  Ireland, 
redress  and  protection. 

In  accordance  with  their  request,  Malachy,  no  doubt  glad  of  the 
opportunity  of  invading  the  territories  of  Ossory,  speedily  marched 
with  his  army  to  the  assistance  of  the  oppressed  people  of  Leinster. 
Uniting  his  forces  with  theirs,  he  rapidly  penetrated  into  Ossory, 
laying  waste  in  his  devastating  march  the  whole  country,  and  com- 
mitting every  licentious  excess  that  could  be  practiced  by  a  remorse- 
less and  despotic  conqueror.  The  king  of  Ossory,  after  a  long 
retreat  before  the  superior  army  of  the  ruthless  invader,  at  length 
determined  rather  to  die  in  the  field  of  honour,  than  become  the 
chained  captive  of  the  monarch,  made  a  stand,  and  awaited  the 
attack  of  the  invaders  at  Stradbally,*  in  the  Queen's  county,  where, 
after  a  gallant  struggle,  he  fell  with  his  chief  officers  and  the  prin- 
cipal part  of  his  army.  The  Danes  again  taking  advantage  of  the 
unhappy  commotions  and  dissensions  that  prevailed  amongst  the 
Irish  princes,  privately  mustered  a  little  army  commanded  by  Sitrick, 
with  which  they  made  an  incursion  into  the  county  of  Wexford,  A. 
D.  1020,  and  after  plundering  several  abbeys,  they  succeeded  in 
capturing  the  royal  palace  of  Leinster  at  Ferns,  where  they  put 
Brian,  the  son  of  Maolmorda,  the  king,  and  several  of  his  officers 
to  death  by  the  sword.  But  Ugair,  the  crown  prince  of  Leinster, 
eldest  son  of  Brian,  having  fortunately  escaped  from  the  Danes, 
raised  a  large  army,  and  attacked  the  Danes  so  successfully  that 
their  entire  forces  were  annihilated  ;  and  such  was  the  decisiveness 
of  their  signal  defeat,  that  after  that  battle  they  were  never  again 
able  to  offer  any  opposition  to  the  Irish.  "  Thus,"  writes  an  Irish 
historian,  "  was  the  Danish  interest,  which  had  cost  so  much  blood, 
finally  extinguished  in  this  island.  This  meritorious  action  did  not, 
however,  secure  the  brave  victor-king  of  Leinster  from  the  malice 
and  animosity  of  one  of  his  family,  by  whom  his  house  at  Ferns,  in 
the  county  of  Wexford,  was  treacherously  set  on  fire,  and  the  heroic 
prince   himself  perished  in  the  flames  !"     Malachy,  after   returning 

*  Stradbally,  a  beautiful  and  brisk  little  town,  is  pleasantly  situated  in  a 
valley  on  a  branch  of  tiie  river  Barrow,  called  the  Straid,  which  is  crossed  by  a 
fine  bridge  of  three  arches,  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  Queen's  co\inty,  at  the  dis- 
tance of  five  miles  S.  E.  from  Maryborough.  The  streets  are  wide,  showy,  and 
well  paved  ;  and  before  the  houses,  on  either  side,  is  a  row  of  mnjos'ic  elm  trees 
which  diffuse  a  pleasing  air  of  ruraliiy  over  the  aspect  of  the  town.  It  is  sur- 
rounded by  wood-wreathed  hills,  and  highly  cultivated  domains. — among  the  latter 
of  which  are  those  of  Stradbally  hall,  the  seat  of  the  Cosby  family,  tlie  proprietors 
of  the  soil,  and  Brockley  park,  formerly  belonging  to  the  Earl  of  Roden,  whose 
seat  is  now  at  Dundalk,  in  the  county  of  Louth.  A  large  and  magnificent  monas- 
tery was  erected  in  Stradbally,  in  the  twelfth  century,  by  one  of  the  O'Mores, 
princes  of  Leix,  wlio  occupied  a  strong  castle  here,  v^'liich  stood  on  the  very  site 
now  rearing  the  modern  structure  of  Stradbally  hall.     Boston,  May,  lb3G. 


501 

to  his  palace  in  Meath,  from  the  conquest  of  Ossory,  in  A.  D.  1021, 
began  to  devote  his  thoti^lits  and  cares  to  the  pious  duties  of  re- 
]i<rion,  in  \\hich  lie  was  assisted  by  tiie  spiritual  administration  of 
Amalgaid,  the  then  archbishop  of  Arinagli.  The  monarch  arrived 
at  the  venerable  age  of  seventy-three  years,  and  died  on  the  2d  of 
September,  in  the  year  1022. 

If  his  unpatriotic  conduct  at  the  battle  of  Clontarf  had  not  at- 
tached an  indcHble  stigma  to  iiis  character,  which  "  all  great  Nep- 
tune's ocean,"  can  never  wash  off,  Malachy's  bravery  in  the  field, 
signalized  on  many  occasions,  and  his  legislative  wisdom  in  senate 
and  council,  would  have  been  entitled  to  the  most  laudatory  com- 
mendation that  an  chH|uent  historian  of  his  country  could  bestow 
on  his  memory.  During  his  second  reign,  wiiich  lasted  more  than 
eight  years,  he  endowed  and  erected  several  abbeys  and  colleges  ; 
extended  patronage  to  literature  and  the  arts,  and  evinced  a  dispo- 
sition to  promote  the  prosperity  of  his  people.  "  By  these  means," 
says  McDermott,  "  he  ac<}uired  the  character  of  a  sovereign  of  ex- 
emplary goodness  and  devotion,  though,  on  many  occasions,  he  had 
displayed  much  treachery  and  cruelty."  Shortly  after  Tiege's 
death,  throuirb,  as  we  have  shown,  the  monstrous  contrivance  of  his 
br(jther  Donough  and  the  prince  of  Ely,  suspicion  that  Donough 
was  the  barbarous  perpetrator  of  the  foul  and  horrid  deed,  irained 
every  day  an  ascendency  in  tlie  public  mind,  which  was  considerably 
increased  by  the  sudden  flight  of  Turlogh,  the  son  of  Tiege,  from 
his  paternal  uncle's  court  to  that  of  his  maternal  uncle,  0'31olloy, 
at  Fearcal,  in  the  Kind's  county.  Immediately  after  the  death  of 
Malachy,  several  candidates  started  in  eomi)etition  for  the  throne  of 
Ireland  ;  amongst  them  Donough,  who,  as  the  son  of  the  hero  Brian, 
put  forth  his  claims,  recommended  and  supported  by  the  reverence 
and  regard  in  which  the  Irish  people  held  the  hallowed  memory  of 
his  illustrious  sire.  But  the  misgivings  and  suspicions  that  hunjj 
over  the  strange  and  mysterious  death  of  his  brother  Tiege,  closed 
the  doors  of  favour  and  popularity  against  his  election  by  the  estates. 
A  dark  cloud  of  imputation  rising  out  of  his  brother's  death,  lowered 
over  his  character,  which  all  the  eflorts  of  his  friends  could  not 
dispel.  "Finding  his  own  tribe  of  the  Dalgais  so  much  reduced  by 
the  late  battle  of  Clontarf  that  they  were  incapable  of  assisting  in 
another  contest,  and  that  the  wicked  step  which  his  mad  ambition 
had  suggested  for  proving  a  chum  to  the  succession,  was  the  prin- 
cipal cause  of  |)reventing  the  attainment  of  his  wish,  he  and  a  few  of 
the  Dalgais,  in  A.  D.  1021,  who  still  adhered  to  him,  repaired,  as 
soldiers  of  fortune,  to  (iermany,  where  they  were  kindly  entertained 
by  the  emperor,  Conrad  II.,  who  appointed  Donough  his  general 
against  the  iiortheru  heathens.  After  a  great  career,  success  in 
that  command,  and  being  much  honoured  by  the  emperor  for  it,  he 
returned  again  to  his  native  land,  wiicre  he  still  found  a  cool  recep- 
tion ;  the  murder  of  his  elder  brother  not  having  been  yet  forgotten 
by  those  who  regarded  the  memory  of  the  valiant  Brian.  By  some 
means  or  other,  however,  either  by  tokens  of  sincere  repentance,  or 
by  the  vast  renown  which  he  had  acquired  in  arms,  the  inhabitants 
of  his  own   province  were  reconciled  to  him  ;  they  submitted  to  his 


502 

government,  and  assisted  liim  to  recover  the  submission  and  tribute 
which  had  usually  been  paid  by  others  to  the  kings  of  Munster. 
Having  thus  established  iiimself  in  his  own  province,  he  boldly 
asserted  his  right  to  tiie  throne  of  Ireland  as  tlie  son  of  Brian.  The 
right  of  Brian,  however,  had  been  acquired  by  fortune  of  war  and 
popularity  of  character, — but  the  pretension  of  a  son  who  was  far 
from  being  pojjular,  had  nothing  but  force  and  faction  to  support  it- 
Had  Tiege,  his  eldest  brother,  been  living  at  this  time,  to  whom 
Brian  left  the  crown,  he  would  doubtless,  for  his  father's  sake,  have 
derived  the  same  right  from  popularity.  By  force,  however,  Donough 
was  enabled  to  make  a  show  of  sovereignty,  and  assume  the  title  of 
monarch  ;  and  to  get  himself  acknowledged  and  submitted  to  as 
such  over  all  Lcatli-Moglia*  or  the  southern  half  of  the  kingdom, 
and  in  the  greatest  part  of  the  territories  of  the  other  half.  But  in 
opposition  to  him  a  great  party  was  formed  by  Dermod  31ac-3Ial- 
Nainbo,  his  nephew,  then  king  of  Leinster,  in  favour  of  his  first 
cousin,  Turlogh,  the  son  of  Tiege,  who  assumed  also  the  title  of 
monarch  of  Ireland,  and  was  recognized  as  such  by  a  powerful  fac- 
tion that  zealously  supported  him."' 

During  these  contests  for  the  crown  of  Ireland,  the  national 
estates  appointed  Cuan  O'Loughlin,  prince  of  Ulster,  and  a  de- 
scendant of  Nial,  the  Great,  regent  of  the  kingdom.  The  two  most 
prominent  competitors  for  the  regal  power  of  the  Irish  monarchy, 
were,  at  this  time,  Donough  and  his  nephew  Turlogh,  the  preten- 
sions of  each  of  whom  were  zealously  sustained  by  their  rival  and 
respective  parties.  Donough,  feeling  jealous  of  the  Clan  Caiman, 
(the  relatives  of  the  late  King  Malachy)  made  an  incursion  into 
Meath,t  where  he  committed  the  most  enormous  acts  of  rapacity 
and  aggression.  Enriched  with  spoils  ravaged  from  the  people  of 
that  country,  and  secured  by  a  great  number  of  hostages,  he,  flushed 
by  success,  marched  back  to  Dublin,  attacked  that  city,  and  com- 
pelled its  head  and  notables  to  acknowledge  him  as  monarch  of 
Ireland.     From  Dublin  he  marched  to  the  city  of  Waterford.|     At 

*"  Leath-Mogha  and  Leath-Con,  which  in  Irish  signify  the  halves,  a  deriva- 
tion which  arose  from  Eogan  Mogha,  king  of  Munster,  and  Con  of  tlie  hundred 
battles,  monarch  of  Ireland,  in  the  year  A.  D.  166,  making  a  partition  of  the 
kingdom  between  them,  by  the  terms  of  which  Eogan  was  to  exercise  sovereign 
sway  over  the  southern  half  of  the  island,  and  Con  of  the  northern  half. 

t  Meath  is  one  of  the  richest  and  most  populous  counties  in  Ireland, — abound- 
ing with  cattle  r.nd  corn,  and  containing  a  population  of  119,580  souls.  Of  this 
county  we  will  have  occasion  to  speak  more  largely  in  a  note  to  a  future  chapter. 

X  Waterfokd  is  a  fine  and  populous  city,  most  advantageously  situated  on  the 
south  side  of  the  river  Suir,  about  five  miles  from  the  juncture  of  that  majestic 
stream  with  the  Nore  and  the  Barrow,  whose  conjoined  waters  form  the  noble 
harbour  of  the  city.  It  is  eight  miles  distant  from  the  sea,  but  the  river,  running 
from  it,  is  so  broad  and  deep  that  ships  of  the  heaviest  burden  can  sail  up  to  the 
harbour.  Waterford  is  a  place  of  great  commerce  and  industry,  and  it  has  been 
the  scene  of  many  historical  incidents,  of  which  we  will  speak,  fully,  in  a  future 
note.  We  liave  already  related  that  St.  Carthag,  bishop  of  Lismore,  was  the 
founder  (A.  D.  638,)  of  the  united  sees  of  Waterford  and  Lismore.  The  chief 
edificial  ornaments  of  Waterford,  are  the  Exchange,  Cathedral,  Bisliop's  palace, 
Theatre  and  Court-house.  The  magnificent  quay  of  Waterford,  nearly  half  a 
mile  in  length,  is  considered  to  be  unequalled  in  Europe.  The  monastic  and 
feudal  ruins  of  Waterford  are  noble  and  affecting,  even  in  decay.  The  priory  of 
St.  Leonards  still  presents  beautiful,  architectural  and  sculptural  remains.  Water- 
ford stands  at  the  distance  of  ninety-six  English  miles  from  Dublin. 


503 

this  era,  tlie  kings  of  Leinster,  Comiaiiglit  and  Breffeny,*  formed 
an  alliance  against  Donougli,  and  for  the  jjurijose  of  raisin^  his 
nephew  Turlogh  to  the  supreme  throne  of  Ireland.  Donou<rh,  to 
secure  the  power  which  he  obtained  by  the  infamous  crime  of  fratri- 
cide, formed  an  alliance  with  Harold  II.,  king  of  England,  whose 
daughter,  the  princess  Driella,  he  married.  Sliortly  after  his  union 
with  the  English  princess,  Donough,  knowing  that  he  had  no  hold 
in  the  affections  of  the  Irish  j)e()ple,  who  only  sought  for  an  oppor- 
tunity of  shaking  off  the  intolerable  yoke  of  his  oppression,  garri- 
soned all  the  fortresses  in  his  possession,  with  English  mercenaries. 
In  A.  D.  1053,  Harold  visited  Ireland  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining 
assistance  from  his  son-in-law,  to  resist  the  invasion  of  William, 
Duke  of  Normandy.  Donough  sent  three  thousand  of  his  best  troops 
to  England,  whose  prowess  and  valour  at  the  battle  of  Hastings,  are 
so  highly  extolled  by  Holinshed,  and  other  English  historians. 
Turlogh  and  his  uncle  Donough,  came  to  battle  at  Ardagh,t  in  the 
year  1063,  in  which  engagement  the  latter  was  totally  defeated. 
The  result  of  this  battle  prostrated  the  power  and  the  fortunes  of 
Donough.  All  his  former  friends  now  abandoned  him, — so  that 
giving  up  his  hopes  to  despair,  he  made  a  formal  abdication  of  the 
Irish  throne  in  favour  of  his  victorious  nephew  Turlogh.  Donough, 
with  a  heart  touched  with  the  "  compunctious  visitings"  of  remorse, 
set  out  on  a  pilgrimage  to  Rome,  where  he  assumed  a  religious 
habit  in  the  monastery  of  St.  Stephen,  and  in  that  retreat  terminated 
his  days,  in  the  year  1006.  On  his  introduction  to  the  then  Pope 
Alexander  II.,  he  presented  to  him  the  crown  and  harp,  and  many 
other  rich  jewels  belonging  to  the  s|)lendid  regalia  of  his  great  and 
magnanimous  father,  the  brave  Brian.  Pope  Adrian  IV.,  the  ille- 
gitimate brother  of  Henry  II.  of  England,  (originally  named  Nicholas 
Brekespere)  the  only  Englishman  that  ever  wielded  the  pontifical 
power  in  Rome,  allcired  this  ])resentation  of  the  Irish  regalia,  by 
Donough,  in  vindication  of  his  right  to  invest  his  brother  Henry  II., 
with  the  sovereignty  of  Ireland.  What  a  futile,  flimsy  and  hollow 
jjretext  for  transferring  a  whole  nation  to  a  foreign  king!  The 
harp  remained  in  the  Vatican  until  Pope  Leo  X.  sent  it,  and  other 
Irish  relics,  as  presents  to  Henry  VIII.,  with  the  title  of  "  King, 
defender  of  the  faitkyX     The  departure  of  Donough  left  "  no  rival 

*  Breffeny.  The  district  bearing  this  name,  formerly  was  known  as  the 
patrimonial  territories  of  the  O'Rourkes  and  O'Reillys,  and  comprehended  the 
counties  of  Leitrim  and  Cavan. 

t  Ardagh,  which  gives  title  to  a  bishop's  see,  is  situated  in  the  central  part  of 
Ihe  county  of  Longford,  at  the  distance  of  six  miles  S.  W.  from  Edgoworthstown 
The  see,  as  we  have  already  stated,  was  founded  by  St.  Patrii-k,  in  the  year  454, 
who  placed  over  it,  as   first  bishop,  St.  Moel,  his  nephew.     The  country  which 
spreads  around  Ardagh  is  fine  and  fertile. 

I  Some  time  allcr,  Henry  presented  the  harp  to  his  favourite,  tiie  first  earl  of 
Clanrickarde,  in  whose  family  it  remn.ined  until  the  beginning  of  the  last  century, 
when  it  came  in  the  paraphernalia  of  Lady  Eliza  Burgh,  into  the  possession  of  her 
husband,  Colonel  McMahon,  of  Clcnagh,  in  the  county  of  Clare;  after  whose 
death  it  passed  into  tJie  hands  of  Commissioner  McNamara,  of  Limerick.  In 
17i::;2,  the  possession  of  this  fluctuating  harp  devolved  on  the  Right  Honourable 
W.  Conyngham,  the  father  of  the  noble  marquis  of  that  name,  who  was  such  a 
favourite  of  King  George  IV".  The  marcpiis  is  an  absentee,  and  one  of  those  who 
spend  the  income  of  their  estates  in  foreign  countries.     His  domain  and  castle  at 


504 

near  tlie  throne"  of  Turlogh  ;  but  still  he  never  was  confirmed  in  the 
monarchy  by  the  formal  recognition  of  tlie  states  of  Ireland. 

Tnrlogh's  ambition  and  pride  grew  to  the  height  of  his  power. 
He  invaded  Leinster  and  Connaught  with  a  large  force  of  the  Dal- 
gais  and  the  Leinstei  ians,  under  the  command  of  his  cousin,  Dermod, 
king  of  Leinster.  In  A.  D.  1072,  Turlogh,  with  his  ally  and  cousin 
Dermod,  attacked  Connor,  tlie  son  of  Malachy,  at  Athboy,*  in 
Meath,  and  defeated  his  army  and  killed  himself;  but  the  king  of 
Leinster  also,  with  several  of  Turlogh's  officers,  fell  in  the  engage- 
ment. Turlogh  was  a  prince  of  heroism,  clemency  and  generosity, — 
brave  in  the  field,  and  wise  in  the  cabinet.  "  He  seems,"  says 
O'Flahcrty,  "to  have  imitated  the  great  example  of  his  grandfather, 
Brian,  as  far  as  the  distractions  of  the  times  would  permit,  in  estab- 
lishing good  laws,  in  punishing  transgressors,  and  in  protecting  and 
rewarding  merit.  In  sliort,  he  was  worthy  of  his  illustrious  descent, 
and  of  the  throne  which  he  filled. "t 

Murtough,  the  son  of  Donough,  assisted  by  his  party,  made  an 
attempt,  at  this  period,  to  raise  an  insurrection  against  his  cousin, 
Turlough, — but  it  proved  abortive,  and  IMurtough  had  to  fly  for 
refuge  to  his  relations  in  Connaught.     Turlogh  invaded  Connaught, 

Slane,  in  the  county  of  Meath,  are  picturesque  and  magnificent.  He,  with  a  view  of 
preserving  so  rare  an  antique  of  Irish  royalty  in  an  enduring  shrine  worthy  of  ilie 
memorable  glory  associated  with  the  harp  of"  Brian  the  brave,"  deposited  it  in  the 
library  of  the  University  of  Dublin.  When  the  late  George  IV.  visited  that  city,  he 
touched  the  strings  which  so  often  breathed  the  soul  of  melody  under  the  masterly 
fingers  of  his  royal  predecessor.  The  erudite  General  Vallancey,  (to  whose  pro- 
found researches  in  the  literature  and  antiquities  of  Erin,  the  Irish  are  perhaps  more 
indebted,  than  to  any  other  elucidation  of  inquiry  ever  set  on  foot,  save  the  sublime 
lights  of  investigation  which  the  patriotic  Lady  Morgan  has  kindled  in  the  his- 
torical catacombs  of  the  ancient  grandeur  of  the  "  Isle  of  Harps,")  has  given  the 
following  comprehensive  description  of  this  far-famed  harp,  that  so  often  sounded 
the  "■  voice  of  song"  at  the  royal  banquets  of  Tara.  "  It  is  32  inches  high,  and  of 
extraordinary  good  workmanship.  The  sounding  board  is  of  oak,  the  arms  of  red 
sally — the  extremity  of  the  uppermost  arm,  in  front,  is  capped  with  silver,  ex- 
tremely well  wrought  and  chiselled  ;  it  contains  a  large  crystal  set  in  silver,  and 
under  it  was  another  stone  now  lost.  The  buttons  or  ornamental  knobs,  at  the 
side  of  this  arm,  are  of  silver.  On  the  arm  are  tlie  arms  of  the  O'Brien  family, 
chased  in  silver — the  bloody  hands  supported  by  lions.  On  the  sides  of  the  front 
arm,  within  two  circles,  are  two  Irish  wolf  dogs,  cut  in  wood.  The  holes  of  the 
sounding  board  where  the  strings  entered,  are  neatly  ornamented  with  escutcheons 
of  brass,  carved  and  gilt.  This  harp  has  twenty-eight  keys,  and  as  many  string 
holes,  consequently  there  were  so  many  strings.  The  foot-piece  or  rest,  is  broken 
off,  and  the  parts  to  which  it  was  joined  are  very  rotten.  The  whole  bears  evi- 
dence of  an  accomplished  and  expert  artist." — Jldc  Collectanea  Hihernkn. — Xo.  12. 

*  Athboy  is  a  pretty  village,  situated  in  the  barony  of  Lune,  county  of  Meath, 
at  the  distance  of  three  miles  S.  W.  from  Trim,  and  twenty-three  N.  W.  from 
Dublin.  Its  vicinity  is  full  of  landscape  ornaments — such  as  fine  domains  and 
monastic  and  castellated  luins.  Near  Athboy,  at  Rathmore.  is  the  residence  of 
the  present  Earl  of  Darnley,  a  title  bestowed  on  his  father,  John  Bligh,  Esq.,  by 
Mr.  Pitt,  in  consequence  of  his  voting  in  the  Irish  House  of  Commons  for  the 
legislative  union.  The  Bligh  family  were  Cromwellian  adventurers,  who  were 
enriched  by  the  ruthless  regicide,  with  the  forfeited  estates  of  Lord  Goimanstown. 

t  Archbishop  Usher,  of  Armagh,  has  given  in  his  works  copies  of  the  Latin 
letters  which  passed  between  Turlogh  and  Lanfranc,  archbishop  of  Canterbury, 
in  one  of  which  the  primate  styles  the  monarch  Turlogh,  ^  the  magnificent  king 
of  Ireland."  In  another  letter  written  by  the  P]nglish  primate  to  Turlogh,  the 
prelate  says—"  That  God  has  bestowed  his  blessing  upon  the  kingdom  of  Ireland, 
when  he  raised  your  majesty  to  the  regal  dignity  of  that  kingdom,  is  evident  to 
every  considering  person." 


505 

ill  A.  D.  1076,  reduced  the  whole  province  to  suhjection,  and  suc- 
ceeded in  capturing  Roderick  O'Connor,  its  kinj:^,  wlioni  he  hberated 
on  being  ])riid  a  h\rge  ransom,  and  getting  hostages  iVoni  him, 
and  from  his  vassal  chiefs,  O'Kourke  of  Leitrini,  and  O'Kelly  of 
Galway.  Shortly  after  returning  to  his  palace  at  Limerick,  he  was 
waited  upon  by  O'Leavey,  prince  of  Down,  and  O'Meaisuchlin  of 
Meath,  each  of  whom  oftered  him  homage,  and  paid  him  a  joint 
tribute  of  1,000  oxen,  120  mantles  of  gold-spangled  silk,  40  ounces 
of  gold,  and  many  richly  mounted  swords  and  spears. 

In  A.  D.  105)4,  O'llonrkc,  piince  of  Brefi'eny,  made  an  irruption 
with  his  forces  into  Thomond,  (the  present  county  of  Clare  ;)  but 
as  he  was  in  the  act  of  Hying  off  with  spoils  and  captives,  he  was 
overtaken  at  Inchicpiin,*  county  of  Clare,  by  Tiirlogh,  who  destroyed 
his  army  and  killed  himself.  The  latter  years  of  Turlogh  were 
rendered  miserable  by  the  oppression  of  a  most  painful  disease 
which  alllicted  him.  Prior  to  his  death,  he  zealously  devoted  him- 
self to  prayer  and  penance,  and  founded  and  endowed  many  abbeys, 
among  them  Coonagh,  Kathkeal,t  and  Castle-Conncll,|  in  the  county 
of  Limerick.  Turlogh  died  in  the  year  lOSO,  in  the  seventy-seventh 
year  of  his  age.  He  was  certainly  a  brave  warrior,  ])ossessed  of  an 
enlightened  mind,  and  a  gallant  spirit.  By  his  queen,  Snibh, 
daughter  of  McCarthy,  king  of  Desmond,  he  had  four  sons,  Tiege, 
who  oidy  survived  him  a  few  months,  Murtough,  his  immediate 
successor  on  the  throne,  and  Dermod  and  Donough, — the  latter  was 
killed  fighting  under  his  brother  Murtough,  in  battle,  in  Meath. 

*  Inciuqvin  is  tlie  name  of  a  barony  and  village  in  the  county  of  Clare^  from 
which  the  O'Brien  family  take  the  title  of  Earl. 

t  Rathkeal,  formerly  a  place  of  consequence,  is  a  pretty  little  market  and 
post  town,  situated  on  the  river  Dccl,  in  the  barony  of  Connello,  in  the  county  of 
Limerick,  at  the  distance  of  174  English  miles  from  Dublin.  Here  are  to  be  seen 
the  ruins  of  an  Augustinian  monastery,  and  of  a  feudal  castle  ;  the  latter  famed, 
in  history,  for  its  brave  opposition  to  tiie  troops  of  Queen  Elizabeth. 

i  CASTLE-CoNNKr.i,,  the  ancient  residence  of  Mr.  O'Connell's  ancestors,  the 
kings  of  Limerick,  is  situated  on  the  east  side  of  the  river  Shannon,  at  the  distance 
of  six  Irish  miles  N.  from  tiie  city  of  Limerick.  The  castle  and  the  lands  belong- 
ini)-  to  it,  were  granted  by  King  John  to  Richard  de  IJurgo,  then  carl  of  Ulster. 
The  castle  was  conveited  into  a  strong  hold,  by  the  English,  to  resist  tlie  attacks 
of  the  O'Connell's  and  O'Briens,  the  chieftains  of  the  soil.  Burke,  Lord  Castle- 
Connell,  a  devoted  adherent  of  the  regal  ingrate,  James  IL,  bravely  defended  this 
fortress  for  four  days,  against  King  William's  whole  army,  under  Ginkle,  and  the 
prince  of  Hesse,  and  only  surrendered  on  the  honourable  condition  of  being  per- 
mitted to  repair  to  the  garrison  of  Limerick.  "  Ginkle,"  says  an  Irish  topogra- 
pher, "  considered  it  so  strong  a  hold  that  he  ordered  it  to  be  blown  up, — and  the 
explosion  was  so  great  tiiat  it  shook  many  houses,  and  broke  several  windows  in 
Limerick."  The  ruins  of  Castle-Connell  stand  on  a  high  rock  ovcriianging  the 
river  Shannon.  The  spa  of  Castle-Connell  is  famed  for  its  liealing  virtues. 
64 


CHAPTER   LXV. 

Division  of  the  Irish  Monarchy  between  Murtough  IV.  and  Donald  V. — His  wars 
with  the  Prince  of  Ttjrconnel. —  The  national  Synods. — Ma  onus  Godfrey,  King  of 
JVorway, — his  conduct. — Accession  to  the  throne  of  Turlugh  II.  Murtough  IV, — 
his  successor,  who  quarrels  with  his  brother  Dermod. — Death  of  Murtough  in  the 
abbey  of  Lis  more. —  Victories  of  Turlogh,  the  Great: — his  death. — Intestine  wars 
in  Munstcr. —  Geographical  divisions  of  Ireland, — rivers,  lakes  and  mountains. 

To  Turlogh  II.  succeeded  liis  eldest  son,  Murtousjli,  in  A.  D. 
108G,  but  he  had  scarcely  mounted  the  throne,  when  he  banished  his 
brother  Dermod  for  some  imputed  disaftection,  and  then  raised  a 
numerous  army,  with  whicli  he  invaded  Leinster,  and  placed,  as 
some  affirm,  his  son  Domlinal  as  his  viceroy  in  that  province.  He 
ravajred  the  western  parts  of  Ulster  ;  but  Donald  O'Lojihiin,  of  the 
Hy-Nial  dynasty,  arrested  his  progress  in  the  county  of  Doneoal,  in 
the  year  108S,  by  comjjelling  him  to  make  a  speedy  retreat  to  Clare, 
pursued  by  that  prince  to  the  very  gates  of  his  palace.  The  victorious 
Donald  now  set  up  his  claim  to  the  Irish  monarcliy,  in  right  of  the 
Hy-Nial  dynasty.  Murtough,  determined  to  hold  the  sovereignty, 
collected  ail  his  forces  to  check  the  ambition  of  his  daring  rival, 
who  was  joined  by  all  the  adherents  of  the  banished  Prince  Dermod, 
who  devastated  and  plundered  a  great  portion  of  the  territory  of 
Murtough  in  INIunster.  After  waging  a  destructive  and  desultory 
war  for  the  crown,  finally  Murtough  and  Donald,  through  the  inter- 
ference and  mediation  of  the  archbishops  of  Armagh  and  Cashel, 
entered  into  a  solemn  compact,  by  the  terms  of  which,  Murtough 
was  to  rule  over  the  southern  part  of  Ireland,  and  Donald  to  hold 
regal  sway  in  the  northern  division  ;  the  latter  territory  being  that 
held  by  his  great  ancestor,  Con  of  the  "  hundred  battles."  The 
Danes  of  Dublin  and  Waterford  taking  advantage,  at  this  era,  of 
the  intestine  war  that  weakened  and  divided  the  Irish  princes, 
elected  Godfrey  their  chief,  and  declared  themselves  independent  of 
the  authority  of  Murtough  ;  but  Murtough  soon  reduced  them  again 
to  subjection,  and  constrained  them  to  pay  tribute,  and  to  deliver 
hostages.  Shortly  after,  Murtough  and  his  brother  Dermod,  through 
the  good  offices  of  the  clergy,  were  reconciled  to  each  other. 

"In  1101,"  says  McDermott,  "  Murtough,  the  Third,  or  Blur- 
tough  O'Brian,  either  from  real  regard  to  the  interest  of  the  church, 
as  the  historians  say,  or  out  of  policy  to  win  the  affections  of  the 
clergy,  which  is  more  probable,  alienated  the  church  of  Cashel  from 
the  kings  of  Munster,  and  appropriated  it  for  ever  to  the  arch- 
bishop's see.  The  account  of  Murtough  in  the  book  of  reigns,  in 
the  Irish  language,  is  very  copious  ;  he  is  therein  represented  as  a 
good  and  pious  monarch,  who  made  a  great  progress  in  restoring 
the  church  and  state  to  their  former  splendour,  in  rebuilding  some 
and  endowing  other  churches  and  monasteries  with  lands.  It  is, 
however,  very  reasonably  imagined  that,  amidst  the  distractions  in 
which  the  kingdom  was  involved  during  his  reign,  though  he  might 
have  had  the  inclination,  he  could  not  have  had  the  power  to  effect 


507 

imicli  in  this  way.  Three  national  synods,  or  one  synod  continued 
by  prorogation  at  ditierent  times,  it  is  said,  were  .summoned  by 
Miirtoiiifh.  In  the  first  of  these  assemblies,  whicli  consisted  of  the 
monarch  and  all  the  chiefs  and  clergy  of  his  southern  half  of  the 
kingdom,  we  are  informed  that  many  wholesome  laws  and  regula- 
tions were  established  both  for  the  church  and  state.  In  the  second, 
which  appears  to  have  been  a  convocation  of  the  clergy  only,  at 
which  the  bishop  of  Limerick,  the  pope's  legate,  presided,  it  was 
agreed  that  there  should  be  twelve  episcopal  sees  in  the  southern 
half,  the  same  number  in  the  northern,  and  two  in  the  county  of 
Meatli.  In  this  ecclesiastical  division  the  see  of  Dublin  was  not 
mentioned  ;  because  its  inhabitants  being  generally  the  descendants 
of  the  Danes  or  Normans,  their  bishop  at  that  time  received  his 
consecration  at  the  hands  of  his  countryman,  the  archbishop  of 
Canterbury.  The  see  of  Waterford  was  erected  at  the  desire  of 
this  synod  ;  the  members  of  which  subscribed  an  epistle  to  Anselm, 
archbishop  of  Canterbury,  informing  him  '  that  it  was  convenient 
to  erect  AVaterford  into  a  bishopric,  for  which' — being  another  settle- 
ment of  the  Danes  and  their  descendants — '  they  had  elected  and 
sent  Malchus  to  him,  in  regard  to  the  primacy  he  had  over  them,  to 
be  consecrated  ;'  which  was  done  accordingly.  In  the  third  synod, 
or  convocation,  at  which,  it  is  said,  that  twenty-five  bishops  assisted, 
the  boundaries  of  the  several  dioceses  were  determined  and  s])ecified, 
as  a  sanction  to  which  they  left  their  own  and  God's  blessing  upon 
all  the  succeeding  bishops  who  should  support  the  regulations 
ordained  in  that  synod  ;  and  dreadful  imprecations  on  those  who 
should  presume  to  violate  them.  Hitherto  there  was  no  pope's 
legate  in  Irela)id  ;  and  the  mention  of  one  now  is  ascribed  by  Dr. 
Warner  to  the  crown  of  Ireland  having  been  brought  to  Rome  by 
Donough,  the  son  f)f  Brian,  and  presented  to  the  Po|io. 

We  are  told  bv  William  of  Malmsbury,  which  is  also  quoted  by 
Ware,  '  that  our  Henry,  the  First,  had  INIurtough  and  his  successors 
so  much  at  his  devotion,  that  they  would  not  wiite  nor  do  any  thing 
without  his  ap|)robation  ;  though  it  was  reported  that  IMurtough,  for 
what  cause  was  not  known,  had  for  some  time  carried  himself  more 
high  than  usual  towards  the  English,  but  upon  the  interdicting  of 
shipping  and  commerce,  he  soon  grew  milder.'  The  Irish  writers 
take  no  notice  of  any  such  intercourse  between  the  monarchs  of 
that  age ;  nor  is  there  the  least  allusion  to  treaties  of  commerce 
between  the  Irish  nation  and  the  English,  in  any  of  their  histories. 
There  is,  however,  sufficient  proof  that  Murtough  governed  the  half 
of  the  kingdom  which  was  allotted  to  him,  with  peace  and  reputa- 
tion ;  and  as  a  testimony  that  his  fame  was  not  confined  to  his  own 
country,  we  are  told,  in  Camden's  Chronicles  of  the  Isle  of  Man, 
that  upon  a  vacancy  of  their  government,  or  rather  during  the 
minority  of  the  next  heir,  'the  nobility  of  that  Isle  despatched  am- 
bassadors to  Murtough  O'lirian,  king  of  Ireland,  desiring  that  he 
would  send  them  some  diligent  man  or  other,  of  royal  extraction,  to 
rule  over  them  during  the  minority  of  (Have,  the  son  of  their  late 
sovereign.  The  king  readily  consented,  and  sent  Donald,  the  son 
of  Tiege,  with  orders    and    instructions    to   govern   the    kingdom, 


508 

though  it  belonged  not  to  him,  with  modesty  and  tendernegs.  But 
as  soon  as  he  was  advanced  to  the  throne,  he  behaved  with  so  much 
cruelty,  that,  at  the  end  of  three  years,  he  was  banished.' 

The  following  anecdote,  which  is  copied  by  Ware  and  Keating 
from  the  annals,  does  not  indeed  redound  to  the  credit  of  tins 
monarch,  and  is  too  ridiculous  for  belief.  We  are  told  tliat  Magnus, 
king  of  Norway,  sent  a  messenger  to  Murtough,  with  his  shoes, 
which  he  commanded  him  to  carry  on  his  shoulders  through  his 
house  on  Christmas  day,  as  a  testimony  of  his  subjection;  and  that 
the  monarch  complied  with  this  ignominious  injunction.  Magnus, 
however,  was  not  content  with  this  abject  submission  of  the  king  of 
Ireland,  but  fitted  out  a  numerous  fleet,  manned  with  Danes  and 
Normans,  in  order  to  plunder  and  destroy  his  country.  As  soon  as 
the  northern  king  and  his  nobility,  and  some  of  the  soldiers,  from 
the  first  ships,  were  landed,  the  Irish  army,  who  were  in  ambush, 
were  so  well  prepared  to  receive  them,  that  the  invaders  were  every 
one  cut  to  pieces  ;  which  the  rest  of  the  fleet  observing,  they  imme- 
diately tacked  about  and  returned  home. 

In  all  probability  there  was  some  foundation  for  this  story  ;  but, 
without  doubt,  there  is  some  strange  misrejiresentation  ;  it  is  not  to 
be  sup[)osed  that  a  monarch  of  Murtough's  descent,  intrepidity  and 
power  in  the  southern  half  of  Ireland,  who  was  continually  iu  arms 
with  the  monarch  of  the  other  half,  would  so  tamely  yield  to  such 
an  insolent  demand  ;  and  if  he  had  been  base  enough  to  submit  to 
the  degradation,  the  king  of  Norway  co\dd  have  had  no  pretence 
for  hostilities  ;  and  as  no  hostilities  could  have  been  expected,  how 
could  the  Irish  have  been  so  well  prepared  to  receive  them  1  The 
numerous  fleet  which  the  northern  king  fitted  out,  is  a  proof  that 
his  indignant  message  to  Murtough  was  treated  with  deserved  con- 
tempt. 

Towards  the  latter  end  of  this  divided  monarchy,  the  young  king  of 
Connaught,  called  Turlogh,  the  Great,  became  exceedingly  trouble- 
some to  both  Murtough  and  Donald.  This  Turlogh  was  of  the 
Heremonian  line,  and  being  possessed  of  a  warlike  spirit,  he  found 
no  difiiculty  in  taking  advantage  of  the  dissensions  which  then  pre- 
vailed. The  province  of  Munster  had  been  invaded  by  Turlogh, 
and  plundered  with  great  hostility:  and,  though  a  warrior  of  the 
house  of  Brian  attacked  him  in  his  retreat,  and  defeated  his  army 
with  a  terrible  slaughter,  yet  soon  recovering  this  loss,  lie  invaded  it 
a  second  time  by  sea  and  land  ;  marching  himself  at  the  head  of  his 
army,  and  committing  many  acts  of  violence  upon  the  people  till 
he  came  to  Cork,  where  his  fleet,  which  had  obeyed  his  order  in 
spoiling  and  ravaging  all  the  coasts,  met  him  according  to  his 
appointment  :  and  together  they  reduced  the  province  so  much 
under  his  obedience,  that,  taking  hostages  for  their  submission  and 
future  homage,  he  committed  the  government  of  the  north  division 
to  Connor  O'Brian,  and  that  of  the  southern  to  Donough  Mac 
Carthy,  of  the  same  royal  house.  In  short,  all  the  j)rovinces  of  the 
island  were,  each  in  turn,  invaded  and  harassed  by  this  king  of 
Connaught. 

"Whether  Turlogh  wrested  all  power  out  of  the  hands  of  Murtough, 


509 

as  some  writers  state,  or  whether,  as  others  declare,  a  tedious  malady 
inclined  liini  to  relin(iiiish  liie  cares  of  a  troublesome  government,  it 
is  impossible  to  ascertain.  Indeed  both  of  these  causes  mi^lit  have 
led  to  his  secession.  About  two  years  before  his  death,  Murtough 
retired  to  the  monastery  of  Lismore,  and  after  a  short  stay  there,  he 
took  the  habit  of  a  monk,  at  Armagh,  where  he  terminated  his  days  : 
but  the  place  of  his  interment  is  much  disputed.  In  the  British 
Chronicles,  which  treat  of  his  death,  he  is  styled  '  the  most  great 
and  worthy  king  of  all  Irelatid  :'  and  in  the  annals  of  Leighlin,  it  is 
said  of  him,  '  Murtough,  the  most  serene  prince,  faithful  to  his  allies, 
formidable  to  his  enemies,  bountiful  to  strangers,  who  for  his  piety 
and  justice,  above  all  other  princes,  deserved  the  love  of  his  subjects, 
died,  and  was  buried  at  Ferns." 

On  the  death  of  Murtough,  A.  D.  1119,  Donald  acquired  no  addi- 
tion to  his  former  authority,  which  was  still  disputed  by  Turlogh, 
king  of  Connaught.  Donald,  however,  contrived  to  preserve  it  till 
his  death,  which  was  two  years  after  that  of  Murtough.  This  is  a 
period  in  the  Irish  history  which  is  attended  with  much  confusion, 
owing  to  the  diflerent  accounts  given  by  different  writers.  By  some 
we  are  told  that  Donald  survived  ISlurtough  six  years.  Others 
declare  that  Turlogh  had  a  share  of  the  government  of  the  southern 
division;  and  others,  that  notwithstanding  all  the  insurrections  he 
had  occasioned,  he  was  only  king  of  Connaught,  as  before.  We 
are  informed  that  on  the  death  of  Donald,  an  interregnum  of  fifteen 
years  succeeded  ;  and  again,  that  Turlogh  assumed  the  title,  and 
was  in  fact  acknowledged  king  of  Ireland,  by  the  majority  of  the 
people  immediately  on  his  demise.  The  circumstance  of  the  inter- 
regnum is  mentioned  otdy  by  Ware,  and  that  in  a  very  doubtful 
manner;  and  it  appears  from  Lynch  and  O'Connor,  that  no  one  on 
the  death  of  Donald  was  able  to  contend  with  Turlogh,  who  was 
owned  king  of  Ireland  by  the  greatest  ])art  of  the  nation,  A.  D.  1121. 
Indeed  it  is  not  probable  that  one  so  warlike  in  his  temper,  so 
powerful  in  the  field,  and  so  formidable  to  the  two  departed  mon- 
archs,  should  not  seize  the  vacant  throne  of  the  whole  kingdom 
immediately,  but  wait  fifteen  years,  when  there  was  no  competitor, 
before  he  assumed  the  title  of  monarch  of  Ireland.  It  might  have 
been  fifteen  years  indeed  before  he  had  entirely  sui)dued  all  the 
chiefs  who  opposed  him,  and  got  himself  acknowledged  by  the 
greatest  part  of  the  people  :  and,  in  all  probability,  the  name  of 
interregnum  has  been  ascribed  to  that  unsettled  period,  f^'uch  an 
ambitious,  enterprising  character,  no  doubt  assumed  the  title  of  king, 
as  soon  as  Donald  was  dead,  and  grasped  at  the  sovereign  power  of 
the  whole  island,  for  which  he  had  contended,  and,  in  a  great 
measure,  succeeded  during  his  life. 

The  kings  of  Munster,  of  the  house  of  Brian,  between  whom 
Turlogh  had  divided  the  government  of  that  province,  having  quar- 
relled amongst  themselves,  and  stirred  up  their  factions  against  each 
other,  the  monarch  of  Ireland  raised  a  powerful  army,  and  a  third 
time  invaded  it.  But  when  he  was  advanced  as  far  as  the  j)laiiis  of 
Moin-more,  he  was  met  by  Turlogh  O'Brian,  at  the  head  of  three 
battalions  of  the  Mamonians,  where  the  illustrious  tribe  of  the  Dal- 


510 


gais  for  tlie  first  time  received  a  defeat.  Their  number  is  stated  liy 
Walsh  to  have  been  nine  tliousand  ;  but  other  writers,  perhaps  with 
more  probability,  have  reckoned  them  only  at  three  thousand:  for 
since  the  death  of  Murtongh,  tlie  Eugeneans  had  not  otdy  separated 
from  them,  but  the  Dalgais  themselves  were  mucli  divided  throujj^h 
the  ditlerent  pretensions  of  their  rival  chiefs.  The  defeat  in  this 
battle  terminated  with  the  banishment  of  Turlogh  O'Brian,  and 
another  division  of  the  ])rovince  of  Munster,  by  the  monarch,  Tur- 
logh II.  The  repeated  dissensions  of  this  royal  family,  brother 
opposing  brother,  and  each  having  a  separate  faction  at  his  com- 
mand, so  weakened  tiie  tribe  of  the  Dalgais,  which,  when  united, 
were  always  invincible,  that  their  present  defeat  was  unavoidable. 

In  spite  of  all  the  exertions  of  the  several  chiefs  at  difterent  times 
to  oppose  Turlogh,  he  not  only  stood  his  ground,  but  was  in  general 
the  conqueror.  Dermod,  the  king  of  Leinster,  of  whom  we  shall 
have  much  to  say  in  the  course  of  this  chapter,  was  one  of  those 
who  severely  felt  the  monarch's  resentment ;  indeed  all  the  pro- 
vinces in  their  turn  were  chastised  by  Turlogh.  He  made  his  own 
son  king  of  Meath,  of  Dublin,  and  some  other  parts  of  Leinster: 
with  his  army  he  destroyed  the  country  of  T3'rconnel,  and  with  his 
navy  he  laid  waste  the  territories  of  Tyrone  ;  both  under  the  govern- 
ment of  Murtough  O'Lachlin,  prince  of  the  North  Hy-Nial.  Here, 
however,  he  carried  his  resentment  further  than  he  could  support  it : 
and  Murtough  O'Lachlin,  who  was  of  the  family  of  the  last  monarch 
Donald,  became  a  rival  too  powerful  for  him  to  subdue.  Lideed 
some  writers  assert  that  the  g'reatness  of  Turlogh  was  so  much 
diminished,  and  his  power  humbled  by  this  Murtough,  who  was  of 
the  old  Heremonian  line,  that  the  monarch  was  obliged  to  g;ive  him 
hostages  as  a  security  for  his  future  peaceable  conduct,  even  six 
years  before  he  died.  Be  this,  however,  as  it  may,  it  is  certain  that 
they  attacked  each  other  several  times  by  sea  and  land,  with  vario'.is 
success  :  and  that  Murtough  had  procured,  besides  the  remains  of 
the  Normans,  the  naval  power  of  Scotland  to  assist  him  against 
Turlogh.  This  contest,  however,  was  concluded  by  the  monarch's 
death. 

Lynch,  who  has  consequently  styled  the  monarch,  Turlogh,  the 
Great,  has  written  many  encomiums  on  his  valour,  equity  and  integ- 
rity, and  represented  him  a  much  better  man  than  what  he  appears 
to  have  been  from  the  records  of  his  reign.  The  distractions  of  his 
time,  and  the  continual  opposition  made  to  him  by  one  chief  or 
other,  would  not  permit  the  accomplishment  of  many  great  actions: 
he  built,  however,  the  three  bridges  in  the  province  of  Connaught ; 
he  completed  the  cathedral  of  Tuam  ;  he  erected  an  hospital  there, 
and  endowed  it  with  a  good  estate  ;  he  settled  a  stipend  on  the  pro- 
fessor of  divinity  at  Armagh ;  and  he  was  so  severe  and  inflexible 
in  his  punishment  of  delinquents,  that  having  imprisoned  his  own 
son  for  some  great  offence,  he  rejected  the  application  of  many 
prelates  in  his  fiavour;  and,  even  at  the  end  of  a  year,  was  with 
great  difliculty,  and  not  without  the  intercession  of  five  hundred 
priests,  eleven  bishops,  and  the  two  archbishops  of  Armagh  and 
Cashel,  prevailed  upon  to  set  him  at  liberty.     Having  left  almost  all 


511 

liis  personal  estate  to  the  clergy  to  he  divided  in  just  proportions, 
according  to  their  several  orders,  he  has  had  the  character  of  bein"- 
a  sincere  penitent.  Besides  many  donations  to  the  clergy  of  Tuam, 
and  a  great  number  of  silver  crosses,  chaUces  and  goblets,  he  "-avc 
to  several  cliurches  and  religious  houses,  all  his  costly  furniture,  his 
gold  and  silver  vases,  his  goms  and  jewels,  his  plate,  his  horses, 
arms,  and  all  his  military  equipage,  his  herds  of  cattle,  together 
with  sixty  marks  of  silver,  and  sixty-five  ounces  of  gold." 

In  the  first  cha|)ter  of  this  history,  we  have  given  an  account  of 
the  various  names  by  which  Ireland  was  known  in  ancient  ages, 
conse(|uently  it  is  unnecessary  to  enumerate  them  again.  We  will, 
however,  only  say  here  that  Ireland  became  so  famous  after  the 
introduction  of  Christianity  into  the  island,  for  the  learning,  piety 
and  philanthropy  of  her  ecclesiastics  and  teachers,  who,  as  religious 
missionaries,  and  erudite  philosophers,  went  forth  to  ditVuse  religion 
and  letters  through  the  other  nations  of  Europe,  then  benighted  in 
mental  darkness,  that  foreigners  bestowed  upon  the  country  the 
title  of  "  Insula  sanctorum,''''  the  holy  island.  Ireland  is  situated  in 
the  Atlantic  ocean,  between  51°  19'  and  55°  23'  north  latitude,  and 
between  5°  19'  and  10°  28'  west  longitude.  It  is  bounded  on  the 
east  by  St.  George's  channel,  which  separates  it  from  England  and 
AVales, — on  the  northeast  by  the  Irish  sea,  which  runs  between  it 
and  Scotland,  and  on  the  northwest  and  south  by  the  Atlantic  ocean. 
The  sea  distance  betwixt  Irehind  and  England,  widens  at  some 
points  to  forty  leagues,  and  narrows  at  others  to  fourteen.  The 
distance  between  Donaghadee,  in  the  county  of  Down,  and  to  the 
opposite  coast  of  Scotland,  forms  a  channel  of  six  leagues.  "  It 
has,"  says  an  English  writer,  "been  truly  observed  that  the  situation 
of  Ireland,  in  relation  to  other  countries  capable  of  receiving  and 
bestowing  the  mutual  benefits  of  external  ccmimerce,  is  particularly 
favourable.  In  this  respect,  as  is  remarked  by  Mr.  Newenham, 
Ireland  may  be  said  to  excel  England  ;  it  being  possible  for  ships, 
departing  from  a  majority  of  the  ports  of  the  Ibrmer,  to  reach  the 
western  coast  of  France,  the  coasts  of  Portugal  and  Spain,  and 
even  that  of  North  America,  to  perform  half  the  voyage  to  the  west 
Indies,  or  to  the  difterent  countries  bordering  on  the  Mediterranean 
sea,  before  the  ships  which  sail  from  the  greater  portion  of  the  ports 
of  the  latter,  can  enter  the  Atlantic  ocean." 

The  extreme  length  of  the  island  is,  according  to  a  iate  govern- 
ment survey,  taken  by  a  line  running  from  Fair-head,  county  of 
Antrim,  and  Mizen-head,  in  the  county  of  Cork,  300  English  miles, 
and  the  expanse  of  breadth  of  the  kingdom  from  Emlagh-Kash,* 
county  Mayo,  to  Carnsore-Point,t  Wexford,  has  been  fiiund  by 
measurement  to  be  207  English  miles.  "It  has  been  often  re- 
marked," v.rites  Mr.  Newenham,  "and  must  be  repeated  here,  that 
there  is  not  any   part  of  Ireland   quite  fifty  miles  distant  from  the 

*  EMr.Afiii-llAsii  is  a  rocky  peninsula  situated  in  the  barony  of  Erris,  on  the 
coast  of  the  county  of  Wayo. 

t  Caknsore-I'oint  runs  into  St.  Gcortre's  channel,  and  is  situated  in  the  barony 
of  Forth,  county  of  Wexford  ;  it  is  a  parish  in  tiic  diocoss  of  Ferns.  There  are 
extensive  and  impressive  abbey  ruins  standing  on  this  point,  at  tlie  foot  of  Doinan- 
gaid,  a  lofty  mountain  impending  over  the  sea. 


512 

sea, — so  devious  is  the  coast,  and  so  deep  are  the  indentations 
eiiected  by  the  nunieioiis  bays.  The  sinuous  hue  of  the  sea-coast 
of  Ireland,  exclusive  of  such  parts  as  lie  within  estuaries,  or  above 
the  first  good  anchorage  in  every  harbour,  but  inclusive  of  the  river 
Shannon  as  far  as  the  tide  reaches,  and  the  shores  of  Dunmanus 
bay,*  IJantry  bay,  and  Renmare  river,  will,  if  accurately  followed 
through  all  its  windings,  be  found  to  measure  l,'/37  miles:  in  this 
line  there  are  no  less  than  130  harbours  and  places  where  ships  may 
anchor  for  a  tide,  or  find  shelter  during  the  continuance  of  adverse 
winds.  The  most  commodious  of  the  bays  and  harbours  are  found 
on  the  line  of  coast  stretching  towards  the  west,  from  Waterford  on 
the  south,  to  Lough  Foyle  on  the  north  coast,  in  which  line  it  is 
believed  that  they  are  more  numerous  than  in  the  same  extent  of 
coast  in  any  other  part  of  the  world.  Here  the  shore  opposes  to 
the  fury  of  the  Atlantic  ocean,  unnumbered  promontories,  often  of 
a  bold  and  commanding  character,  that  assist  in  forming  many 
noble  havens,  several  of  which  are  capable  of  receiving  the  whole  of 
the  British  navy."  In  several  of  the  Irish  bays  and  havens  are 
numerous  islands,  fertile  and  cultivated,  clothed  with  arborescent 
and  grassy  verdure.  Mr.  Brewer,  who  certainly  wrote  with  can- 
dour and  justice  of  our  native  land,  states — "  There  has  not  yet 
been  made  a  survey  of  Ireland  with  sufficient  accuracy  to  enable  us 
to  state,  with  any  resemblance  of  certainty,  the  superficial  contents 
of  the  island.  Dr.  Beaufort  has  made  a  computation  by  measuring 
the  area  of  each  county  on  the  map  formed  by  himself,  and  he 
asserts  that,  after  rejecting  all  fractions,  Ireland  contains  considera- 
bly more  than  18,750  square  miles,  or  several  thousand  acres  above 
twelve  millions,  Irish  measure;  which  is  equal  to  30,370  English 
miles,  or  19,43G  acres."  Mr.  Wakefield  estimates  the  number  of 
Irish  acres  contained  in  the  area  of  Ireland,  at  12,723,610. 

The  aspect  of  the   country   is  thus   described  by  an  English 

*  Dunmanus  Bav  is  situated  in  the  barony  of  Carberry,  county  of  Cork, — it  is 
deep  and  spacious,  and  divided  from  that  of  Bantry  by  a  narrow  point  of  head- 
land extending  into  the  sea.  There  are  the  ruins  of  an  ancient  castle  to  be  seen 
here.  Of  Bantry-town,  in  the  county  of  Cork,  we  have  already  spoken  in  a  note 
to  a  preceding  chapter  of  this  history,  but  of  the  matchless,  spacious  and  magnifi- 
cent bay,  which  is  capable  of  containing  all  the  fleets  of  Europe  and  America,  we 
would  say  that  it  rs  twenty-five  miles  in  length,  from  its  most  eastern  point  to  the 
ocean,  and  its  main  breadth  is  about  seven  miles.  There  are  several  beautiful 
islands  interspersed  through  the  bay,  whose  sylvan  scenery  presents  to  the  view 
imposing  landscape  attractions.  Beau  Island  is  of  considerable  extent ;  it  lies 
near  the  mouth  of  the  bay,  and  is  belted  by  a  balustrade  of  rocks.  The  Isle  of 
Whiddv  is  highly  cultivated,  and  it  is  garnished  with  rich  and  picturesque  deco- 
rations of  art.  The  French  fleet,  in  17',Hi,  which  attemj)ted  to  invade  Ireland, 
anchored,  after  being  sliattered  by  a  furious  storm,  on  the  northwest  quarter  of  the 
island  of  Whiddy.  The  mountainous  shores  of  Bantry  bay  are  remarkable  for 
their  sublime  mixture  of  wildncss,  romanticity  and  grandeur;  amongst  which  the 
majestic  elevation  of  the  mountain  monarch  of  the  scene.  Hungry  Hill,  is 
eminently  conspicuous  for  its  loftiness,  beauty,  and  pictorial  magnificence.  "  It 
is  very  generally  allowed,"  says  Brewer,  in  his  Beauties  of  Ireland,  "  that  no 
single  view,  even  among  the  various  beauties  of  Killarney,  equals  this  of  Bantry. 
The  extent  of  the  prospect  is  not  too  great  for  the  visual  capacity,  while  it  fills  the 
mind  with  astonishment  and  admination."  A  great  naval  battle  was  fought,  A. 
D.  17Si>,  in  the  bay  of  Bantry,  between  the  English  and  the  French  fleets,  in 
which  the  former  were  victorious.  The  O'Sullivans  were,  for  ages,  the  chieftains 
of  Bear  island  and  Bantry  bay.     Boston,  May,  1836. 


513 


traveller — "  Ireland  may  be  described  as  a  country  partly  level,  and 
j)artly  of  a  siirfaco  iijently  undulating,  with  many  interspersed  mmin- 
tJiins.  Considerable  elevations  occur  in  the  conti;iuity  of  n)o.«t  parts 
of  the  coast  which  are  exposed  to  the  fury  of  the  western  ocean. 
The  shores  of  Antrim,  on  tiie  northeast,  are  rocky,  bold  and  hij^li  ; 
and  tiie  county  of  Wicklow,  on  the  eastern  marj^in  of  the  islnnd, 
chiefly  consists  of  one  vast  asseml)la<ie  of  i^ranite  mountains.  The 
natural  features  of  Ireland,  considered  in  a  pictoriid  view,  may, 
indeed,  be  said  to  consist  of  extremes.  Districts  scarcely  to  be 
rivalled,  and  certainly  not  to  be  excelled  in  their  resjiective  points 
of  beauty,  by  the  most  aduiired  and  celebrated  parts  of  any  country, 
are  contrasted  with  monotonous  and  dull  tracts — flat,  stony,  dreary, 
incapable  of  elicitin<;  one  pleasurable  emotion  in  the  mind  of  the 
spectator.  It  is  obvious  that  such  a  disposal  of  natural  circumstances 
is,  on  the  whole,  favourable  to  a  display  of  nature  in  her  "grandeur 
and  unusual  beauties.  The  principle  of  poetical  influence  is  here 
exem|)lilied  on  a  stupendous  theatre.  More  equable  scenery  lulls  and 
sootlies  the  mind,  but  leaves  its  enero;ies  untouched.  The  amazing 
contr<iriely  of  Irish  landscape  admits  of  no  medium,  but  gratifies 
the  traveller  in  the  same  degree  as  does  the  artificial  expedient 
of  conducting  to  the  blaze  of  noon-day  splendour,  through  the  gloom 
of  a  darkened  avenue."  It  was  justly,  we  think,  observed  by  Mr. 
Arthcr  Young,  in  his  Irish  tour,  that,  "the  mountains  of  Ireland 
give  to  travelling  that  interesting  variety  whioh  a  flat  country  can 
never  abound  with." 

Ireland  is  diversified  and  ornamented  by  some  high,  picturesque 
and  ro(nantic  mountains,  amongst  the  most  conspicuously  eminent 
of  which,  are  Curranca-Toohill  or  Mncgillicuddy^s  rocks,  county  of 
Kerry,  which  may  be  viewed  from  the  lakes  of  Killarney,  as  the 
ridge  rises  to  tlie  elevation  of  l,18U  yards  above  the  level  of  the  sea  ; 
the  next  iiighest  mountain  is  Donard,  in  the  county  of  Down,  which 
ascends  to  the  height  of  2,809  feet  ;  IMangerton  mountain,  in  the 
county  of  Kerry,  towers  to  tiie  elevation  of  2,693  feet;  the  height 
of  Croagh-Patrick,  county  Mayo,  is  2,GG0  ;  of  Niphin,  in  the  same 
county,  2,G30  ;  of  Carlingford,  county  of  Louth,  1,855;  of  Gallan, 
county  of  Derry,  1,789;  of  Gullen,  county  of  Armagh,  1,749.  We 
reiiret  that  we  cannot  assert  what  is  the  elevation  of  the  Nagle  and 
Kdsvorth  mountains,  county  of  Cork,  or  of  the  Curlew  ones,  in  tlie 
county  of  Sligo, — of  Kuockpatrick,  county  of  Limerick, — of  Muck- 
isli,  county  of  Donegal, — of  Scalp,  county  of  Wicklow,  of  Sliebh-na- 
gridel,  county  of  Down, — of  Sliehh-buy,  county  of  Wexford, — of 
Sliebh-teach,  county  of  Carlow, — of  Ormond,  or  the  Galties,  county 
Tipperary, — of  Sliebh-bangh,  county  of  Monaghan, — of  Sliebh- 
baughta,  county  of  Galway, — of  Sliebh-bonn,  county  of  Roscom- 
mon,— of  Slenish,  county  of  Antrim, — nor  of  Coslibride,  county  of 
Water  forth 

The  principal  rivers  in  Ireland,  arc  the  Shannon,  the  Barrow,  the 
Boyne,  the  Liifey,  the  three  Blackwaters,  one  in  the  county  of 
Cork,  one  in  Meath,  and  the  other  in  the  county  of  Armagh, — the 
Nore,  the  Suir,  the  Lee,  the  Bann,  the  Moy,  county  of  Sligo, — the 
Suck,  county  of  Roscommon, — the  Brosnagh,  county  of  West- 
65 


514 

meath, — the  Maig,  county  of  Limerick, — tlie  Glare,  county  of 
Mayo, — the  Fane,  county  of  Louth, — t!ie  Lagan,  county  of  Down, — 
the  Slaney,  county  of  \Vickk)\v, — the  Newry,  county  of  Down, — 
the  Roe,  county  of  Derry, — the  Mourne,  county  of  Done<ral, — the 
Earn,  county  of  Cavan, — the  Glydc,  county  of  IMonaghan, — the 
Mein,  county  of  Antrim, — the  Cailen,  county  of  Armagli, — the 
Foyle,  county  of  Tyrone, — the  Banden,  county  of  (Jork, — tiie  Bhick- 
water,  county  of  Cavan, — the  Ovoca,  county  of  Wicklow, — and  the 
Dee,  county  of  Louth. 

The  chief  lakes  of  Ireland  arc,  in  the  province  of  Ulster,  the 
Neagh,  the  Earne,  Strangford,  Swilly,  Agher,  Baliydowgan,  Bally- 
nahinch,  Derig,  county  of  Donegal, — Erin,  Falcon,  Foyle,  Guilee, 
Keenan,  Leigh,  county  of  Cavan, — and  Guilb,  in  the  county  of 
Antrim.  In  tlie  province  of  Connaught,  the  nif)St  noted  lakes  are 
Allen,  county  of  Leitriin, — Arrow,  cciunty  of  Siigo, — Conn,  county 
of  Mayo, — Corrih,  county  of  Galway, — Gill,  county  of  Sligo, — Rce, 
county  of  Rc^scommon, — Shy,  county  of  Mayo, — and  Ray,  county 
of  Leitrim.  In  Leinster  are  to  he  seen  the  following  named  lakes, 
viz. :  Derveragh,  county  of  West  Meath, — ilanah,  Queen's  county, — 
Inny,  Lane,  Loughhall,  Scuds  and  Slullen,  all  in  the  county  of  West 
Rleath, — and  Swilly,  in  the  county  of  Louth.  The  principal  lakes 
of  Munster,  are  Kilianiey,  Drine,  Hine,  Allua  and  Lee,  county  of 
Cork, — Inchiquin,  county  of  Clare, — and  Loughmore,  county  of 
Limerick. 

Ireland  is  indented  with  the  following  spacious  hays  :  Dublin, 
Waterford,  Bantry,  Keninare,  Carlidgford,  Strangford,  Foyle, 
Swilly  and  Killybegs,  county  of  Donegal, — Galway,  Do'negal,  Lime- 
rick, Smerwick,  county  of  Kerry, — Baltimore,  Kinsale,  Wexford, 
Droglieda,  Dundalk,  Killough,  Ardglass,  county  of  Down, — Dona- 
ghatlee,  Coleraine,  Yough.all,  Dungarvan,  Sligo,  as  well  as  many 
others,  where  large  ships  niay  safely  enter. 

Soil  and  Climate.*  The  soil  of  Ireland  is  generally  rich  and 
fruitful,  and  much  diversified  in  its  geological  genus.  Tlie  author 
of  the  agricultural  survey,  has  clas>ified  the  Irish  soil  under  four 
species  : — "  the  calcareous,  or  that  found  in  the  limestone  tracts, — 
the  loamy  kind,  l)y  which  are  meant  the  deep  and  mellow  soils, 
remote  from  limestone,  and  generally  occurring  in  less  elevated 
parts  of  the  grey  and  red  stone  districts, — the  light  and  sliajlow 
sods,  resting  upon  an  ahsorhent  bottom,  as  gravel  and  rubbly  stone, — 
and  the  moorland  or  peat  soil,  the  usual  subslratun\  of  which  is 
hard  rock,  or  coarse  retentive  clay."     Mr.  Arthur  Young,  a  liberal 

*  Spensf.r,  in  his  "  ricio  of  Irelan'l,"  written  in  the  reign  of  Queen  EHzabelh, 
observes  of  tiie  soil,  situation  and  climate  of  our  native  land: — "And  sure  it  is 
yet  a  most  beautiful  and  sweet  country  as  any  under  heaven. — being'  stored 
throughout  with  many  goodly  rivers,  replenislied  with  all  sorts  of  fish  abundantly  ; 
sprinkled  with  many  sweet  islands  and  goodly  lakes,  like  little  inland  seas,  that 
will  carry  even  ships  upon  their  waters  ;  adorned  with  goodly  woods  even  fit  for 
buildmg  houses  and  ships,  so  oomtnodiously.  as  that  if  some  princes  in  the  world 
had  them,  they  would  soon  hope  to  be  lords  of  all  the  seas,  and  ere  lonir,  of  all 
the  world; — also  full  of  very  gmd  ports  and  havens  opening  upon  England, 
inviting  us  to  come  unto  them  to  see  what  excellent  commodities  that  country 
can  afford  ; — besides  the  soi/lc  itsrlfe  most  fertile,  fit  to  yield  all  kinds  of  fruit  that 
shall  be  committed  thereunto.  And  lastly,  the  heavens  most  mild  and  temperate, 
though  somewhat  more  moist  than  the  parts  towards  the  west." 


51  o 

Eno;li»h  tourist,  who  travelled  throuffh  Ireland  in  the  year  1779,  in 
A\ritiii«^  of  the  Irish  soil,  says,  "Ireland  ahounds  with  sonic  of  the 
finest  pastures  in  the  world,  and  their  fertility  is  indeed  extraordi- 
nary." 

The  CLIMATE  of  the  country  is  thus  characterized  by  Mr.  Brewer, 
a  very  libera!  and  enlifihteiied  English  traveller,  who  journeyed 
throu<!;h  our  native  countr}'  in  the  year  1820.  "The  climate  of 
Ireland  may  he  described,  in  ceiieral  terms,  as  beitiir  greatly  variable, 
but  not  subject  to  extremes,  either  of  heat  or  cold.  Such  careful 
and  repeated  observations  as  are  necessary  to  convey  scientific 
information,  ha\e  not  been  made,  in  sufficieutly  nunicious  jiarls  of 
this  country  ;  and  iMtcnigeiice  of  a  general  nature  is,  therefore,  all 
that  can  be  afiordeil.  The  ])revailing  mildness  of  the  climate  is 
evinced  by  the  rich  verdure  retained,  ibroughout  the  whole  of  the 
year,  by  the  best  pastures,  excej)t  in  the  most  northern  part  of  tlie 
island.  An  additional  prt)of  is  found  in  thq  vigorous  growth  of  the 
arbutus  and  myrtle,  often  on  exposed  and  elevated  situations.  The 
degree  of  cold  is,  indeed,  seldom  so  intense  as  to  produce  lasting 
congelations;  and  sn()»v  rarely  falls,  except  in  the  mountainous 
districts.  Hurricanes  are  frequent;  but  storms,  attended  with 
thunder  and  lightning,  are  of  unusiud  occurrence.  The  summers 
are  rarely  attended  w  iih  oppressive  heat ;  but  very  dry  summers  are 
still  more  uncommon.  The  seasons  are  later  than  in  England. 
Spring  is  tardy  in  its  approach,  and  the  fall  of  the  leaf  seldom  com- 
mences before  November.  The  moistness  of  the  Irish  climate,  as 
compared  with  that  of  Britain,  is  the  characteristic  by  which  it  is 
most  strcmgly  marked.  In  consequence  of  its  siiuation  between 
England  and  the  Atlantic  ocean,  Iieland  necessarily  arrests,  in  its 
progress,  the  vast  body  of  vapour  collected  from  the  wide  expanse 
of  waters,  which,  attracted  and  broken  by  the  mountains,  descends 
in  copious  showers.  It  would  appear,  however,  that  the  humidity 
of  the  climate,  as  far  as  it  is  connected  w  ilh  the  fall  of  rain,  is  caused 
rather  by  the  frequency  of  the  showers,  than  by  the  quantity  of 
water  which  descends.  It  may  be  noticed  in  this  place,  as  a  curious 
feature  in  the  natural  history  of  the  country,  that  Iieland  is  free 
from  all  venomous  creatures.  No  kind  of  serpent  is  found  here, 
nor  are  there  any  moles  or  toads.  Frogs  are  seen  in  abundance, 
but  it  is  said  that  the  first  were  imported  from  England,  about  one 
century  back." 

The  CHARACTER  of  tlic  Irisli  people,  by  foreign  writers,  is  painted 
thus.  Giraldus  Cambrensis,  or  Gerald  Barry,  who  was  chaplain  to 
King  John,  represented  the  Irish  of  that  age  as  "  valiant  in  war, 
gallant  in  love,  generous  in  liospitality,  and  unmatched  by  any 
nation,  in  the  art  of  music."  Campion,  an  Englishman,  who  wrote 
in  tiie  reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  with  all  the  bitter  prejudice  which 
impregnated  tb.c  minds  of  the  English  writers  of  that  epoch,  de- 
lineates the  Irish  character  thus:  "  The  peojile  are  religious,  frank, 
amorous,  ireful,  sutferable  of  jiaiiis  infinite,  vciy  glorious,  delighted 
with   wars,  great   alms-givers,   passing   in   liospitidity.*     The  same 

*  -'Tiie  rites  of  hospitality,"  says  Danif.i,  De  War,  a  Scolriuiian,  in  his  book, 
entitled,  Observations  on  the  C/inractrr   and  Cvstoms  of  the  Irish,  '•  among  this 


516 

beinof  virtuously  bred  up  or  reformed,  ore  such  mirrors  of  holiness 
and  austerity,  that  other  nations  retain  but  a  shadow  or  show  of 
devotion  in  comparison  witii  them."  Camden,  in  liis  annals  of 
Queen  Elizabeth,  published  in  the  year  1G15,  gave  the  followinof 
portrait  of  the  Irisii  : — "  They  are  of  a  middle  stature,  strong  of 
body,  of  an  hotter  and  moister  nature  than  n»any  other  natums,  of 
wonderful  soft  skins,  and  by  reason  of  the  tenderness  of  their 
puiscles,  they  excel  in  nimbleness,  and  the  flexibility  of  all  parts  of 
their  body.  They  are  reckoned  of  a  quick  wit,  prodigal  of  their 
lives,  enduring  travel,  cold  and  hunger,  given  to  fleshy  lusts,  kind 
and  courteous  to  strangers,  constant  in  love,  impatient  of  abuse  and 
injury,  in  enmity  implacable,  and  in  all  aflections  most  vehement 
and  passionate."  Spenser,  after  describing  the  dress  and  arms  of 
our  ancient  warriors,  says,  "I  heard  great  warriors  say,  that  in  all 
the  services  which  they  had  seen  abroad  in  foreign  countries,  they 
never  saw  a  more  comely  man  than  the  Irishman,  nor  that  cometh 
on  more  bravely  in  his  charge." 

We  will  conclude  this  chapter  by  giving  a  geographical  and  statis- 
tical description  of  the  four  jirovinces  of  the  kingdom  of  Ireland, 
named  Leixsthr,  Munster,  Connaught  and  Ulster,  which  pro- 
vinces comprehend  thirty-two  counties,  which  are  subdivided  into 
252  baronies,  and  the  latter  are  partitioned  into  2,436  parishes. 

The  province  of  Leinster  is  bounded  by  Ulster  on  the  north, — 
on  the  east  by  St  George's  channel, — on  the  west  by  Connanght, — 
and  on  the  south  by  the  sea  and  j)art  of  Munster  ;  and  is  about  128 
miles  in  length,  and  74  in  breadtii.  It  contains  twelve  counties, 
viz.  :  Did)lin,  Meath,  Kildare,  Kilkenny,  King's  county,  Lonirford, 
West  Meath,  Wexford,  Queen's  county,  Louth,  Carlow  and  W'ick- 
low,  which  comprehend  992  parishes.  It  is  a  rich  and  fertile  pro- 
vince, thickly  studded  with  cultivated  domains  and  fruitful  farms, 
which  occupy  an  area  of  2,792,450  acres,  or  7,300  English  square 
miles.  The  population  of  Leinster  was  found,  by  a  late  census,  to 
be  1,998,095  souls.  Its  chief  cities  and  towns  are  Dublin,  Kilkenny, 
Drogheda,  Trim,  Kells,  Mullingar,  Naas,  Wicklow,  W'exford, 
Philipstown,  Maryborough,  Dundalk,  Granard,  Carlow  and  Kells 
(county  of  Meath.)  The  most  ancient  Milesian  families  of  Leinster, 
holding  estates  on  the  arrival  of  the  English,  were  the  O'Kavanaghs, 
0"Byrnes,  O'Tooles,  Kinsellas,  Murphys,  O'Kellys,  O'McLoghlins, 
(the  descendants  of  Malachy  II.)  the  Beataghs,  O'Molloys,  O'Mores, 

people,  as  anion^  fill  the  Celtic  tribes,  are  deemed  sacred.  Tlie  stranoer  is  treated 
on  all  occasions  vs'itli  the  utmost  attention  and  respect,  with  a  courtesy  and  polite- 
ness which  more  elevated  society  consider  as  belonging,  exclusively,  to  them- 
selves. The  Irish  are  ardent  and  high  spirited,  and  full  of  impetuosity  :  they 
have  got  some  vanity,  they  may  be  flattered,  as  they  possess  the  warmest  affec- 
tions, and  they  may  be  very  easily  seciired  ;  but  they  have  a  degree  of  resentment 
that  will  not  suffer  them,  with  impunity,  to  be  injured  or  insulted."  Mr.  Brewer, 
in  eulogising  the  characteristic  hospitality  of  the  Irish  nation,  concludes  liis  lauda- 
tory remarks  thus: — "  The  virtue  of  huspiUtUtij  lias  been  so  frequently  attributed 
to  the  Irish,  in  the  warm  language  of  grateful  admiration,  that  their  liberality  on 
this  head  is  now  almost  confirmed  into  a  proverb.  It  has  been  forcibly  and  truly 
said,  that  a  stranger  might  travel  throughout  the  land,  might  inspect  the  richest 
and  the  poorest  districts,  and  meet  with  unpurchased  shelter  and  entertainment 
in  the  whole  of  his  journey." 


517 

O'Connors,  O'CarrolIs,  O'Dempsys,  McCoghlins,  O'Ryans,  O'Duns, 
McGiiinises,  O'llanlons,  McMiuroujili.s,  Fitzpatik-ks,  O'Brennans, 
McGeoj^lians,  Daltons,  McAiilnys,  O'Fanells  and  O'Tuitis. 

Tlie  province  of  Munster,  llie  large*!  in  Ireland,  is  bcninded  on 
the  east  by  Leinster, — on  the  west  by  the  Athmtic  ocean, — on  the 
nortli  by  parts  of  Leinster  and  Connaught,  from  which  it  is  separated 
by  tlie  river  Shannon, — and  on  the  sonth  by  the  ocean  :  its  len"tli 
is  estimated  to  be  135  miles,  and  its  breadth  1'20,  and  its  scpiare 
n)iles,  according  to  Wakefield,  9,270,  English  measure,  equal  in 
Irish  acres,  to  3,377,100.  It  contains  six  counties,  viz.:  Clare, 
Kerry,  Cork,  Limerick,  Tipperary  and  Waterford,  which  are  sid)- 
divided  into  51)  baronies,  810  parishes,  and  inhabited  by  a  computed 
])opidation  of  •2,108,21)3.  The  chief  towns  of  this  province  are  Cork, 
Limerick,  Waterford,  Ennis,  Clonmel,  Ca.-hei,  Dungarvan,  Tralee, 
Killarney,  Cloyne,  Fermoy,  Mallow  and  lialhkeal,  (county  of  Lime- 
rick.*) TliO  ancient  proprietors  of  the  territory  of  iMtinster,  at  the 
period  of  the  Enirlish  invasion,  were  the  McCartliys,  O'Sidlivans, 
O'Connells,  O'lJriens,  O'Mahonys,  O'Driscolls,  O  Learvs,  O'Dees, 
O'Sheas,  O'Keertes,  O'Healy's,  O'Lehans,  O'Uonoughu'es,  O'Elan- 
neys,  O'Gradys,  O'Logldins,  O'lMahons,  O'Dalys,  O'Kearneys, 
O'Callans,  O'Gormans,  McGdIicuddys  and  Macnamaras. 

The  province  of  Connaught  contains  five  counties,  viz.  :  Galway, 
Leitrim,  Mayo,  Roscommon  and  Sligo.  It  is  bounded  on  the  souiii 
by  Munster, — on  the  north  and  west  by  the  Atlantic  ocean, — and  on 
the  east  by  parts  of  Ulster  and  Leinster.  The  principal  touiis  of  this 
province  are  Galway,  Sligo,  Roscommon,  Castlebar,  Athlone.  West- 
port,  (county  of  Mayo)  Jamestown,  Tuam  and  Carrick-on-Shannon 
(county  of  Leitrim.)  The  population  of  the  province  ainounted,  in 
the  year  1833,  to  1,308,177.  This  is  tbe  greatest  grazing  province 
in  Ireland,  as  the  counties  of  Galway,  Roscommon,  Mayo  and  Sligo, 
supply  the  great  fair  of  IJallinasloe,  which  is  attended  by  purchasers 
from  all  parts  of  the  kingdom,  with  immense  ntmibers  of  oxen, 
heifers  and  sheep.  I'rior  to  the  invasion  of  Henry  II.,  the  Milesian 
proprietors  of  the  soil  of  Connaught,  were  the  O'Connors,  O'Kellys, 
O'Ronrkes,  O'Mailys,  O'Reillys,  OTlallorans,  O'Flahertys,  McDer- 
niotts,  O'Maddens  and  O'Lallys. 

Ulster,  the  most  northern  province  of  Ireland,  containing  nine 
counties,  viz. ;  Antrim,  Armagh,  Cavan,  Donegal,  Down,  Ferma- 
nagh, Londonderry,  Monaghan  and  Tyrone,  is  bounded  on  the  north 
by  the  Deucnlcdnian  sea, — on  the  east  by  St.  George's  channel, — on 
the  west  l)y  the  Atlantic   ocean, — and  on   the  southwest  by  jiarts  of 

*  "  This  southern  province  comprises  tracts  of  great  natural  tjeauty  and  fertility, 
but  there  are  many  ranges  of  monnlains  inaccessible  to  the  agriculturist,  and  not 
calculated  to  afford  any  real  benefit  to  society,  unless  it  shall  be  found  that  they 
contain  mineral  products  in  sufficient  quantities  to  reward  the  efforts  of  enter- 
prize  and  industry.  To  the  traveller  in  search  of  the  picturesque,  many  parts  of 
Munster  will  afford  high  gratification.  The  charms  of  Killarney  exalt  this  island 
to  a  rivalry  with  Switzerland,  the  great  show-place  of  Europe.  Nor  are  the 
attractions  of  Munster  confined  to  the  boasted  s|>lendour  of  the  lakes.  Its  exten- 
sive lines  of  coast,  in  various  parts,  but  ])articularly  those  towards  the  west,  dis- 
play unusual  grandeur  of  scenery  ;  and  the  banks,  not  only  of  the  principal  rivers, 
but  of  some  unregarded  streams,  reveal  beauties  calculated  to  surprise  and  enchant 
tJie  admirer  of  nature.'' — Brewer's  Beauties  of  Ireland,  Vol.  II.  page  340. 


518 

tlie  provinces  of  Leinster  and  Connau<ilit.  Ulster  is  6S  miles  in 
length,  and  its  greatest  breadth  from  Malin-head,  connty  of  Donegal, 
to  the  point  of  the  loiigh  of  Strangford,  connty  of  Down,  is  calcu- 
lated to  be  9S  Irish  miles,  and  "  tlie  circumference,  including  the 
windings  and  turnings,"  says  Seward,  in  his  Topugrupiiia  Hiber- 
nica,  "  at  4(j0  miles,  while  the  su|)erficial  area,  or  contents  of  the 
province,  in  Irish  acres,  has  been  laid  down  in  survey,  at  13,143,110 
acres."  This  province  possesses  54  baronies,  and  332  parishes. 
The  most  noted  towns  in  Ulster  are  Belfast,  Londonderry,  Armagh, 
Donegal,  Lifford,  CarricUfergus,  Omagh,  Enniskiilen,  Downpatrick, 
Cavan,  Newry,  Monaghan,  Cootehill  and  Casileblaney.  The  to- 
parclis  of  its  Mdesian  chiefs  were,  before  the  coming  of  the  English, 
the  O'Neils,  O'Donneils,  O'Cahans,  O'Doughertys,  31cMahons, 
Maguires,  O'Galiaghers,  O'Clearys,  O'Quins,  IMcSweenys,  McDon- 
alds, O'Uaras,  0"Shiels,  McCartans,  IVlcGinnises  and  McQnillions. 
Ulster  is  famous  for  producing  the  best  butter,  the  most  delicious 
salmon,  and  the  finest  linen  that  Ireland  can  aflbrd.  The  province 
is  rich  in  minerals  and  fossils.  Several  veins  of  iron,  lead  and 
copper  ores,  have  been  discovered  in  the  counties  of  Tyrone,  An- 
trim and  Armagh  ;  and  the  amethysts,  crystals,  and  calcareous 
petrefactions  of  Lough  Neagh,  are  highly  valued  by  lapidaries. 
The  basaltics  of  Antrim,  the  pearls,  marl)ieand  steatics  of  the  county 
of  Donegal,  can  scarcely  be  equrdled  by  any  other  county  in  the 
kingdom.*  The  population  of  the  province  in  the  year  lb33,  was 
computed  to  be  2,393,128. 


CHAPTER  LXVI. 


Wars  between  the  monarch,  Mvrtovgh ,  and  Roderick,  King  of  Connnvgld. —  The 
invasion  oj  Ulster,  in  .5.  D.  ]1()4,  t)y  the  monarch,  Murtouoh.  tcho  crvellij  causes 
the  eyes  of  Eochaidh,  the  King  of  thiit  province,  to  be  put  out,  and  thrie  of  his 
principiil  officers  to  be  executed. —  Death  and  character  of  Murtongh. — Roderick 
O' Connor  assumes  the  title  of  King  of  Ireland. — Ji  convocation  oj  the  national 
states  at  Dublin,  A.  D.  116(i,  where  Roderick  is  croicned  King  of  Ireland. — He 
invades  Ulster, — the  consequence. —  The  architecture,  round  towers,  and  state  of 
letters  in  Ireland,  at  this  era. — Learned  Irishmen  of  the  ticelfth  century. 

The  death  of  the  great  Turlogh,  made  room  for  his  ambitious 
rival,  Murtough  O'Lachlin,  or  O'Neil,  in  the  year  IlSfi,  to  exercise 
sovereign  sway  as  supremo  monarch  of  Ireland.  AVith  the  excep- 
tion of  Prince  Roderick  O'Connor,  son  of  the  late  King  Turlogli, 
all  the  provin(;ial  kings  oflered  him  the  homage  of  allegiance,  paid 
him  tribute,  and  sent  to  him  hostages. 

Murtough  invaded  Munster,  and  im|)osed  heavy  contributions  on 
the  inhabitants,  but  on  returning  in  triumph  to  his  palace  at  Kells, 
in  the  county  of   Meath,  he  was   alarmed   and    enraged  to  find  that 

*  A  writer  on  the  mineral  productions  of  Ulster,  observes  : — "  In  the  county  of 
Donegal  are  to  be  found,  in  many  places,  quarries  of  white  marble,  even  freer 
from  the  grey  veins  than  the  Italian.  Near  (.lie  Ross(~s  there  are  from  twenty  to 
thirty  acres  of  ground,  under  which  is  nothing  but  white  marble,  which  can  be 
raised  in  blocks  of  any  size." 


519 

Roderick  had  not  only  ravaged  liis  paternal  territory  of  Tvrone, 
but  burned  and  wasted  the  pcninsuhi  of  Ennishowen,*  county  of 
Donegal,  lie  reduced  the  entire  province  of  Munster  to  subjection, 
and  then  carried  the  terror  of  his  arms  into  Leinster  and  Minister, 
the  <rreater  part  of  wiiich  he  hiid  desohite  and  devastated,  and 
returned  to  Connau>xiit  with  immense  spoils  of  conipiest. 

He  <>ave  iiis  soldiers  luit  a  short  time  to  repose  under  tiieir  victo- 
rious laurels, — for  his  darin;^  ambition  was  ever  on  the  wiiii;-,  lie 
resolved  to  invade  Meath,  and  wrest  the  sceptre  from  the  hands  of 
the  monarch,  Murtoui^h.  With  a  recruited  and  hi<;!i  s|)irited  armv, 
he  set  out  on  his  expedition,  and  quickly  reached  tlie  contines  of 
Meatli,  ami  overran,  as  a  conqueror,  the  greater  [lortion  of  it,  and 
the  adjoiniui;  counties,  before  the  monarch  was  altle  to  arrest  his 
career.  But  jMurlouuh's  [)o\ver  was  not  to  be  easily  subverted, — 
Jie  gallantly  opposed  Roderick  in  several  enijagements,  with  various 
success,  but  at  length  the  contending  belligerents  agreed  to  make 
peace,  by  the  conditions  of  which  Murtou<:h  ceded  to  Roderick, 
free  from  tribute,  his  own  province  of  (^oiinaught,  and  the  half  of 
East  jMeath  ;  and  as  a  pledge  for  fultilling  the  terms  of  the  trcjity, 
they  exchanged  hostages.  Roderick,  before  he  commenced  his 
march  homewards,  sold  his  half  of  Meath  to  its  own  chief,  O'Meal- 
sachlin,  or  Malachy,  for  100  ounces  of  pure  gold.  By  advice  of  the 
Pope's  legate.  Cardinal  John  Paparo,  and  of  the  four  archbishops, 
who  had  just  received  palls  frmn  his  Eminence,  for  Armagh,  Dub- 
lin, Tnam  and  Cashel,  Murtough  called  a  synod  of  the  jirelates  and 
clergy  of  the  kin<rdom  to  Rclls,t  to  settle  the  ecclesiastical  alVuirs  of 
the  several  sees  of  the  country. 

Immediately  after  the  dissolution  of  the  synod,  IMurtough,  to 
avenge  some  real  or  imairiiiary  affront,  offered  to  him  by  Eocliaidh, 
king  of  Ulster,  made  an  irruption  into  his  province,  which  he  devas- 
tated with  the  most  violent  hostility,  making  many  captives,  and 
accumulating  much  spoils.  The  I'ltouian  king  effected  his  escape 
from  the  fury  of  the  conqueror  to  Armagh,  where  lie  entreated  the 
archbishop  to  interpose  his  mediation  between  him  and  the  monarch. 
The  mediation  was  accepted,  and  in  consequence,  a  peace  was 
effected  between  the  hostile  parties,  for  the  fulfilment  of  whore  sti[)u- 
lations  the  arch  prelate,  and  tne  prince  of  Orgial,  became  guaran- 
tees, on  the  nf>w  reconciled  rival  chiefs  swearing  at  the  steps  of  the 
great  altar  of  the  Armagh  cathedral,  ^'^  by  the  holy  staff  of  Si.  Patrick, 
and  by  all  the  saintly  relics  of  Ireland,"  that  they  wotdd,  as  far  as 
regarded  each  other,  adhere  with  inviolable  fidelity  to  the  conditions 
of  their  solemn  compact.      But,  notwithstanding,  scarcely  had  a  year 

''  E.VNisiiowi.N,  as  it  is  called,  (but  it  should  be  spelled  Iniiis,  an  ishiru),)  is  a 
barony  ia  the  county  of  Donegal,  which  stretches  out  its  peninsular  points  far 
into  loufrh  Swilly.  Its  sceneiv  is  wild,  iinposinir  and  romantic, — diversified  with 
mountains,  lakes  and  islands.  The  Innis-owen  whiskey  is  famed  for  its  excellence 
over  all  Europe  and   America. 

t  Keli.s  is  a  fine  and  opulent  town,  agreeably  situated  on  the  river  Blackwater, 
county  of  Meath.  at  the  distance  of  31)  English  miles  from  Dublin.  "  It  was 
once,"  says  Buewf.r,  "  a  place  of  great  ecclesiastical  celebrity,  and  was  of  so 
much  value,  in  a  military  point  of  view,  that  it  was  formerly  deemed  the  •'  Key  of 
Meath."  We  have,  in  a  preceding  note,  stated  that  St.  Colnmb-Kille  founded  an 
abbey  in  Kells,  A.  D.  550. 


520 

elapsed  ere  Miirtoiio^h  made  another  incursion  into  ?7//firf7,  the  county 
of  Down,  surprised  the  unfortunate  Eoc/iaic/h,  his  own  bh)od  rela- 
tion, near  Dundruin,*  had  him  seized,  and  tiien  most  cruelly  caused 
his  eyes  to  be  put  out,  and  three  of  his  chiefs  to  he  assassinated. 
This  barbarous  deed  provoked  the  ire  and  indignation  of  the  prince 
of  Orgial,  wlio,  it  will  be  recollected,  had  become  his  surety,  con- 
jointly with  the  primate,  to  such  a  pitch  of  choler,  that  he  took  a 
solemn  oath  to  have  revenge  on  the  monarch,  or  die  in  the  attempt. 
He  quickly  mustered  all  the  forces  he  could,  and  at  the  head  of 
9,000  men,  made  a  rapid  descent  into  Tyrone,  and  was  almost  at 
the  portals  of  the  monarch's  palace,  in  Dungannon,  ere  Murtough 
became  acquainted  of  his  hostile  approach.  Thus  surprised  and 
endangered,  he  had  no  time  to  collect  a  force  adequate  to  oppose, 
with  any  chance  of  success,  the  invader;  but  possessing,  as  he 
eminently  did,  a  heroic  spirit,  and  disdaining  to  surrender,  with 
life,  to  his  foe,  rushed  out  at  the  head  of  only  his  household  guards, 
and  a  few  followers  collected  cm  the  spur  of  the  emergency,  to  give 
battle  to  him.  Never  did  the  valour  and  generalship  of  Murtough 
display  themselves  so  magnificently  as  at  the  battle  of  Liltcrluin, 
near  Dungannon, — for  although  his  little,  but  brave  army  scarcely 
mustered  500  men,  he  prolonged  the  desperate  conflict  with  the 
whole  forces  of  Orgial,  for  three  hours;  at  the  expiration  of  which 
time,  he  fell  under  a  shower  of  spears,  while  gallantly  endeavouring 
to  cut  his  way  to  the  station  of  the  prince  of  Orgial,  whom  he  chal- 
lenged to  single  combat.  "  Thus,"  writes  an  Ultonian  annalist, 
"  fell  Murtough,  the  most  intrepid  hero  of  his  day,  the  ornament  of 
his  country,  the  thunderbolt  of  war,  and  the  Hector  of  western 
Europe  !"  There  is  no  doubt  of  his  having  been  a  heroic  soldier, 
if  our  ancient  historians  deserve  credit,  but  as  a  conqueror,  he  was 
cruel,  relentless  and  vindictive,  and  incapable  of  evincing  magna- 
nimity of  forgiveness,  or  nobleness  of  clemency  to  his  fallen  foes. 
The  battle  of  Litterluin,  in  the  county  of  Tyrone,  where  Murtough 
died  like  a  brave  king,  was  fought  A.  D.  1106. 

Roderick  O'Connor,  the  most  powerful  opponent  of  the  late  king, 
was  now  proclaimed  monarch  of  Ireland,  although  not  the  rightfid 
heir  to  the  throne  ;  but  his  military  power  levelled  all  obstacles  that 
stood  in  his  way  to  the  summit  of  regal  authority.  Immediately 
after  his  accession,  he  convened  a  meeting  of  the  states  of  the  king- 
dom, at  Dublin,  where  they  unanimously  approved  of  his  assumption 

*  DuNDRUM,  county  of  Down,  barony  of'Lec;ile,  is  a  hicrh  rock,  still  presenting 
the  massy  ruins  of  a  castle  erected  in  1*313,  by  Sir  John  de  Coursey,  hanging  over 
the  bay  of  Strangford.  Many  historical  events  are  connected  with  Duiidrum, 
which  we  shall  narrate  at  an  appropriate  time.  It  is  distant  from  Dublin  Ii8  Irish 
miles.  "  When  the  castle,"  writes  Harris,  "  was  in  repair,  it  often  proved  a  good 
guard  to  this  pass,  and  as  olten  an  offensive  neighbour  to  the  English  planted  in 
Lecale,  when  in  the  hands  of  the  Magennises,  the  ancient  pioprietors  of  the  dis- 
tricts surrounding  Dundruin."  The  ruins  to  which  the  soldiers  of  that  sanguinary 
destroyer  of  Irish  architcctive  monuments,  (Oliver  Cromwell,)  reduced  the  castle 
of  Dundrum,  in  16.5!2,  present  a  circular  keep  or  tower,  strongly  buttressed  and 
barbacaned.  The  circumference  of  ihe  keep  is  forty-two  feet.  From  the  summit 
of  the  rock  a  fine  and  extensive  view  of  the  outspread  bay  of  Strangford  and  Dun- 
drum,  can  be  commanded,  as  well  as  of  the  majestic  mountains  of  Mourne,  which 
tower  near  Dundrum  in  a  southern  direction.  The  village  consists  of  but  few 
houses,  and  those  are  of  an  humble  character. 


521 

of  regal  sway, — and,  in  consequence,  he  was  solemnly  inaii'>-urated 
by  the  archbishop  of  Dublin,  as  monarch  of  Ireland.  Havin"-  thus 
obtained  the  reins  of  sovereign  j)()wer,  he  began  to  give  a  free  and  full 
scope  to  his  ambition.  At  tlie  head  of  a  large  army  he  traversed 
the  whole  kingdom,  for  the  purpose  of  compelling  the  provincial 
kings,  and  tiieir  dependent  cliiefs,  to  pay  him  tribute,  and  swear  to 
him  allegiance.  Tlie  O'Nciis  of  Tyrone,  sons  of  the  late  monarch, 
Murtougli,  were  forced  to  render  iiim  homage,  and  give  him  hostages. 
From  Tyrone  lie  inarched  into  Tirconnell,*  m  here  the  loparchs  of 
that  district,  utterly  unable  to  contend  with  him,  were  necessitated 
to  submit  to  such  terms  of  vassalage  as  he  had  thought  projier  to 
dictate.  After  making  treaties  with  the  O'Donnells  of  Donegal,  and 
the  O'Dougherties  of  Derry,  he  marched  into  the  territories  of  the 
MciMahons  of  Monaghan,  of  the  O'Reillys  of  Cavan,  of  the 
O'Rourkes  of  Leitrim,  and  of  tlie  0'i\[ealsacidins  of  Meath,  and 
obliged  each  of  their  cliiefs  to  tender  him  fealty,  and  to  oiler  hijn 
homage.  Flushed  with  pride  and  success,  he  returned  lo  Dublin, 
where  he  had  not  been  but  a  {e.\v  days,  ere  he  issued  a  requisition, 
commanding  a  meeting,  at  Athboy,  in  the  county  of  Meath,  (a  place 
about  30  Irish  miles  N.  W.  from  Dublin,)  and,  conformably  thereto, 
all  the  princes  and  cliiefs  of  the  kingdom  attended,  as  well  as  the 
four  archbishops  of  Ireland.  The  convocation  of  Athboy,  was  tiie 
last  parliament  or  assembly  that  was  ever  held  under  our  Milesian 
princes.  It  was  a  magnificent  meeting,  equal,  according  to  the 
authority  of  the  historians,  in  rank,  respectability  and  magnitude,  to 
the  greatest  conventions  of  Tara  in  the  most  glorious  days  of  Mile- 
sian royalty. 

Roderick  had  not  been  long  in  possession  of  the  monarchy,  before 
he  assumed  the  part  of  a  despot,  and  in  consequence  of  which, 
several  of  the  provincial  kings  revolted  from  their  allegiance. 
O'Neil  proclaimed  him  an  usurper  ;  but  Roderick  was  not  to  be 
intimidated  by  threats, — the  love  of  sovereign  sway,  and  the  resolu- 
tion of  maintaining  it,  excited  his  pride  and  courage.  lie  had  a 
naval  armament    fitted  out  in  the  port  of  Galway,!  which  eU'ected  a 

*  TiRCOiNNELL  (erfoiieously  spelled  Tijr)  was  the  ancient  name  of  the  county 
of  Donegal,  bestowed  upon  it  in  consequence  of  Nial,  the  Great,  the  common 
ancestor  of  the  O'Neils  and  O'Donnells,  having  bequeathed  that  territory  lo  his 
son  Connel,  from  whom  were  descended  the  illustrious  O'Donnells  of  Donegal. 
Boston,  June  4,  lti'36. 

+  Galwav  town,  the  capital  of  the  counfy  of  that  name,  is  finely  situated  on  a 
spacious  hay  in  the  Atlantic  ocean,  in  the  barony  of  Moycullen,  I'.VS  Englisli  miles 
W.  from  Dublm.  Tlie  greater  number  of  tlie  houses  are  neatly  built,  and  [)reseiitan 
appearance  of  elegance  and  taste.  Their  number,  in  IdSii,  consisted  of  1,1 3ri  houses, 
inhabited  by  a  population  of  33,219  persons.  The  inhabitants  are  public  spirited 
and  patriotic.  A  brislt  trade  in  grain,  linen  and  fish,  of  which  extensive  exports 
aie  made,  enable  the  principal  people  of  the  town  to  enjoy  the  comforts  of  life, 
and  to  indulge  in  their  proverbial  propensity  to  hospitality.  The  Protestant 
church  and  Roman  Catholic  chapel  are  very  creditable  specimens  of  ecclesiastical 
arcliitccture.  The  new  court  house  is  a  tasteful  and  spacious  Ionic  edifice. 
Gal  way  was  formerly  a  place  of  great  conscquer  >e,  as  its  ancient  dilapidated 
castles  and  monastic'  ruins  sufTicienlly  testify.  Of  the  many  memorable  sieges 
which  it  bravely  stood,  we  will  speak  in  a  future  chapter  of  this  history.  The 
noble  and  impressive  ruins  of  the  magnifirent  monastery  founded  A.  D.  TiOfi,  by 
Sir  William  De  Burgh,  for  Franciscan  friars,  present  aichilecluial  majesty  in 
decay.     The  abbey  of  iit.  Wary,  of  whicii  there  is  now  scaicely  a  vestige  remain 

'  66 


522 

landing  in  Ulster,  while  the  monarch  himself  overran,  Avith  fierce 
conquest,  the  whole  of  the  counties  of  Tyrone  and  Armagh,  conse- 
quently O'Neil  and  his  tributaries  were  obliged  to  submit  to  the 
conqueror. 

After  reducing  the  north  to  obedience,  he  penetrated  into  Leinster, 
and  levied  tribute  from  Mac  Murchad, — the  prince  of  Ossory,  and 
O'Carroll,  of  Orgial.  Having  thus  reduced  all  the  most  potent 
toparchs  of  the  kingdom,  and  compelled  them  to  secure  their  future 
allegiance  by  delivering  hostages  into  his  hands,  he  led  his  victo- 
rious legions  in  triumph  to  his  native  province,  Connaught. 

But  we  will  now  proceed  with  finishing  this  chapter,  by  giving  to 
our  readers  a  disquisition  on  the  ancient  Irish  architecture,  orna- 
ments, weapons  and  utensils. 

The  Grecian  orders  of  architecture  were  probably  those  employed 
in  the  building  of  palaces  and  temples,  by  the  first  colonies  that 
settled  in  Ireland.  The  Druidical  temples  were  generally  built  in  a 
masculine  Doric  style,  to  insure  durability.  The  fragments  of 
broken  cornices  and  architraves,  as  well  as  the  sculptured  figures 
that  enriched  the  friezes  of  these  edifices,  which  are  still  to  be  seen 
in  Ireland,  afl^^ird  an  indubitable  proof  of  the  perfection  to  which 
the  Pagan  Irish  carried  the  arts  of  sculpture  and  architecture.  The 
palaces  of  Tara  and  Emania  were  immense  Ionic  piles,  whose  lofty 
vaulted  domes  "rested,"  to  use  the  language  of  Dr.  Harris,  "  on  a 
forest  of  marble  columns." 

It  is  pretty  generally  supposed  that  the  blocks  from  which  these 
pillars  were  hewn,  were  brought  from  Greece.  The  florid  Corin- 
thian order  was  not  introduced  into  Ireland  until  the  middle  of  the 
fifth  century,  when  some  of  our  princes,  enamoured  with  its  beauty, 
majesty  and  lightness,  used  it  in  the  erection  of  their  mansions. 
The  Christian  Irish  did  not,  for  ages,  build  their  ecclesiastical 
edifices  in  the  Gothic  style,  as  that  order  so  calculated  for  augment- 
ing the  solemnity  of  divine  worship  was  not  prevalent  in  England 
or  Ireland,  until  after  the  Norman  conquest.  Some  writers  have 
attributed  the  invention  of  this  style  to  the  Normans,  while  others 
contend  that  it  was  only  borrowed  by  them  from  the  eastern 
Saracens.  Indeed  we  know  from  history,  that  the  Justinian  edifices 
at  Constantinople,  particularly  the  church  of  St.  Sophia,  possess  the 
characteristics  of  this  "  pointed  style,"  as  it  is  technically  called  ; 
but  it  was  in  Spain,  Germany  and  England,  that  it  was  carried  to 
perfection.  The  churches  built  by  St.  Patrick  at  Armagh,  Slane, 
Trim,  Finglas,  Archad-Abla,  (in  the  county  of  Wexford,)  Ardagh, 
Down,  Coleraine,  Clogher,  Inis-More  and  Druin-lias,  (in  the  county 
of  Sligo,)  all  exhibit  the  evident  characteristics  of  the  Grecian 
orders.  These  churches,  both  in  their  general  form  and  archi- 
tectural  decoration,  were   perfectly  similar  to  those  in  Normandy, 

ing,  was  demolished,  in  A.  D.  1G51,  by  the  townsmen  of  Galway,  in  order  to 
prevent  Cromwell's  general  from  making  a  fortification  of  it  to  annoy  themselves. 
There  was,  also,  an  Augustinian  friary  on  a  hill  near  this  town,  which  was  founded 
in  the  year  1508,  by  Stephen  Lynch,  and  Margaret,  his  wile,  of  which  Richard 
Nangle,  afterwards  archbishop  of  Tuam,  was  the  first  prior.  The  sccncrj'^  which 
surrounds  Galway,  possesses  much  landscape  grace  and  garniture,  particularly  the 
romantic  and  picturesque  banks  of  Lough  Corrib. 


523 

particularly  in  the  structure  of  aisles  and  cloisters.  These  edifices 
were  generally  rectan<i;ular,  tliough  some  of  them  terminated  on  the 
east,  in  a  semicircle  ;  they  had  high  stone  pedimental  roofs  orna- 
mented with  a  sculptured  cornice.  Beneath  were  vaulted  crypts, 
where  the  monks  retired  to  perform  penance  and  suffer  mortification. 
The  facade  was  ornamented  with  rows  of  circular  arches,  some  of 
the  intersections  of  which  were  opened  as  windows.  The  marble 
sashes  of  these  windows  were  beautiful  specimens  of  Irish  sculpture.* 
The  steeples  were  sometimes  square,  but  generally  round  and  of  the 
doric  order.  From  the  days  of  St.  Patrick  until  the  eleventh  cen- 
tury, all  the  ecclesiastical  erections  in  Ireland  were  built  according 
to  the  Grecian  orders  of  architecture. 

The  celebrated  chapel  erected  in  Cashel,  by  King  Cormac,  in  the 
beginning  of  the  tenth  century,  surpassed  in  grandeur  of  design  and 
beauty  of  architecture,  any  religious  edifice  in  France  or  England. 
Indeed,  the  numerous  magnificent  ruins,  which  must  astonish  the 
traveller  who  visits  Ireland,  proclaim  the  taste  of  our  ancestors  for 
architecture. 

Gothic  architecture  was  introduced  into  Ireland  about  the  begin- 
ning of  the  eleventh  century  ;  for  Christ's  church  was  rebuilt  accord- 
ing to  this  order,  A.  D.  1038,  as  were  the  cathedrals  of  Waterford, 
Limerick  and  Cork,  in  1104.  The  cathedrals  of  Cashel  and  Ard- 
fert,  as  well  as  the  abbey  of  Holy  Cross,  are  lasting  monuments  of 
the  ancient  Gothic  grandeur  that  distinguished  the  superstructures 
of  Ireland.  The  monastic  ruins  of  Ardfert,  in  the  county  of  Kerry, 
are  among  the  noblest  in  Ireland.  We  are  told  by  Colgan,  that 
when  St  Brandon  taught  in  the  famous  university  of  Ardfert,  in  935, 
it  contained  UOO  students,  among  whom  were  six  foreign  jirinces. 
A  feeling  antiquarian  cannot  see  the  broken  columns  and  ivy-clad 
ruins  of  the  ancient  capital  of  Kerry,  without  execrating  the  memo- 
ries of  an  Elizabeth  and  a  Cromwell,  and  exclaiming  in  the  language 
of  the  Irish  poet,  "  the  majestic  Denham," 

"  Who  sees  these  dismal  heaps  but  will  demand, 
What  barbarous  invader  sacked  the  land  ?" 

Near  the  cathedral  was  an  anchorite  tower,  the  loftiest  and  finest 

*  ToRNA  EiGis,  a  writer  who  flourished  in  the  fourth  century,  states  that  the 
marble  statues  of  200  Irish  monarchs  filled  the  niches  of  the  grand  gallery  of 
Tara,  in  his  time  ;  and  from  the  life  of  St  Bridget,  written  by  Cogitosus,  we  learn 
that  her  body  and  that  of  St.  Conlaith,  were  placed  in  monuments  exquisitely 
sculptured,  and  adorned  with  precious  stones.  Cambrensi.s,  an  avowed  enemy  of 
our  country,  says,  in  his  Topngrujihij  of  Ireland,  that  ho  saw  in  the  very  church  of 
Kildarc  described  by  Cogitosus,  "  a  concordance  of  the  four  gospels ;  the  writing, 
but  particularly  the  capital  letters  so  highly  ornamented, that  neitlier  the  pencil  of 
an  Apelles,  nor  the  chisel  of  a  Lysippus  ever  formed  the  like  :  in  a  word,  they 
seem  to  have  been  executed  by  something  more  than  a  mortal  hand."  Speaking 
of  the  weapons  of  the  Irish,  the  same  writer  says,  "  they  use  spears,  javelins,  and 
great  battle  axes,  which  are  exceedingly  well  tempered,  and  brilliantly  polished." 
Nennius,  a  British  writer  of  the  ninth  century,  bestows  great  praise  on  the  taste 
of  the  Irish  in  sculpture.  In  U)i)2,  a  crown  of  gold  was  found  in  the  county  of 
Tipperary,  of  the  most  exquisite  workmanship  ;  this  diadem  was  preserved  in  the 
castle  of  Anglurre,  in  France,  until  1H14,  when  a  Parisian  artist,  admiring  the 
sterling  quality  of  its  gold,  wrought  it  in  the  imperial  crown  of  Napoleon.  In 
1744,  another  crown,  weighing  ten  ounces,  was  discovered  in  the  bog  of  Cullon, 


524 

in  the  kingdom,  being  128  feet  high  ;  it  fell  suddenly,  in  1771.  In 
the  ruined  abbey  are  the  ancient  tomb  of  Mr.  O'Connell's  ancestors, 
as  well  as  that  of  a  branch  of  the  O'Connor  family.  The  inscriptions 
on  the  altars  of  tliese  monuments,  are  cut  in  bass-relief,  in  an  elegant 
and  masterly  manner. 

The  cathedrals  of  Armagh  and  Downpatrick,  for  elegance  of 
Roman  architecture,  and  magnitude  of  size,  surpassed,  we  assert  on 
the  credit  of  antiquarians,  all  other  ecclesiastical  edifices  erected  by 
St.  Patrick,  in  Ireland.  In  the  cathedral  of  Armagh,  the  Grecian 
and  Roman  orders  were  happily  combined  in  their  most  imposing 
features,  to  suit  the  solemn  genius  of  the  structure.  The  saint  built 
this  cathedral  on  the  model  of  (St.  Peter's,  at  Rome,  in  the  original 
form  of  that  edifice  as  it  stood  in  the  days  of  the  Emperor  Constan- 
tine,  who  first  reared  that  noble  pile  to  commemorate  the  celestial 
cross  which  he  had  witnessed  before  his  victory  over  Maxentius. 
The  disposition,  according  to  the  drawings  of  Ware  and  Bishop 
Usher,  of  St.  Peter's,  was  closely  follovved  by  St.  Patrick,  in  Armagh. 
The  interior  was  divided  into  five  aisles,  running  from  east  to  west, 
terminated  at  the  end  by  another  aisle  or  transept,  from  north  to 
south  ;  in  the  centre  or  transection  of  which  there  was  a  semicircular 
niche  for  the  altar,  vaulted  and  elegantly  enriched  with  elaborate 
mosaics  and  inlaid  marbles.  The  vaulting  of  the  ceiling  was  deco- 
rated also  with  mosaic  and  lacunary,  or  fretted  enrichments  ;  and  the 
sculptural  embellishments  of  the  columns  and  arches,  were  in  a 
corresponding  style  of  taste  and  elegant  workmanship.  Over  the 
intersection  of  the  aisles  and  the  transe|)t,  the  steeple  was  raised  to 
the  elevation  of  fifty  feet,  in  the  form  of  a  square  tower,  and  above 
this  height  the  spire  resembled  a  Roman  temple.  It  was  adorned 
witli  three  porticos,  to  each  of  which  there  was  attached  a  colonnade 
of  Ionic  pillars,  whose  capitals  and  entablature  sculpture  made 
eloquent  with  scriptural  and  martyrological  liistory  ;  and  its  pedi- 
ment typical  at  once  of  the  cardinal  virtues  and  religions  attributes. 
The  arches  were  semicircular,  and  ornamented  with  a  mitred  head, 
in  bass-relief,  and  enriched  with  Roman  mouldings,  elegantly  carved 
in  limestone;  in  fine,  the  jirominent  features  of  Roman  architecture 
were  visible  in  the  columns,  entablatures,  architraves,  frieze  and 
cornice,  and  equally  difiused  over  the  vhole  mass  and  details  of  the 
building.  The  successors  of  St.  Patrick,  in  the  Metropolitan  prelacy, 
made  great  improvements  in  the  cathedral,  and  founded  many 
abbeys  in  Armagh  ;  but  in  858,  Turgesius,  the  cruel  Dane,  plundered 
their  shrines,  and  burned  the  cathedral  and  a  great  part  of  the  city. 
The  cathedral  was  rebuilt  by  Archbishop  Catasaeli,  in  884,  in  more 
than  its  pristine  grandeur  of  architecture  ;  but  this  devoted  edifice 
was  again  despoiled  and  burned  by  the  Danes,  A.  D.  1004  ;  but 
shortly  after,  like  a  Phoiuix,  rose  once  more  in  its  original  splendour, 
under  the  auspicious  liberality  of  Brian  Boroihme,  the  monarch  of 
Ireland,  and  the  zeal  of  Archbishop   Amalgaid.     Patrick   Scanlan, 

county  of  Tipperary.  which  was  equal  to  the  other  in  structure  and  decoration. 
The  gorgets  of  gold,  and  gold  handled  svs'ords,  curiosities,  and  massy  goblets, 
which  are  frequently  dug  up  in  Ireland,  furnish  an  indisputable  testimony  of  the 
lu.\ury  of  tlie  ancient  Irish,  in  this  precious  metal. 


525 

who  was  primate  in  12G'2,  enlarged  and  beautified  the  cathedral, 
and  it  remained  in  the  form  in  which  he  had  left  it,  until  the  cele- 
brated Lord  Rokeby  lllied  the  archiepiscopal  tlnone  of  Arnia"-ii,  in 
1778,  wiieu  he  enlarged  the  ai.sles,  improved  the  roof,  and  adorned 
one  of  the  fronts  with  a  beautiful  Gothic  portico.  This  prelate  was 
as  eminent  for  his  architectural  taste  as  he  was  for  liis  tolerant 
princi|)les  and  munificent  hberality.  It  might  be  said  of  him,  that 
he  found  Armagh  a  city  of  miserable  houses,  constructed  of  stone 
and  wicker  work,  and  that  "  he  left  it  a  city  of  maible."  lie  not 
only  expended  the  entire  of  his  episcopal  revenues,  but  a  great  part 
of  his  hereditary  income,  in  raising  public  edifices,  and  making 
ornamental  improvements  in  Armagh,  which  he  has  transformed 
from  a  swampy  deseit  to  a  paradise  of  architective  grandeur  and 
sylvan  beauty  ;  for  it  is  conceded  by  all  travellers,  that  Armagh  is 
the  handsomest  inland  city  in  Ireland.* 

In  the  sixth  century,  according  to  Colgan  and  Bishop  Usher, 
there  were  eleven  hundred  stone  churches  in  Ireland,  built  in  a 
massive  style  of  architecture.  We  are  free  to  admit,  that  many  of 
the  Druidical  temples  were  converted  into  edifices  for  Christian 
worship,  as  all  our  antiquarians  assert  that  the  country  abounded 
with  Druidical  structures  when  St.  Patrick  arrived  in  Ireland.  AVe 
believe  it  is  a  fact  that  cannot  be  contested,  that  there  was  no  stone 
building  erected  in  lMi<>Iand  until  the  arrival  of  the  Anglo-Saxons, 
who  first  dedicated  temples  to  their  deities,  in  that  country.  Tacitus, 
in  the  life  of  his  father-in-law,  Agricola,  states  that  the  Britons  had 
no  brick  houses,  temples,  or  fora,  as  the  jjcople  lived  in  dwellings 
composed  of  "  wattles  and  clay,"  covered  with  straw.  Indeed, 
Bishop  Warburton,  in  his  essays  on  architecture,  admits  the  accu- 
racy of  the  Roman  historian.  The  Saxons  worshipped  Odin,  and 
the  remains  of  the  temples  in  which  they  adored  him,  exhibit  every 
characteristic  trait  of  the  Roman  style  of  architecture  ;  so  that  the 
Saxons,  like  the  Goths,  have  unjustly  obtained  the  credit  of  being 
the  founders  of  a  new  order  of  architecture  ;  as  it  is  certain  that 
what  are  called  the  Saxon  ornaments  and  the  Saxon  style,  have  not 

*  Armagh,  a  small,  but  handsome  city,  the  capital  of  the  county,  is  situated 
agreeably  on  the  river  Blackwater,  at  the  distance  of  82  English  miles  N.  from 
Dublin,  and  32  S.  of  Londonderry.  Tiie  population  of  the  county  and  city  of 
Armagh,  in  \6'.M,  amounted  to  223,7l)cS.  The  archiepiscopal  palace,  adorned  with 
all  the  grace  and  grandeur  which  sculpture  and  architecture  could  stamp  upon 
marble,  will  long  remain  a  monument  of  the  taste  and  munificence  of  Lord  Rokeby. 
This  elegant  structure,  which  is  situated  on  an  eminence,  in  the  midst  of  an 
enchanting  domain,  is  ninety  by  sixty,  and  forty-eight  hiet  high  ;  and  e.\hibits  in 
its  design  and  deUils,  the  etlect,  magnificence  and  lightness  of  Ionic  architecture  ; 
and  its  imposing  appearance  is  not  marred  by  the  addition  of  wings,  which  gene- 
rally detract  so  mucli  from  the  beauty  and  grandeur  of  other  edifices  in  Ireland. 
Large  and  ample  othces  are  conveniently  placed  behind  a  plantation  at  a  small 
distance.  The  immense  lawns,  decorated  with  clumps  of  Hovvery  shrubs,  and 
diversified  with  cascades,  grottoes,  rustic  bridges,  and  serpentine  promenades, 
arched  with  arborescent  foliage,  extend  to  a  distant  perspective,  which  is  termi- 
nated on  every  sid(;  by  waving  groves  and  floral  bowers.  The  princijjal  front  of 
the  palace  is  adorned  with  a  splendid  portico  of  tJalway  marble,  which  is  ascended 
by  a  flight  of  steps.  The  hall  is  enriched  with  all  the  attributes  of  painting  and 
sculpture.  On  the  staircase,  at  the  landing,  are  Ionic  pilasters,  between  which 
are  large  cornices,  with  groups  of  figures,  representing  Religion,  Virtue,  Charily, 
Painting,  Sculpture  and  Architecture. 


526 

the  most  distant  relation  to  that  people  as  inventors,  but  as  they 
were  used  in  ages  in  which  they  were  distinguished  for  their  con- 
quest and  power. 

Indeed,  the  obscurity  in  which  the  origin  of  Gothic  architecture 
is  involved,  has  elicited  a  great  spirit  of  inquiry,  given  birth  to 
various  conjectures,  and  called  into  action  the  most  ingenious  re- 
searches of  learned  men,  but  without  removing  the  thick  veil  of 
uncertainty  that  conceals  it  from  the  inquisitive  eye  of  investigation. 
Some  writers  suppose  that  when  the  Goths  had  conquered  Spain, 
and  the  genial  warmth  of  the  climate,  and  tlie  religion  of  the  old 
inhabitants,  had  kindled  their  genius  and  inflamed  their  mistaken 
piety,  they  struck  out  a  new  species  of  architecture,  unknown  to 
Greece  and  Rome,  upon  original  principles,  and  ideas  much  nobler 
than  what  had  given  birth  even  to  classical  elegance ;  while  others 
contend  that  this  species  of  architecture  is  but  a  corrupt  mixture  of 
the  Grecian  and  Roman  orders,  introduced  first  into  Normandy  by 
the  knights  templar?  and  the  crusaders  of  Palestine.*  "  The  Anglo- 
Saxons  were  partly,"  says  Bede,  "  converted  to  Christianity  by 
Irish  missionaries,  antecedent  to  the  coming  of  St.  Augustine,  in 
597."  The  first  Christian  edifice  for  divine  worship,  was  built  by 
Irish  architects,  at  Withern,  in  603;  and  after  it  was  finished  they 
were  also  employed,  in  610,  to  build  St.  Paul's,  on  the  foundation 
of  the  old  temple  of  Diana.  We  have  the  authority  of  English  histo- 
rians to  say,  that  St.  Wilfrid,  bishop  of  York,  who  built  the  church  of 
Hexham,  in  674,  sent  to  Ireland  for  architects  to  construct  it.  We 
adduce  these  facts  to  show  that  v.'e  were  then  the  instructors  and 
civilizers  of  the  English  nation.  It  is  to  us  she  is  indebted  for  the 
rudiments  of  ecclesiastical  architecture,  and  for  those  antique  sculp- 
tures which  so  profusely  adorn  her  pediments  and   arches. t     The 

*  "  It  would  be  hard/'  says  Dr.  Milner,"  to  determine  why  the  pointed  style  of 
architecture  is  called  Gothic,  as  it  does  not  certainly  owe  its  origin  to  the  Goths." 
Vide  Essay  on  Gothic  Jirchitecturc.  "  All  the  barbarian  nations  were  called  Goths. 
I  think  that  what  is  called  Gothic  architecture  originated  with  the  Moors,  in  Spain, 
who  took  their  ideas  of  columns,  pilasters,  or  ramifications  of  the  vaultings,  from 
their  grove-templcs ;  for  could  the  arches  be  otherwise  than  pointed,  when  the 
workmanship  was  to  imitate  the  curve  which  branches  make  by  their  intersection 
with  one  another?  Is  not  the  long  vista  or  aisle,  in  a  Gothic  cathedral,  like  an 
avenue  of  well  grown  trees  ?"  Vide  Bishop  llarhurton's  account  of  Gothic  Jirrhi- 
tectiire.  "  To  induce  us  to  acquiesce  in  this  extraordinary  notion,  he  ouglit  to 
have  proved  that  the  Goths  practised  grove-worship." — Chambers. 

t  "  Gothic  architecture,"  writes  a  very  learned  Irish  antiquarian,  "  rose  in 
Ireland  to  the  zenith  of  its  splendour  in  the  building  of  the  cathedrals  of  Cashe), 
Limerick  and  Killaloe,  about  the  middle  of  the  eleventh  century,  and  in  the 
abbeys  of  Jerpoint,  Boyle,  Mellifont,  and  in  many  others,  that  existed  in  Ireland 
before  Strongbow's  invasion.  In  the  ecclesiastical  edifices  of  this  period  we 
l)erceive  the  imperfect  triumph  of  that  beautiful  style  of  pointed  architecture  so 
long  known  in  Europe  by  the  appellation  of  Gothic,  a  term,  however,  which  the 
architectural  antiquaries  of  the  present  age,  seem  generally  disposed  to  reject. 
For  ourself,  we  cordially  concur  in  the  opinion  of  those  authors — and  they  are  far 
the  greater  and  more  judicious  number — who  derive  the  pointed  arch  style  from 
the  east,  and  suppose  it  to  have  been  introduced  immediately  after  the  crusades." 
*****"  The  advocates  of  the  early  origin  of  the  pointed  style  in  Gothic 
architecture,"  says  Dr.  Edward  Clarke,  "  will  have  cause  enough  for  triumph  in 
the  Cyclopean  gallery,  at  Tiryns,  exhibiting  '  lancet  arches'  almost  as  ancient  as 
the  time  of  Abraham."  And  he  afterwards  observes  that  "  it  is  evident  that  the 
acute  or  lancet  arch  is,  in  fact,  the  oldest  form  of  arch  known  in  the  world,  and 


527 

castles  or  fortifications  of  the  Irish  chiefs  were  raised  in  tlic  aren  of 
what  they  called  a  dun,  (a  fortress)  which  was  surrounded  hv  a  deep 
trench,  its  ramparts,  or  banks,  were  strongly  impaled  with  wooden 
stakes. 

"  The  old  Irish  chiefs,"  writes  Mooke,  "  took  up  their  abodes  in 
ratlis,  or  hill  fortresses,  and  belonijed  evidently  to  a  period  when 
cities  were  not  yet  in  existence.  Of  these  there  are  still  to  be  found 
numerous  remains  throu;iho\Jt  tlie  country.  This  species  of  earthen 
work  is  distinguished  from  the  artificial  mounds,  or  tumuli,  by  its 
being  formed  upon  natural  elevations,  and  always  surrounded  by  a 
rampart."  We  bclie\e  that  it  is  now  pretty  generally  conceded 
that  the  Norman  towers  and  portcullis-defended  draw  bridge  were 
first  introduced  into  Ireland  by  the  liUglish  invaders. 

We  have  already  descanted  on  the  architectural  magnificence  and 
beauty  of  the  palaces  of  Tara  and  Emania.  Mr.  jMoore,  in  answer- 
ing the  charges  made  by  English  historians,  asserting  that  they 
were  composed  of  wood,  argumentatively  writes  in  relation  to  them, 
thus  : — "  It  was  among  a  people  thus  little  removed  from  the  state 
of  the  Germans  in  the  time  of  Tacitus,  that  the  palaces  of  Tara  and 
Emania,  as  authentic  records  leave  us  but  little  room  to  doubt,  dis- 
played their  regal  halls,  and,  however  scepticism  may  now  question 
their  architectural  merits,  couW  boast  the  admiration  of  many  a 
century  in  evidence  of  their  grandeur.  That  these  edifices  were 
merely  of  wood,  is  by  no  means  conclusive  either  against  the  elegance 
of  their  structure,  or  the  civilization,  to  a  certain  degree,  of  those 
who  erected  them.  It  was  in  wood  that  the  graceful  forms  of 
Grecian  architecture  first  unfolded  their  beauty  ;  and  there  is  reason 
to  believe  that,  at  the  time  when  Xerxes  ii.vaded  Greece,  most  of 
her  temples  were  still  of  this  perishable  material. 

Not  to  lay  too  much  stress,  however,  on  these  boasted  structures 
of  ancient  Ireland,  of  which  there  is  but  dry  and  meagre  mention  by 
her  annalists,  and  most  hyperbolical  descriptions  by  her  bards,  there 
needs  no  more  striking  illustration  of  the  strong  contrasts  which  her 
antiquities  present,  than  that,  in  the  very  neighbourhood  of  the 
earthen  rath  and  the  cave,  there  should  rise  proudly  aloft  those 
wonderful  round  towers,  bespeaking,  in  their  -workmansliip  and 
presumed  purposes,  a  connexion  with  religion  and  science,  which 
marks  their  builders  to  have  been  of  a  race  advanced  in  civilization 
and  knowledge, — a  race  difi'erent,  it  is  clear,  from  any  of  those  wlio 
are  known,  from  time  to  time,  to  have  established  themselves  in  the 
country,  and,  therefore,  most  probably,  the  old  aboriginal  inhabi- 
tants, in  days  when  the  arts  were  not  yet  strangers  on  their  shores." 

that  examples  of  it  may  be  referred  to  in  buildings  erected  l)ef()re  the  war  of  Troy. 
'  Lancet  arches'  arc  to  he  found  also  in  the  Cijclopean  hiiihlin^s  of  Ireland,  as  well 
as  hi  many  of  the  carhj  churches  and  round  towers  in  irhirh  that  style  was  still  pre- 
served." "  When  men  inquire,"  says  fForace  \\'alpole,  •'  ulio  invented  CJrithic 
buildings,  they  might  as  well  ask,  wjio  invented  bad  Latin  r  The  former  was  a 
corruption  of  the  Roman  architeclure,  as  the  latter  was  of  the  Roman  iangnafre. 
Beautiful  Gothic  architecture  was  engrafted  on  Saxon  deformity,  and  pure  Italian 
succeeded  to  vitiated  Latin."  A  century  and  a  half  before  the  arrival  of  the  Eng- 
lish, the  cathedral  of  Tuarn,  and  the  beautiful  church  of  Disert,  county  of  Clare, 
as  well  as  the  monastery  of  the  Holy  Cross,  erected  A.  D.  1 1 10,  presented  noble 
specimens  of  that  style  of  architecture  known  by  the  ditferent  appellations  of 
Gothic,  Norman  and  Lombard. 


528 

It  is  time  we  should  now  speak  of  the  round  towers,  which  are, 
in  a  manner,  peculiar  to  Ireland,  and  which  have  occupied  the  inge- 
nuity of  so  many  learned  antiquarians  to  explain  their  orijrinal  use. 
Some  have  attributed  their  erection  to  the  Danes,  who  are  supposed 
to  have  used  them  as  telegraphs,  by  placing  a  I'ght  in  tlie  aperture 
on  their  convex  roof;  others  say,  among  whom  is  the  learned  Val- 
lancey,  that  they  were  built  by  the  IMilesian  Druids,  as  fire-altars  ; 
but  Dr.  Milner  very  justly  rejects  this  opinion,  by  observing,  "  that 
there  was  no  occasion  of  carrying  them  up  to  so  great  a  height  as 
130  feet."*  A  third  system  is,  that  they  were  watch-towers,  raised 
in  times  of  intestine  warfare,  to  prevent  an  enemy  from  taking  the 
chin  of  the  chief  by  coup  de  main ;  another  hypothesis  is  that  of 
IMolyneaux  and  Dr.  Ledwich,  who  maintain  with  a  great  force  of 
reason,  and  an  air  of  strong  probability,  that  they  were  belfries  to 
the  churches,  near  which  they  are  situated.  To  this  well  founded 
conjecture  we  subscribe,  because  there  is  not  one  of  these  towers  in 
Ireland  which  is  not  ([uite  contiguous  to  a  religious  editTce  ;  a  fact 
that  sustains  the  probability  that  the  round  towers  were  belfries, 
and  built  simultaneously  with  their  adjoining  churches.  Smith 
brings  another  ])ioof  to  the  support  of  this  opinion,  in  his  history  of 
Waterford^  published  in  1746,  when  he  tells  us,  "that  there  was  no 
doubt  but  the  round  tower  of  Ardmore  was  used  originally  for  a 
belfry,  there  being  towards  the  top  not  only  four  opposite  windows 
to  let  out  the  sound,  but  also  three  pieces  of  oak  still  remaining,  on 
which  the  bell  was  hung ;  there  were  also  two  channels  cut  in  the 
sill  of  the  door,  where  the  rope  came  out,  the  ringer  standing  below 
the  door,  on  the  outside."  It  is  also  to  be  observed,  that  the  doors 
of  these  towers  are  uniformly  elevated  fifteen  feet  above  their  base, 
which  has  led  to  the  conclusion  that  the  Christian  pastor  was  in  the 
jiabit  of  addressing  the  people  from  these  high  vestibules.  It  is  the 
opinion  of  antiquarians,  that  these  round  towers  were  built  in  the 
sixth  century,  which  has  given  birth  to  an  argument,  that,  in  that 
case,  they  could  not  be  originally  intended  for  belfries,  because  bells 
were  not  introduced  into  the  Christian  churches  until  the  seventh 
century;  but  this  argument  will  vanish  before  the  historical  fact, 
that  during  the  pontificate  of  Pope  Stephen,  the  congregations  were 
called  to  church  by  tlie  sound  of  trumpets  ;  so  that  the  Irish  round 
towers  might  be  trumpet-stands  before  the  invention  of  bells.  The 
late  Dr.  Milner,  it  is  true,  worked  hard  to  subvert  this  theory;  be 
says  "that  none  of  these  towers  are  large  enough  for  a  single  bell, 
of  a  moderate  size,  to  swing   round  in  it."     Now,  with    all    due 

*  "  The  round  towers  of  Ireland,"  says  an  Irish  writer  of  liistorical  learning  and 
antique  research,  "  are  great  puzzlers  to  the  antiquarians.  Quires  of  paper,  as  tall 
as  a  tower,  have  been  covered  with  as  much  ink  as  might  iorm  a  Liifey,  in 
accounting  for  their  origin  and  use."  "  In  despair  of  being  able  to  ascertain  at 
what  period,  and  by  whom  they  were  constructed,"  says  Moore,  "  our  antiquaries 
are  reduced  to  the  task  of  conjecturing  the  purposes  of  their  construction.  That 
they  may  have  been  appropriated  to  religious  uses,  in  the  early  ages  of  the  church, 
appears  highly  probable  from  the  policy  adopted  by  the  first  Christians,  in  all 
countries,  of  enlisting  in  the  service  of  the  new  faith  the  religious  habits  and 
associations  of  the  old.  It  is  possible,  therefore,  that  they  might,  at  some  period, 
have  been  used  as  stations  for  pilgrims, — for  to  this  day,  it  is  certain  that  the 
prayers  said  at  stations,  are  called  Turrish  or  pilgrim  prayers." 


529 

respect  for  a  man  who,  in  antiquarian  lore  and  philosophical  ino-e- 
nuity,  was  equal  to  any  writer  of  his  age,  we  would  deferentially 
observe,  that  the  diameter  of  our  towers  within,  at  tlie  base,  is 
generally  nine  feet  ;  suppose  they  diminish  at  the  top  to  four,  it  will 
be  found  that  a  bell  of  considerable  size,  but  of  rounder  shape  than 
that  now  used,  might  very  well  he  suspended  and  rang,  so  as  to 
emit  a  loud  sound.  The  idea  that  they  were  built  by  the  Danes  is 
now  universally  scouted  and  abandoned;  because  if  they  had  been 
erected  by  them,  we  would  find  structures  of  the  same  model  in 
England,  Scotland,  or  Denmark.  Indeed,  if  we  except  the  round 
steeple  of  the  church  of  Aix-hi-Chapellc,  there  is  no  otiier  erection 
in  Europe  that  bears  an  architectural  resemblance  to  tlie  round 
towers  of  Ireland.* 

Harri-?aM{l  Dean  Richardson  concur  in  the  supjiosition,  that  they 
were  originally  the  residence  of  anchorite  moid^s  ;  and  Harris,  to 
strengthen  the  supports  and  props  of  this  opinion,  tells  us,  "that 
Donchad  O'lJricn,  abbot  of  Clonnjacnois,  shut  himself  up  in  one  of 
these  exalted  cells,  in  the  seventh  century."  Dr.  Milner  advances 
very  specious  and  ingenious  arguments  to  sustain  the  conjecture  of 
Richardson  and  Harris.  It  would  be  hard  to  define  their  order  of 
architecture  ;  for  they  are,  as  their  name  imports,  perfectly  round, 
both  on  the  outside  and  in  the  inside,  and  carried  up  in  this  form  to 
the  height  of  from  .50  to  130  feet  ;  they  are  generally  huilt  of 
chiselled  limestone,  and  their  masonry  displays  taste  and  elegance 
of  workmanship,  which  are  not  to  be  met  with  in  the  buildings  of 
modern  times. 

All  the  round  towers  exhibit  the  same  mode  and  jtlan  of  building, 
as  if  the  one  was  a  facsimile  of  the  other.  They  are  all  divided 
into  stories  of  different  heights  ;  the  floors  supported  in  some  by 
projecting  stones,  in  others  by  joists  put  in  tlie  wall  at  building,  and 
in  many  they  were  {)laced  upon  rests.  There  is  a  door  into  them, 
at  the  height  of  from  10  to  IG  feet  ;  and  in  the  intermediate  space 
of  the  stories  there  are  a  few  loop-holes,  which  served,  perhaps,  for 
the  admission  of  light  and  air.  Near  the  top  of  each  tower,  there 
are  usually  four  of  these  loop-holes,  corresponding,  in  general,  with 
the  four  cardinal  points  of  the  compass.  The  round  tower  of 
Roscrea,  in  the  county  of  Tipperary,  is  admitted  to  be  the  finest 
specimen  of  this  singular  species  of  architecture  in  Ireland  ;  the 
limestone  blocks  of  which  it  is  built  are  cut  with  mathematical 
exactness,  and  laid  with  such  nicety  in  the  wall,  as  to  render  the 
joints  scarcely  perceptible.  Giraldus  Cambrcnsis,  in  his  Topog- 
raphy of  Ireland,  written  in  1185,  calls  our  round  towers  "ecclesias- 
tical edifices,  which  were  built  shortly  after  the  mission  of  St. 
Patrick."  ♦'  They  are,"  he  adds,  "  built  in  a  style  or  fashion 
peculiar  to  Ireland  ;  being  narrow,  high,  and  round."  It  would 
require  a  greater  space,  and  more  time  than  we  can  afford  the  sub- 

*  Let  it  be  remoinbered  that  the  church  of  Ai.x-la-ChapclIe  was,  it  is  recorded, 
built  under  the  superintendence  of  an  Irish  missionary,  in  the  reign  of  the 
Emperor  Charlemagne,  in  the  beginning  of  the  ninth  century,  and  that  as  a 
memorial  of  his  native  land,  and  a  preserver  of  dear  and  patriotic  association,  he 
caused  the  steeple  to  be  built  in  imitation  of  the  round  towers  of  hia  country. 
67 


530 

ject  in  this  history,  to  advert  to  the  different  opinions  that  writers 
have  expressed  relative  to  the  round  towers  of  Ireland  ;  but  we 
think  that  their  very  name  in  the  Irish  language  {Clog-teagh)  which 
signifies  in  English,  the  Bell-house,  should  silence  all  objections  and 
doubts  as  to  the  use  of  their  origin.  "  The  reasons,"  says  the 
learned  Dr.  Milner,  "  assigned  for  attributing  these  works  to 
foreigners,  namely,  the  supposed  rudeness  of  the  ancient  Irish,  is 
evidently  ill-founded.  For  can  we  suppose  that  the  tutors  of  the 
English,  French,  and  Germans,  in  the  learned  languages,  the 
sciences,  and  music,  as  the  Irish  are  known  to  have  been  during 
four  centuries,  were  incapable  of  learning  how  to  build  plain  round 
towers  of  stone,  when  they  saw  their  scholars  all  around  them, 
erecting  stately  churches  and  monasteries  of  stone  ;  most  of  which, 
we  are  assured,  were  ornamented  with  towers."  The  Doctor  might 
have  added,  that  the  carved  architraves  and  sculptured  entablatures 
of  our  churches,  in  the  beginning  of  the  sixth  century,  when  the 
unlettered  English  and  Picts  were  benighted  in  the  gloom  of  barba- 
rous idolatry,  show  that  literature  and  the  arts  kept  pace  with  the 
progress  of  a  mind-elevating  religion  and  a  sublime  morality,  in 
Ireland.* 

We  subjoin  a  catalogue  of  the  principal  round  towers  in  Ireland, 
which  will,  we  think,  impart  a  certain  degree  of  local  interest  to 
our  history — to  relieve,  in  some  measure,  the  unavoidable  monotony 
of  this  subject. 

Aghadoe,  in  the  county  of  Kerry, 

Aghagower  " 

Antrim,  " 

Ardfert,  " 

Ardmore,  " 

Ballygaddy,  " 

Ball, 

Boyle,  " 

Cashel,  " 

Castledermot,  " 

*  The  stone  cross  of  Tuam ,  a  part  of  which  still  exists, — the  statues  of  the  twelve 
apostles  at  the  cathedral  of  Cashel,  the  grand  archway  of  Mellifont  abbey,  and 
the  beautiful  tracery  and  enrichments  of  many  other  ruins  in  Ireland,  rem;iin  3-et 
as  proofs  that  the  ancient  Irish  artists  carried  sculpture  to  a  perfection,  in  the 
tenth  century,  which  no  nation  in  Europe  could  then  equal.  Brewer,  an  Eng- 
lish tourist,  to  whose  fair  and  impartial  description  of  Ireland,  we  have,  in  the 
course  of  this  history,  frequently  adverted  with  gratitude,  says  of  King  Cormac's 
chapel,  erected  in  the  tenth  century,  on  the  Rock  of  Cashel,  county  of  Tipperary, 
"  It  is  the  most  perfect  vestige  of  circular  architecture  remaining  in  Ireland. 
The  sculptural  and  carved  ornaments  are  numerous;  and  besides,  the  nail  headed, 
the  chevron,  and  otiier  mouldings  familiar  with  the  Anglo-Saxons,  they  comprise 
the  heads  of  men  and  beasts,  together  with  fanciful  devices.  The  door-ways  are 
richly  decorated.  The  columns  are  short  and  massive  ;  they  are  covered  with  a 
lozenge  net  work,  and  have  varied  capitals."  Notwithstanding  the  numerous 
monuments  of  our  ancient  architecture,  two  base  and  venal  historians.  Ledwich, 
and  that  living  apostate,  Taylor,  to  gratify  English  prejudice,  asserted  it  as  tlieir 
opinion,  "  that  there  was  no  stone  churches  in  Ireland,  prior  to  the  arrival  of  the 
English  !  !"  But  why  should  we  look  for  truth,  honour,  or  patriotism,  from  such 
bribed  recreants  ?  Irish  traitors  are  the  most  degraded  of  men  !  Boston,  June 
14, 1836. 


Kerry,          is 

95  feet  high. 

Mayo,            " 

110 

Antrim,         " 

85 

Kerry,           " 

90 

Waterford, 

110 

Gahvay,         " 

90 

Sligo,             " 

110 

Roscommon 

110 

Tipperary, 

80 

Kildare,        " 

90 

531 


Clondalkin,  in  the  county  of  Dublin,         is         90  feet  hio-h. 
Clones,  «'  Monaghan,  110 

Cloyne,  "  Cork,  "       110 

Devenish,  "  Fermanagh,  90 

Dowupatrick,  "  Down,  "       110 

Drumcliff,  "  Sligo,  "         90 

Druiniskin,  '«  Louth,  "        130 

Drumlahan,  "  Cavan,  "         90 

Dysart,  "  Queen's,        "         90 

Ferbane,  (two)        "  Ring's,  "       110 

Glendaloch,*  "  Wicklow,      "       110 

Kildare,  "  Kildare,         "       110 

Kilkenny,  "  Kilkenny       "       110 

Kilfala,  "  Mayo,  "       110 

Kilree,  "  Kilkenny,      "         90 

Kells,  "  Meath,  "        100 

Limerick,  "  Limerick,      "       110 

Lusk,  "  Dublin,  "       110 

MeHc,  "  Gal  way,        "         92 

Moat,  "  Sligo,"  "         95 

Monasterboice,         "  Louth,  "       110 

Oran,  "  Roscommon,  92 

Rathmichael,  "  Dublin,  "         95 

Roscrea,  "  Tipperary,  80 

Scattery,  "  Clare,  "         95 

Sligo,  (two)  "  Sligo,  "       110 

Swords,  "  Dublin,         "         92 

Timahoe,  "  Queen's,       "         92 

Tulloherin,  "  Kilkenny,     "         92 

Turlogh,  "  Mayo,  "       110 

West-Carbury,         "  Cork,  "         92 

Taghadoe,  "  Kildare,        "         96 

Our  ancient  chieftains  had  many  stone  castles  before  the  arrival 
of  the  English,  particularly  the  castle  of  Tuam,  which  was  desig- 
nated "  the  wonderful,"  erected  by  Turlogh  O'Connor,  king  of 
Ireland,  A.  D.  1150, — the  castle  of  Ross,t  county  of  Kerry,  erected 
in  the  eleventh  century,  by  O'Donoghue, — Blarney,  county  of  Cork, 
built  by  McCarthy,  prince  of  Desmond,  A.  D.  1138, — Lyon's,  county 
of  Cork,  built  1142,  by  the  O'Lehans, — Margaret,  county  of  Mayo, 
built   by    the    O'Maillys,    A.    D.    1139,— Monaghan,    built    by    the 

*  This  tower  approaches  the  Ivy  church  so  near,  tliat  it  communicates  with  St. 
Kevin's  kitchen,  at  the  western  portal,  which  convinces  us  in  a  more  satisfactory 
manner  than  fine-spun  hypotheses  or  ingenious  conjectures,  of  the  original  pur- 
pose to  which  round  towers  were  devoted. 

1  Ross  Castle,  (in  Irish,  Caislcan  Ross,  the  castle  of  the  promontory,)  which 
is  situated  on  an  isthmus,  in  the  lake  of  Killarney,  was  built  by  O'Donoghue,  at 
the  period  mentioned  in  the  text.  In  the  wars  of  l(i41,  it  made  a  resolute  and 
brave  defence,  under  Lord  Muskerry,  against  the  parliamentarian  generals,  at  the 
head  of  6,000  men,  Ludlow,  Broghill  and  Waller,  and  it  had  the  honour  of  being 
the  last  fortress  in  Munster  that  surrendered  to  the  regicides.  Ross  castle  has 
been  repaired  in  the  last  century,  and  it  is  now  a  barrack  for  two  companies  of 
foot  soldiers.  From  Ross  castle  the  lakes  and  their  channing  scenery,  can  be 
seen  under  their  most  fascinating  aspect. 


532 

McMahons,  in  the  year  1136, — Enniskillen,  county  of  Fermanagh, 
built  by  the  Majrnires,  A.  D.  1144, — Kelly,  near  Athlone,  co\inty 
Westraeath,  built  by  the  Mageoglians,  A.  D.  1150, — castle  Dermot, 
county  of  Kildare,  built  in  the  year  1163,  by  Prince  O'Toole, — 
castle  Cargan,  county  of  Leitrim,  built  by  O'Rourke,  A.  D.  1169, — 
castle  Connor,  county  of  Sligo,  built  by  the  O'Connors,  A.  D. 
1155, — castle  Buy,  county  of  Down,  built  by  the  Magennises,  in  the 
year  1148, — Cashel,  county  of  Tipperary,  built  by  Cormac  Mac- 
cuilnan,  king  of  Munster,  A.  D.  903, — and  Carlow,  built  by  the 
O'Kavanaghs,  A.  D.  1139.  These,  and  many  other  castles,  which 
we  might  name,  is  a  sufficient  proof  that  Ireland  was  not  only 
studded  with  stone  churches  and  abbeys,  but  with  feudal  castles  of 
that  material,  anterior  to  the  invasion  of  the  English.  In  a  pre- 
ceding chapter  to  this  history,  we  have  described  the  sepulchral 
monuments  of  Ireland. 

The  Rude  Stony  Monuments.  The  cromleacs,  (the  bent  stones) 
are  to  be  found  in  almost  every  county  of  Ireland,  as  they  were,  as 
is  supposed,  used  by  the  Druids  as  altars  of  human  sacrifices. 
These  massy  and  rugged  monuments  are  generally  composed  of 
three  and  five  upright  stones,  indented  in  the  ground, — over  these 
is  placed  a  broad  sloping  flag,  generally  varying  in  length  from  ten 
to  fifteen  feet.  Some  of  these  tabular  rocking  stones  (so  called 
because  they  are  balanced,  as  if  placed  on  a  pivot,  and  so  easily  set 
in  motion  that  the  pressure  of  the  hand  will  make  them  incline  to 
either  point,)  are  from  four  to  six  tons  weight.*  On  every  one  of 
these  horizontal  slabs  is  cut  a  channel  about  four  inches  deep,  which 
served,  as  is  conjectured,  to  receive  the  blood  of  the  victims. 
Underneath  these  huge  erections  is  generally  found  a  cavity,  where, 
it  is  supposed,  the  confidant  of  the  Druidical  priest  concealed  himself 
to  prompt  the  latter  in  his  mock  divinations.  Mr.  Moore,  in  his 
observations  on  these  monuments,  says — "  That  most  common  of 
all  Celtic  monuments,  the  cromleac,  which  is  to  be  found  not  only 
in  most  parts  of  Europe,  but  also  in  Asia,  and  exhibits,  in  strength 
and  simplicity  of  its  materials,  the  true  character  of  the  workman- 
ship of  antiquity,  is  likewise  to  be  found,  in  various  shapes  and 
sizes,  among  the  monuments  of  Ireland.  Of  these  I  shall  only 
notice  such  as  have  attracted  most  the  attention  of  our  antiquaries. 
In  the  neighbourhood  of  Dundalk,  county  of  Louth,  we  are  told  of 
a  large  cromleac,  or  altar,  which  fell  to  ruin  some  time  since,  and 
whose  site,  (Balbrichan)  is  described  as  being  by  the  side  of  a  river, 
'between  two  Druid  groves.'  On  digging  beneath  the  ruins,  there 
was  found  a  great  part  of  the  skeleton  of  a  human  figure,  which 
bore  the  appearance  of  having  been  originally  enclosed  in  an  urn. 
There  were  also,  mixed  up  with  the  bones,  the  fragtnents  of  a 
broken  wand,  which  was  supposed  to  have  been  a  part  of  the  in- 
signia of  the   person   there  interred,  and  might   possibly  have  been 

*  There  is  an  immense  cromleac  in  Tobinstown,  county  of  Carlow,  whose 
standing  pillars  are  eight  feet  high,  and  its  tabular  stone  is  twenty-three  feet  long, 
and  eight  in  breadth.  Perhaps  the  next  cromleac,  in  mao-nitnde  and  elevation,  to 
those  of  Louth  and  Carlow,  is  Lcahnd-Caillioc,  (the  hng's  bed)  situated  near  Glan- 
worth,  county  of  Cork.  The  covering  stone  is  nearly  sixteen  feet  in  length,  seven 
in  width,  and  three  in  thickness. 


533 

the  badge  of  the  Dniidical  oflice  which  is  still  called  in  Ireland,  the 
conjuror's  or  Druid's  wand.  In  the  neighbourhood  (at  Ballyma- 
scanlan)  of  this  ruined  cronileac,  is  another,  called  by  the  inhabi- 
tants, the  '  GlanVs  Load,''  from  tlie  tradition  attached  to  most  of 
these  monuments,  that  th?y  were  the  works  of  giants  in  times  of 
old.  The  ruinous  remains  of  the  circular  temple  near  Dundalk, 
formed  a  part,  it  is  supposed,  of  a  great  work,  like  that  at  Stone- 
hinge,  being  open,  as  we  are  told,  to  the  east,  and  composed  of 
similar  circles  of  stone  within.  One  of  the  old  English  traditions 
respecting  Stonehinge,  is  that  the  stones  were  transported  thither 
from  Ireland,  having  been  brought  to  the  latter  country  by  giants 
from  the  extremities  of  Africa  ;  and  in  the  time  of  tJiraldus  Cam- 
brensis,  there  was  still  to  be  seen,  as  he  tells,  on  the  plain  of 
Kildare,  an  immense  monument  of  stones,  corresponding  exactly 
in  appearance  and  construction  with  that  of  Stonehinge."  In  every 
barony  of  the  country  will  be  found  circles  of  upright  stones  ranged 
around  like  that  of  Stonehinge.  Within  the  circumference  of  these 
circles,  the  Druids,  according  to  the  opinion  of  our  best  antiqua- 
rians, held  their  periodical  convocations.  "  The  Hibernian  circles," 
writes  Brewer,  "are  in  a  good  state  of  preservation,  and  are 
sometimes  connected  with  unusual  and  curious  particulars.  As  an 
example  may  be  noticed  the  stone  pillars  arranged  in  a  circular 
form  round  a  tumulous,  at  New  Grange,  in  the  county  of  Meath, 
beneath  which  mount  was  constructed  an  extensive  gallery,  appear- 
ing to  have  been  devoted  to  religious  and  sepulchral  j)urp()ses.  It 
is  also  observable  that  within  some  circles  are  found  stone  seats,  or 
chairs,  traditionally  termed  brehon's  or  judge's  seats."  These 
circles  are  invarial)ly  found  in  Ireland,  situated  on  high  eminences. 
In  several  parts  of  the  kingdom  are  likewise  to  be  seen,  solitary  or 
duplicated,  unwrought  pillars  of  stone  of  ponderous  dimensions, 
which  generally  rise  to  an  elevation  of  twelve  feet  above  tiie  surface 
of  the  earth.  At  Kilgowan,  in  the  county  of  Kildare,  near  Kil- 
cuUen,  stands  a  noble  specimen  of  these  Druidicai  monuments.* 
We  have  before  spoken  of  the  Irish  tumuli,  raths  and  earns,  as  well 
as  of  the  caves. 

The  Ornaments  of  the  Ancient  Irish.  All  the  ancient  knights 
wore  torques,  or  twisted  collars  of  gold,  exquisitely  wrought.  The 
bracelets  and  amulets  (many  of  which  have  been  from  time  to  time, 
dug  up  in  every  part  of  the  kingdom, t)  display  exquisite  workman- 

*  The  pillar  stone  of  Kilifowan,  stands  on  an  elevated  hill,  and  is  twelve  feet 
high,  and  four  feet  thick.  The  now  little  village  of  Kilcullen,  county  of  Kildare, 
Avas  once  a  place  of  monastic  and  military  consequence,  as  it  contained  an  abbey, 
and  was  enclosed  by  embattled  walls,  through  which  there  were  seven  gated 
entrances.  Here  are  the  remains  of  a  round  tower,  ami  of  two  stone  crosses 
v^hich  were  finely  sculptured.  The  country  around  it  is  handsome,  particularly 
the  banks  of  the  LifTey.     It  is  20  miles  from  Dublin. 

t  "  About  a  century  ago,"  writes  an  Irish  anticjuarian, "  an  Irish  bulla,  or  amulet, 
Avas  found  in  the  bog  of  Allen,  which  is  now  deposited  in  the  valuable  nniseum  of 
Irish  antitjuities  of  the  dean  of  St.  Patrick's.  It  is  in  ibe  shape  of  a  heart,  of  solid 
gold,  beautifully  embossed  and  ornamented.  Among  the  ilonians  the  bullae  were 
not  only  suspended  from  the  necks  of  young  men,  but  also  of  horses."  Another 
Irish  antiquary  says  of  the  torques,  "  two  of  these  beautiful  collars  were  dug  up 
about  the  year  1811,  in  the  vicinity  of  Tara,  and  purchased  from  the  fortunate 
finder  by  the  late  Alderman  West,  of  Skinner-Row,  Dublin,  whose  son  sold  them 


534 

ship.  The  ancient  Irish  of  rank  also  wore  golden  breast-plates, 
belts  and  rings. 

The  State  of  the  Fine  Arts  before  the  Coming  of  the  Eng- 
lish.* In  a  preceding  chapter  we  have  shown  to  what  a  pitch  of 
excellence  our  ancestors  carried  sculpture  and  architecture,  ante- 
cedent to  the  Saxon  invasion.!  The  frescoes  in  the  churches  of 
Cashel,  Kildare,  Kilkenny,  and  the  abbeys  of  Jerpoint  and  Knock- 
moy,J  though  decayed  by  seven  centuries,  are  still  fine.  These 
frescoes  are  mellow  and  brilliant  in  their  colouring,  and  the  artists, 
in  design,  execution  and  composition,  evinced  an  intimate  ac- 
quaintance with  classical  forms.  The  frescoes  of  Rnockmoy,  which 
can  be  seen  on  the  walls  of  the  north  chancel  of  the  abbey,  are 
valuable  to  the  antiquarian,  as  they  present  the  exact  dress  worn  by 
the  Irish  in  the  eleventh  century. 

Having  given  the  preceding  sketch  of  the  arts,  we  will  put  a 
period  to  this  chapter  by  laying  before  the  reader  a  short  relation 
of  our  learned  men  of  the  twelfth  century. 

Gilbert,  who  was  bishop  of  Limerick,  in  the  year  1110,  was  so 
famous  for  his  literary  and  theological  attainments,  that  the  Pope 
invited  him  to  Rome,  and  conferred  upon  him  the  exalted  office  of 
legate.  He  assisted  in  the  consecration,  at  Westminster,  of  Bernard, 
bishop  of  Menevia,  in  A.  D.  1115.  His  writings  consist  of  epistles, 
and  a  history  of  the  state  of  the  Irish  Church  in  his  day.  Arch- 
bishop Usher  compiled  his  works,  and  appended  to  them  critical 
notes.  He  died  about  the  year  1157.  Celsus,  archbishop  of  Armagh, 
a  prelate  of  mental  power  and  eloquence,  in  A.  D.  1159,  wrote  a 
theological  summary,  and,  as  Bale  states,  divers  letters,  and  the 
constitution  of  the  famous  synod  of  Usneagh,§  held  A.  D.  1158,  of 

to  his  Royal  Highness,  the  Dulte  of  Sussex."  Stewaut,  in  his  History  of 
Armagh,  says,  "  in  the  year  1797,  a  golden  tiara  was  found  in  the  drained  bed  of 
Loughadian,  near  Pointz-pass,  and  is  yet  in  the  possession  of  William  Fivey,  Esq." 

*  Mr.  Peknie,  an  accomplished  antiquarian  and  artist,  observes — "  Traces  of 
arts  and  sciences  are  exhibited  abundantly  in  the  numerous  antiquities  of  gold, 
silver  and  bronze,  dug  up  every  day  in  all  parts  of  Ireland,  and  similar  to  the  most 
ancient  remains  of  Greeks,  Egyptians  and  Phoenicians.  Our  golden  crowns, 
collars,  bracelets,  anklets, — our  brazen  swords,  spears,  and  domestic  vessels, — our 
cinerary  urns, — our  sepulchral  chambers,  which  are  not  to  be  paralleled  in  the 
Britisli  isles.  These  are  the  evidences  of  the  early  colonization  of  Ireland  by  a 
civilized  people." 

t  Mr.  Pernio  again  writes — "  Our  gold  and  silver  ornaments,  bronze  weapons, 
are  oiten  elegant  in  design  and  workmanship, — and  some  of  our  sepulchral  urns, 
ornamented  with  devices  and  mouldings  in  bass-relief,  show,  at  least,  an 
acquaintance  with  the  forms  in  use  among  a  refined  people.  In  an  ancient  shrine 
still  preserved  in  the  county  of  West  Meath,are  two  bronze  figures, — one,  an  Irish 
warrior  helmeted,  and  wearing  the  P/tilibeg  or  Kilt,  (the  Scotch,  as  Pinkerton, 
their  own  historian,  admits,  borrowed  that  form  of  costume  from  the  Irish.)  The 
next  figure  is  obviously  that  of  an  ecclesiastic,  and  is  exceedingly  curious  for  tJie 
richness  of  the  ornaments  on  the  robe.  For  ages  after  the  introduction  of  Chris- 
tianity, the  arts,  though  no  doubt  corrupt,  had  still  a  touch  of  the  Greek  and 
Roman  glory,  were  employed  in  the  building  and  decorating  of  churches,  and 
other  religious  edifices, — the  illuminating  of  religious  books, — the  carving  of 
tombs  and  crosses,  and  above  all,  the  manufacture  in  brass,  and  other  metals,  of 
shrines,  crosses,  croziers,  and  other  sacred  utensils." 

t  Knockmoy,  now  a  small  hamlet  village,  is  situated  in  the  barony  of  Tiaquin, 
county  of  Galway.  The  abbey,  and  the  O'Connor  tomb,  are  rapidly  going  to 
decay  and  ruin. 

§  UsNEAGH  is  a  lofty  mountain  in  the  barony  of  Rathconrath,  in  the  county  of 


535 

wliich  he  was  president.  The  year  of  that  prehue's  death  is  not 
given  by  Sir  James  Ware.  Malachy,  his  successor  in  the  archi- 
episcopal  see,  was  a  native  of  Ulster,  and  partly  educated  at  Ar- 
ma<rh,  under  Imar,  the  abbot,  and  partly  at  Lisninre,  under  Machus, 
the  bishop  of  that  diocess.  On  his  return  to  Ulster,  after  receivintr 
holy  orders,  lie  took  up  his  residence  in  the  abbey  of  lianifor,  in  the 
county  of  Down,  where  he  had  not  been  long  ere  his  literiiry  talenLs 
and  saintly  piety  recommended  him  to  the  brotherhood  as  a  person 
every  way  worthy  of  being  elccited  abbot.  In  the  course  of  two 
years,  at  the  dying  request  of  Archbishop  Celsns,  the  Pope  appointed 
him  to  the  arch-prelacy.  Two  years  after  his  eUevatioii,  he  made  a 
journey  to  Rome,  and  had  the  honour  of  being  promoted  by  Pope 
Innocent  II.,  to  the  official  dignity  of  legate  for  Ireland.  In  the 
year  1 148,  he  again  set  out  for  Rome  ;  but  on  his  way  thither,  he 
fell  sick  of  a  fever  in  the  monastery  of  Clarevall,  and  died  there  on 
the  2d  of  November  of  that  year.  lie  was  the  author  of  a  prophecy 
of  the  bishops  of  Rome,  and  of  several  other  tracts.  St.  Bernard 
wrote  his  life.  Congan,  a  Cistercian  monk,*  abbot  of  Suir,  county 
of  Tipperary,  wrote,  in  the  year  1151,  epistles  to  St.  Bernard,  the 
biographer  of  St.  >Ialachy.  Murry,  or  Marian,  a  learned  scholar, 
was  abbot  of  Knock, t  in  the  county  of  Louth.  He  wrote  a  supple- 
ment to  the  martyrology  of  iEneas.  Maurice  Regan,  the  histo- 
riographer of  Dermot  Macmurrough,  king  of  Leinster,  who  was  a 
poet  and  annalist,  wrote  a  history  of  the  affairs  of  Ireland  during 
his  own  time,  and  a  biography  of  Brian  Boroihme.  The  former 
was  translated  into  English  by  Sir  George  Carew,  who  was  presi- 
dent of  Munster  during  part  of  the  reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth. 
Concubran,  a  friar  of  Arma^^h,  famous  for  his  powers  of  composition, 
wrote  a  biography  of  St.  jModwen,  who  was  abbess  of  Kelslieve, 
county  of  Armagh,  A.  D.  6;JU.  The  year  of  Concubran's  death,  in 
the  twelfth  century,  is  not  noted  in  the  Irish  annals.  Sir  James 
Ware  says  that  his  manuscript  was,  in  his  time,  in  the  Cottonian 
Library.     Eugene,  bishop  of  Ardmore,J  suffragan  to  the  archbishop 

Westmeath,  where  many  of  the  Pagan  kings  of  Ireland  were  interred, — and  where 
the  Druids  held  solemn  religions  festivals  on  every  first  day  of  May,  in  honour  of 
Beal,  or  tiie  sun.  Here  also  the  national  estates  often  assembled  to  legislate  and 
pronounce  judgment  on  criminals.  As  we  have  already  related,  many  of  the 
kings  of  Ireland  resided  here. 

*  The  CisTEKciAN  order  is  a  branch  of  the  Benedictines,  and  was  founded  at 
Cistercium,  in  Burgundy,  A.  D.  10!t3,  by  St.  Robert,  a  native  of  France,  abbot 
of  Molismea.  To  the  primitive  rule  of  St.  Benedict  he  added  new  statutes,  pre- 
scribing a  more  strict  lil'e  than  was  at  that  time  observed  ;  wiiich  soon  after 
became  greatly  improved  by  the  mellifluous  Doctor  St.  Bernard,  abbot  of  Clara- 
valles.  The  learning,  piety  and  zeal  of  those  monks  increased  the  brethren  so 
much  by  drawing  to  Cistercium  avast  number  of  ecclesiastics,  that  in  a  few  years 
they  branciied  out  through  the  extent  of  r)00  abbeys. 

t  Knock  abbey  is  situated  on  the  banks  of  the  river  Fane,  county  of  Louth,  at 
the  distance  of  about  four  miles  westward  from  Dundalk.  It  was  originally 
founded  by  Donough  O'Carroll,  prince  of  Orgial,  early  in  the  eleventh  century, 
and  shortly  after  its  erection  it  was  amply  endowed  by  Dr.  Edan  O'Kelly,  bishop 
of  Clogher. 

t  Ardmorf.  (the  great  hill)  is  situated  in  the  barony  of  the  Decies,  county  of 
Waterford.  St  Declan  made  it  a  bishop's  see  in  the  year  448.  Here  are  the 
ruins  of  two  churches  ;  over  the  portal  of  one  of  which,  are  to  bo  still  seen  some 
curious  figures  in  alto-relievo.     Ardmore  rises  majestically  over  the  sea;  and  the 


536 

of  Casliel,  possessed  superior  literary  talents.  His  biography  of  St. 
Cuthbert,  said  to  be  admirably  written,  was  in  the  Cottonian  Library, 
in  the  age  of  Sir  James  Ware.     He  died  about  the  year  1174. 


CHAPTER  LXVII. 

Dissensions  among  the  Irish  Princes. —  T/ie  amorous  intrigue  of  Dermod,  King  of 
Leinstcr,  u-ith  the  Princess  of  Brcffcny,  tcho  elopes  with  her  paramour,  while  her 
husband,  O'Rou.rhe,  is  absent  on  a  pilgrimage. —  The  injured  husband  claims  the 
assistance  of  Roderick,  the  Monarch,  to  avenge  his  icrongs. — It  is  granted. — 
O'Rourke,  at  the  head  of  a  large  force,  marches  to  the  palace  of  Dermod,  tcho  is 
obliged  to  fly  to  England,  from  whence  he  sailed  to  France,  to  claim  the  aid  of 
Henry  II.,  who  authorizes  the  Irish  Prince  to  enlist  men  in  England. —  The  procla- 
mation of  Henry  II. — Dermod  secures  tlie  aid  and  alliance  of  the  Welsh  chicjtains, 
Strongbo7ii,  Fitzstcphens ,  Fitzgerald,  Prendergast,  Barry,  Hervcy,  ^-c. — Landing 
of  the  English  in  Ireland. — Surrender  of  Waterford. — Dermod  enters  into  a  treaty 
of  peace  icith  the  Monarch,  which  is  soon  violated  by  the  King  of  Leinster. 

At  this  juncture,  A.  D.  1168,  the  Irish  princes,  as  usual,  were 
estranged  and  divided  from  each  other  by  the  spirit  of  ambition  and 
rivalship.  The  O'Niels,  or  Hy-Nials  of  the  north,  as  the  legitimate 
descendants  of  Heremon,  always  claimed  their  legitimate  and  prior 
right  to  the  Irish  throne, — and  against  their  pretensions  Roderick 
O'Connor,  the  now  possessor  of  the  crown,  opposed  his  regal  power, 
force  and  coronation.  In  Munster,  McCarthy,  prince  of  Desmond, 
asserted  his  right  to  the  crown  of  that  province,  and  to  enforce  it, 
by  the  strength  of  the  sword,  he  invaded  Thomond,  attacked  Mur- 
rough  O'Brien,  and  killed  him  in  battle. 

But  Roderick,  the  monarch,  threatened  McCarthy  with  the  wrath 
of  his  vengeance,  unless  he  speedily  evacuated  Thomond,  and  paid 
to  his  commissioners  3,000  oxen,  as  an  eric  for  the  death  of  O'Brien. 
McCarthy,  not  able  to  resist  the  monarch,  complied  with  the  requi- 
sition of  Roderick.  O'Brien's  brother,  Domhnal,  ascended  the 
throne  of  Munster.  Dunleavy,  a  chieftain  of  Down,  was  at  war 
witii  his  rival,  Magennis,  for  the  sovereign  sway  of  that  country, — 
Maguire  of  Fernjanagh,  and  O'Rourke  of  Leitrim,  opposed  each 
other  witii  implacable  jealousy  for  the  same  purpose.  In  fine,  the 
whole  country  was  dissevered  and  divided  by  unnatural  intestine 
dissensions.  Mr.  Lawless,  in  his  eloquent  history  of  Ireland,  in 
alluding  and  adverting  to  those  unfortunate  discords,  writes, — "For 
a  length  of  time  previous  to  the  invasion  of  Henry  II.,  this  country 
might  have  fallen  an  easy  prey  to  the  ambition  of  any  foreign  prince 
inclined  to  make  the  experiment.  Torn  and  convulsed  by  factions, 
she  would  have  been  unable  to  struggle  with  the  well  regulated 
incursions  of  an  invading  enemy,  and  the  errors  of  her  children 
might  have  been  the  successful  allies  of  Denmark,  of  Norway,  of 
Sweden,  or  of  England.     But   all   these  countries  were  then  too 

country  behind  it  presents  a  striking  assemblage  of  landscape  beauties,  to  which 
a  fine  round  tower,  and  the  ruins  of  a  castle,  impart  a  picturesque  character. 
Boston,  June  20,  ]836. 


537 

much  occupied  by  more  important  interests,  to  allow  them  the 
opportunity  of  taking  advantage  of  Ireland's  follies  and  divisions. 
The  mind  and  passions  of  Europe  were  carried  down  the  torrent  of 
religious  fanaticism,  and  tlic  wealth  and  enterprise  of  its  principal 
kingdoms  found  ample  employment  in  the  wild  and  unprofitable 
struggles  for  the  recovery  of  the  holy  land.  The  strength,  the 
resources  and  value  of  Ireland  were  not,  however,  unknown  or 
overlooked  by  the  governments  of  surrounding  nations  :  her  people 
were  celebrated  for  their  valour,  their  hospitality,  and  their  heroism  : 
the  English  and  the  Welsh  have  fled  for  succour  and  ])rolcction  to 
Ireland,  and  the  three  sons  of  Harold  found  a  safe  and  hospitable 
asylum  in  this  country,  when  pursued  by  the  triumphant  arms  of 
"William,  the  Conqueror.  An  Irish  army  contended  on  English 
ground,  for  the  rights  of  Englishmen,  against  the  merciless  and 
despotic  ambition  of  William  ;  and  we  are  informed  by  Irish  an- 
nalists, "that  iNIurtough,  the  Irish  monarch,  was  solicited  by  the 
Earl  of  Pembroke,  (the  father  of  Strongbow,)  to  defend  him  against 
the  vengeance  of  Henry  I.  France  assiduously  courted  Irish 
alliance  ;  and  the  formidable  co-operation  of  this  country  with  the 
enemy  of  England,  first  pointed  out  to  Henry  II.  the  policy  of 
annexing  Ireland  to  his  liUglish  dominions." 

While  the  strength  of  the  country  was  thus  distracted  and  dis- 
organized, woman's  spells  and  charms,  which  have,  in  all  ages  and 
nations,  produced  such  tremendous  consequences — given  birth  to 
such  long  and  sanguinaiy  wars,  and  revolutionized  so  many  empires 
and  states,  prostrated  at  the  feet  of  English  invaders,  the  liberties 
and  fortunes  of  Ireland.  Dermod,  king  of  Leinster,  who  had  for 
some  years  clandestinely  loved  and  enjoyed  the  favours  of  De- 
vorghal,  (in  English,  the  fair  Dervo)  the  wife  of  O'Rourke,  prince 
of  Brerteny, — a  lady  whose  fatal  beauties  proved  as  disastrous  to 
Ireland,  as  those  of  Helen  did  to  Troy,  on  being  secretly  informed 
by  his  beloved  mistress,  that  her  husband  had  gone  to  Lough  Dearg,* 

*  Lough  Dearg  (the  red  lake)  is  partly  situated  in  the  counties  of  Donegal 
and  Ferinanagli,  and  spreads  out  its  silvery  surface,  as  transparent  as  a  Grecian 
mirror,  to  reflect  tlie  picturesque  mountains  whose  basis  form  its  rocky  frame 
work.  The  acclivities  of  these  mountains,  from  the  water  to  the  summit,  are 
robed  with  a  sylvan  mantle  of  the  most  varied  and  spanirled  verdure.  From  every 
pendant  cliff  the  most  agreeable  flowering  shrubs  hang  in  variegated  garlands  and 
fairy  festoons,  composed  of  an  intfrnii.xture  of  the  lilac,  the  laburnum,  tlie  moss 
rose,  the  sweet  briar,  the  honeysuckle,  and  the  lauristinus.  The  distance  of  this 
lake  from  Dublin  is  about  91  Irish  miles,  in  a  N.  W.  direction.  In  tiie  middle  of 
this  lake  is  the  island  of  the  famous  purgatory  of  St.  Patrick,  to  which  so  many 
pious  princes  and  heroes,  from  all  jiarts  of  Euro])e,  during  a  period  of  five  centu- 
ries, made  pilgrimages,  to  atone  for  their  sins  by  prayer  and  penance.  The  island 
of  the  Priory,  where  the  purgatory  was  first  placed,  was  so  called,  because  St. 
Dabeoc,  one  of  the  disciples  of  St.  Patrick,  erected  a  ])riory  on  it,  in  the  fifth 
century.  Shortly  after  its  building,  as  Colgan,  and  the  book  of  Donegal,  inform 
us,  the  Irish  apostle  retired  to  one  of  its  cells  for  the  pur|)ose  of  devotion  ;  but 
considering  tiial  cell  too  comfortable  for  the  mortification  he  wished  to  inflict  on 
himself,  he  made  choice  of  another  little  island  about  a  ipiarter  of  a  mile  distant 
from  that  of  the  Priorj^,  where,  with  his  own  hands,  he  e.xcavated  the  earth,  and 
built  a  rustic  cave  of  free-stone,  which  he  covered  with  broad  flags,  and  over  them 
placed  layers  of  green  turf  That  cave,  part  of  which  still  exists,  is  IT)  feet  long, 
two  broad,  and  three  in  height.  We  are  told  by  Jocelyn,  in  his  life  of  our  national 
apostle,  that  whenever  the  saint  would  retire  to  the  cave  to  fast  and  pray,  that  he 
68 


538 

(St.  Patrick's  purgatory,)  on  a  pilgrimage,  he,  warm  with  amorous 
passion,  resolved  to  profit  by  O'Rourke's  absence,  quickly  repaired 
to  the  lady's  residence,  in  tlie  county  of  Leitrim,  and  carried  her  off 
to  his  palace,  at  Ferns,  in  the  county  of  Wexford.  An  Irish  histo- 
rian gives  the  following  portrait  of  Dermod  : — "  Although  he  was 
fifty  years  of  age  when  he  carried  off  the  princess  of  Breft'eny,  his 
appearance  was  still  that  of  the  most  masculine  youthfuhiess, — 
there  was  not  a  wrinkle  to  be  seen  on   his  brow,  nor  a  grey  hair  on 

previously  gave  orders  to  one  of  his  servants  to  roil  a  large  stone  against  the 
aperture,  for  the  purpose  of  shutting  out  even  the  benefit  of  the  air  and  sunbeams. 
After  St.  Patricks  death,  tiie  consecrated  islands  of  Lough  Dearg  became  the 
constant  resort  of  hosts  of  pilgrims  from  every  quarter  of  Europe.  More  penitents 
visited  the  holy  cave  of  Lough  Dearg,  from  the  sixth  to  the  tiiirteenth  century, 
than  bent  the  knee  of  devotional  reveience  before  any  other  shrine  in  Europe. 
Alfred,  king  of  England,  on  his  return  from  the  school  of  Mayo,  to  his  own 
country,  repaired,  as  we  are  told  by  Fleming,  to  Lough  Dearg,  and  tliere  piously 
offered  up  his  prayers  in  the  cave  of  St.  Patrick.  It  is  also  a  historical  fact  that 
when  Godwin,  earl  of  Kent,  and  his  son,  Harold,  afterwards  king  of  England, 
were  banished  by  Edward,  the  confessor,  in  the  year  1044,  that  they  flew  for 
refuge  to  Ireland,  and  that  during  their  exile  there,  they,  with  several  other  of 
their  noble  adherents,  went  on  a  pilgrimage  of  piety,  meekness  and  humility,  to 
the  miraculous  cave  of  St.  Patrick.  Every  year,  fiom  tlie  sixth  to  the  fifteenth 
century,  added  to  the  miraculous  fame,  and  multiplied  the  religious  pilgrims  and 
penitents  of  St.  Patrick's  purgatory.  The  priory  was  enlarged  and  beautified  in  the 
eleventh  century,  and  fifty  friars,  we  are  told  by  Jocelyn,  were  scarcely  able  to 
attend  to  the  spiritual  duties  of  the  island.  In  A.  D.  141>7,  the  brothers  of  several 
convents  and  abbeys  in  Italy  and  France,  petitioned  the  Pope  to  suppress  and 
desecrate  the  priory  on  the  island  of  Lough  Dearg.  In  this  petition  they  repre- 
sented to  the  holy  father,  that  their  shrines  and  churches  were  literally  deserted, 
as  then  the  devout  who  were  in  the  habit  of  visiting  them,  had  all  gone  to  Ireland, 
which  reduced  the  brethren  to  the  most  deplorable  state  of  indigence.  The 
Sovereign  Pontiff,  Alexander  VI.,  commiserating  their  distresses,  issued  out  a 
Bull,  addressed  to  John  Kite,  the  primate  of  all  Ireland,  reqi'iring  of  his  Grace  to 
deprive  the  prior  and  friars  of  Lough  Dearg  of  all  ecclesiastical  functions  within 
the  lakes  of  Avog  and  Dearg.  In  consequence  of  this  requisition,  the  prior  of 
Donegal  repaired  to  the  lake,  as  the  deputy  of  the  archbishop,  and  expelled  from 
both  islands  the  prior  of  Lough  Dearg,  and  all  his  brethren.  The  primate  of 
Armagh,  in  order  to  carry  the  behest  of  the  Pope  inio  executive  effect,  promulgated 
a  pastoral  letter,  in  which  he  threatened  to  visit  with  excommunication,  any 
person  who  should  rebel  against  the  churcii  by  visiting  the  abbey  of  St.  Dabeoc, 
or  the  cave  of  St.  Patrick.  The  abbey  and  cave,  in  consequence,  remained  closed 
until  the  accession,  in  A.  D.  151G,  of  Pius  III.  to  the  pontifical  throne.  This 
pope,  at  the  instance  of  George  Cromer,  archbishop  of  Armagh,  and  high  chan- 
cellor of  Ireland,  recalled  the  bull  of  his  predecessor,  and  issued  out  another,  in 
which  he  granted  plenary  powers  to  the  prior  of  Lough  Dearg,  which  remain  in 
full  force  with  the  friars  who  reside  on  the  island,  to  this  day.  The  next  blow 
that  was  aimed  at  this  abode  of  piety,  religion  and  charity,  was  sped  bj'  Charles 
I.,  or  rather  by  his  factious  Irish  government,  in  the  year  1G3L  The  intolerant 
Protestant  clergy  of  the  north,  envious  at  the  multitude  that  repaired  for  devotion 
to  the  island,  while  their  churches  were  comparatively  empty,  represented  to  that 
arch  bigot  of  uncharitableness,  Boyle,  earl  of  Cork,  and  his  icort/,ij  colleague, 
Viscount  Ely,  then  Lord  Justices,  that  the  people  assembled  there  for  the  purpose 
of  fomenting  sedition  and  treason.  This  base  and  barefaced  calumny  iiad  the 
desired  effect.  An  order  from  the  Irish  privy  council  was  immediately  issued  for 
the  demolition  of  the  priory,  and  the  expulsion  of  the  friars  from  the  island. 
But  in  1703,  when  the  oratorical  and  patriotic  genius  of  Grattan  made  the  vigour 
of  the  despotic  penal  laws  relax  under  the  pressure  of  the  lever  of  public  opinion, 
set  in  operation  by  the  enlightened  toleration  of  the  age,  a  few  pious  friars  built 
a  small  chapel  on  the  site  of  the  old  priory  ;  so  that  now  the  island,  during  every 
summer,  is  visited  by  hundreds  of  the  devout  and  the  faithful,  not  only  from  all 
the  countries  of  Europe,  but  from  America.     Boston,  June  21,  1336. 


539 


his  head.  His  form  was  that  of  graceful  proportion, — and  his 
deportment  and  cotnitenance  were  formed  to  allure  a  woman's  eye 
and  heart.  His  stature  and  hodily  streni^th,  together  with  a 
hoisterous  valour,  had  rendered  him  the  admiration  of  all  the  infe- 
rior order  of  his  suhjects  ;  and  these,  as  trie  ])roper  instruments  of 
his  ambition,  he  was  careful  to  protect  and  favour." 

When  the  confidinp;  and  un?uspectin£^  O'Rourke  returned  to  his 
home,  in  Leitrim,  from  his  pilgrimage,  "and  learned,"  says  McDer- 
mott,  "the  story  of  the  violence  done  to  his  wife,  as  it  then  appeared 
from  her  artful  exclamations,  he  applied  to  the  monarch  of  Ireland 
for  his  assistance  ;  Roderick  thouglit  the  cause  of  resentment  (as  it 
had  been  represented)  so  great,  that  he  assisted  the  king  of  Breffeny 
with  some  of  his  troops.  These,  together  with  his  own  forces,  as 
well  as  those  of  Meath  and  Ossory,  and  even  some  in  Leinster  who 
had  revolted,  enabled  him  to  march  to  the  place  of  Dermod's  resi- 
dence, at  Ferns.*  The  king  of  Leinster  had,  by  his  imprudence  and 
tyranny,  lost  the  affections  of  his  people,  and  when,  on  receiving 
notice  of  tiie  hostle  preparations  against  him,  he  applied  for 
assistance,  their  resentment  was  so  violent,  that  all  th.e  chiefs 
renounced  his  authority,  and  put  themselves  under  the  protection  of 
the  monarch  of  Ireland.  Tims  abandoned  in  his  distress,  Dermod 
was  obliged  to  insure  his  safety  by  flight,  and  become  a  voluntary 
exile.  Passing  over  to  Bristol  with  about  sixty  followers,  he  there 
heard  that  Henry  H.,  king  of  England,  was  then  in  France,  pur- 
suing his  conquests  in  that  country.  The  king  of  Leinster  accord- 
ingly repaired  to  Henry,  in  Guienne,  and  craving  his  assistance  in 
restoring  him  to  his  sovereignty,  oflered,  on  that  event,  to  hold  his 
kingdom  in  vassalage  under  the  crown  of  England." 

On  arriving  at  the  camp  of  the  English  monarch,  "  he  implored," 
writes  Lawless,  "the  aid  of  the  British  king,  and  if  supported  by 
his  arms  in  the  assertion  of  his  undoubted  rights,  promised  to  hold 
liis  recovered  dominions  in  vassalage  to  Henry  and  his  heirs."  In 
consequence  of  the  insurrection  of  Henry's  French  subjects,  and  the 
powerful   rebellion  of  his   brother,  GeofiVy,  as  well   as  the  potent 

*  Ferns.  In  a  preceding  chapter  we  have  written  a  description  of  the  town  of 
Ferns,  in  the  county  of  Wexford,  which  was,  for  ages,  the  residence  of  the  kings 
of  Leinster,  but  it  is  now  but  an  humble  village.  Dermod  Macmurrough,  who 
died  on  the  1st  of  May,  177],  was  interred  in  an  abbey,  founded  by  himself,  for 
canons  regular  following  the  rule  of  St.  Augustine,  A.  D.  1H)7.  "  The  memory 
of  Derinod,"  writes  Brkwer.  "  has  been  so  universally  execrated  by  the  Irish, 
throughout  all  ages  since  the  English  invasion,  that  tiie  precise  spot  of  his  sepul- 
ture has  afforded  no  object  of  curiosity  with  posterity,  and  is  now  quite  unknown. 
*  *  *  In  the  abbey  churchyard  is  an  ancient  stone  cross,  now  broken  in  pieces. 
The  upper  part  is  applied  as  a  head-stone,  and  the  base  and  a  portion  of  the  shaft, 
cover  the  graves  of  unknown  persons.  The  whole  of  ihe  cross  was  adorned  with 
elaborate  sculpture,  and  bears  a  close  resemblance  to  the  monumental  cross  of 
Turlogh  O'Connor,  king  of  Ireland,  at  Clonmacnois,  in  the  King's  county.  It 
would^appear  to  be  far  from  improbable  that  this  is  the  cross  which  several  authors 
mention  to  have  been  erected  atPVrns,  in  honour  of  King  Dermod  Maciiiiirrough  ; 
and  it  mav  be  observed  that  the  circumstance  of  its  broken  and  neglected  state,  as 
being  significant  of  the  little  respect  paid  to  the  memory  of  that  prince,  assists  in 
adding  to  the  rationality  of  such  an  opinion."  Of  the  castle  of  Feins,  built  by 
Strongbow,  A.  D.  117:5,  we  will  have  occasion  to  speak  hereafter,  as  it  derives 
great  interest  and  importance  from  its  having  been  the  scene  of  memorable  his- 
torical events.     Boston,  June  2o,  1836. 


540 

opposition  of  Archbishop  Becket,  of  Canterbury,  Henry,  though 
]ong  anxious  to  possess  Ireland,  had  to  defer  his  journey  to  that 
country  for  the  present ;  but  lie  assured  Dermod  of  his  determina- 
tion to  support  him  as  speedily  as  possible  ;  and,  in  order  to  enable 
him  to  raise  an  army  in  England,  he  gave  to  him  the  following 
proclamation. 

"  Henry,  king  of  England,  duke  of  Normandy  and  Aquitain,  earl 
of  Anjou,  &-C.,  unto  all  his  subjects,  English,  Norman,  Welsh  and 
Scotch,  and  to  all  nations  and  people,  being  his  subjects,  greeting : 

Whereas,  Dermod,  king  of  Leinster,  was  most  wrongfully  (as  he 
informeth)  banished  out  of  his  own  country,  hath  craved  our  aid : 
therefore  forasmuch  as  we  have  received  him  into  our  protection, 
grace  and  favour,  whoever  within  our  realms,  subject  to  our  com- 
mand, will  aid  and  help  him,  whom  we  have  embraced  as  our  trusty 
friend,  for  the  I'ccovery  of  his  land,  let  him  be  assured  of  our  grace 
and  favour." 

"Mac  Murchad,"  writes  O'Halloran,  "had  this  proclamation 
frequently  read,  by  sound  of  trumpet,  in  Bristol,  &c.,  with  little 
success,  though  he  offered  lands  and  money  to  those  enlisting  under 
his  banners.  After  a  month's  stay  in  Bristol,  he  retired  to  Wales, 
where  he  applied  to  Richard,  earl  of  Strigule,  commonly  called 
Strongbow,  then  a  powerful  and  popular  chief  in  Wales,  and  offered 
him  his  daughter  in  marriage,  and  the  reversion  of  his  kingdom 
after  his  death,  which  he  bound  himself  by  an  oath  to  perform, 
though  the  contract  was  void  by  the  laws  of  the  constitution,  by  the 
fundamentals  of  which,  none  could  be  candidate  for  the  crown  of 
Leinster  but  those  of  the  line  of  Cathoir,  the  Great." 

Henry  not  only  gave  Dermod  this  proclamation,  but  treated  him 
with  the  most  marked  honour  and  hospitality,  and  made  him,  previous 
to  his  departure,  presents  of  great  value.  Dermod,  encouraged  and 
elated  by  the  friendly  assurances  of  the  English  n)onarch,  returned 
once  more  to  Bristol,  where,  for  tlie  purpose  of  enlisting  English 
adventurers,  he  gave  the  most  extended  publicity  then  possible,  to 
the  king's  proclamation,  accompanied  with  his  own  solemn  promise 
of  paying  all  who  entered  into  his  service  to  fight  for  the  recovery 
of  his  throne  and  kingdom,  not  even  high  pay,  but  grants  of  tracts 
of  land.  These  tempting  offers  attracted  the  notice  of  Richard, 
earl  of  Chepstow,  or  Pembroke,  designated  by  his  countrymen,  for 
his  courage  and  valour,  "  Stronghoic.''' 

This  nobleman  had  ruined  his  fortune  by  dissipation  and  profli- 
gate pleasures,  and  besides,  he  was  out  of  Ring  Henry's  favour,  so 
that  he  readily,  if  not  cheerfully,  engaged  to  lead  his  kinsmen, 
Fitzstephen,  Fitzgerald,  Raymond  le'  Gross,  Prendergast,  Mount- 
morres  and  Barry,  as  well  as  all  his  vassals,  to  Ireland. 

By  the  compact  drawn  up  between  Dermod  and  Strongbow,  the 
king  of  Leinster  covenanted  to  give  to  the  earl  liis  only  daughter 
and  heiress,  in  marriage,  together  with  his  whole  territories  of  Lein- 
ster, after  his  death. 

As  soon  as  Dermod  formed  this  alliance,  so  flattering  to  his  hopes 
of  recovering  the  possession  of  his  kingdom,  he  went  to  the  church 
of  St.  David's,  in  Wales,  accompanied  by  his   intended  son-in-law, 


541 

and  tliere  prayed  for  success,  and  made  a  munificent  oflerin"-  at  the 
altar.  Pie  then,  with  his  followers,  embarked  for  Ireland," liavin"- 
previously  received  positive  assurances  fron)  Stron<jbow,  and  the 
other  Welsh  chieftains,  that  they  would  sail,  with  all  their  combined 
forces,  for  Ireland,  early  in  the  ensuing  spring. 

"  He  landed,"  writes  Lawless,  "  at  Wexford,  where  he  lay  con- 
cealed in  a  monastery,  until  the  returning  spring  i)rought  round  the 
period  at  which  the  arrival  and  co-operation  of  the  liUglish  allies 
were  ex|)ecttd.  Roderick,  king  of  Ireland,  hearing  of  the  arrival 
of  Dermod,  immediately  marched  against  the  latter,  and  i'orced  him 
to  fly  for  shelter  to  the  woods.  Dermod,  sensible  of  his  inability  to 
wage  so  unecpial  a  war  with  Roderick,  submitted  to  the  Irish 
monarch,  and  gave  hostages  for  his  future  peaceable  and  loval 
conduct.  Roderick  agreed  to  the  terms  of  submission,  and  ainiin 
reposed  confnlence  in  liis  fidelity.  These  pledges  of  peace  had  not 
long  been  given  by  Dermod  to  Roderick,  when  his  English  allies 
appeared  on  the  coast  of  Wexford.  Robert  Fitzstephen,  with  thirty 
knights,  sixty  men  in  armour,  and  three  hundred  archers,  all  chosen 
men  of  Wales,  arrived  in  Ireland,  at  Feathard,*  in  the  year  1170. 
The  army  was  reinforced  with  ten  knights,  and  two  hundred  archers, 
under  the  command  of  Maurice  Prendergast,  the  valiant  Welshman. 
The  report  of  this  fi)rmidable  invasion,  (formidable  when  we  con- 
sider the  divisions  of  Ireland)  had  no  sooner  circulated  through  the 
neiirhbouring  counties,  than  the  old  subjects  of  Dermod  conceived 
it  expedient  to  resume  their  allegiance,  and  to  crowd  round  his 
standard,  with  all  the  ardour  of  the  most  zealous  loyalty.  The 
combined  forces  marched  to  Wexford,  and  the  Irish  and  Ostmen, 
who  then  governed  tlie  town,  marched  out  to  meet  the  enemy. 
The  Irish  army  were  com|)elled  to  return  to  the  town,  and  the 
enemy,  encouraged  by  this  temporary  success,  pursued  them  to  the 
gates  of  the  city.  The  Irish  turned  upon  their  pursuers,  and  drove 
back  the  enemy  with  considerable  loss.  At  length  the  clergy  of 
the  garrison  interposed  their  mediation  between  the  besieged  and 
besiegers,  and  Wexford  was  given  up  to  Dermod  and  Earl  Pem- 
broke, who  was  immediately  invested  with  the  lordship  of  the  city 
and  domaiji.  Harvy  of  Mountmauris  was  also  head  of  two  con- 
siderable districts,  on  the  coast  between  Wexford  and  Waterford. 
Here  was  settled  the  first  colony  of  British  inhabitants,  differing  in 
manners,  customs,  and  language,  from  the  natives,  and  even  to  this 
day  preserving  that  diflerence  in  a  very  remarkable  degree,  not- 
withstanding the  lapse  of  many  ages.  Dermod  immediately  pro- 
ceeded, at  the  head  of  his  combined  forces,  amounting  to  3,000 
men,  to  lay  waste  the  territory  of  the  prince  of  Ossory,  (a  ])art  of 
Leinster)  which  he  desolated  with  fire  and  sword  ;  and  though  the 
Irish  army  made  a  most  heroic  resistance  to  the  invader,  the  supe- 
riority of  Eiiirlish  discipline  and  English  arms,  counterbalanced  the 
advantages  which  the  Irish    enjctyed  from  their  suj)erior  knowledge 

*  Feathahd,  about  81  Irish  miles  from  Dublin,  is  a  very  ancient  town,  of 
respectable  appearance,  situated  on  the  southern  coast  of  the  barony  ofSIiellnirne, 
county  of  Wexford.  Near  this  town,  at  Banna,  on  the  11th  of  May.  A.  1).  1  U)!>,  the 
first  of  the  English  invaders,  Lord  Robert  Fitzstephen,  landed,  with  his  followers. 


542 

of  the  country.  Had  the  latter  patiently  remained  in  the  \voodsand 
morasses,  where  tlie  EnjrHsh  cavalry  could  not  act,  they  would  have 
wearied  the  courage,  and  baffled  the  discipline  of  the  invaders,  and 
perhaps  would  have  preserved  the  independence  of  their  country. 
A  reliance  on  the  intrepidity  of  tlieir  soldiers,  betrayed  them  from 
their  native  situations  into  the  open  plains,  where  they  were  exposed 
to  the  superior  generalship  of  the  English  invader. 

English  historians  have  laboured,  with  malicious  industry,  to  paint 
the  comparative  superiority  of  their  countrymen  over  the  wild  and 
barbarous  natives  of  Ireland  ;  and  hesitate  not  to  brand  with  the 
infamous  epithets  of  cruel,  and  savage,  and  uncultivated,  these 
unoflending  people,  whose  properties  the  English  were  desolating, 
whose  ])eace  they  were  disturbing,  and  on  the  rights  and  liberties  of 
whose  country  they  were  about  to  trample. 

The  vengeance  of  an  unprincipled  and  exiled  Irish  monarch  found 
refuge  in  the  ambition  and  avarice  of  English  adventurers  ;  and  the 
miserable  and  afflicting  scenes  which  the  reader  of  Irish  history  is 
doomed  to  wade  through,  were  acted  under  the  specious  and  insult- 
ing pretext  of  order,  religion  and  morality — but  to  proceed.  Dermod 
succeeded  in  bringing  to  subjection  the  revolted  subjects  of  his 
government,  and  prepared  to  defend  himself  against  the  denuncia- 
tions of  the  Irish  monarch,  who  now  began  to  be  alarmed  at  an 
invasion  which  be  had  hitherto  viewed  with  contempt,  and  without 
aj)prehension. 

The  Irish  reader  contemplates,  with  a  mixture  of  gratification 
and  melatiohoiy,  the  picture  of  magnificence  and  grandeur  which 
the  preparations  of  the  monarch  of  Ireland  present  to  his  view,  for 
the  itivasion  of  the  territories  of  Dermod,  and  the  expulsion  of  the 
English  army,  who  presumed  to  violate  the  independence  of  Ireland. 
He  convened  the  estates  of  the  nation  at  Tara,  in  Meath.  He 
ordained  new  laws,  raised  and  regulated  new  seminaries,  distributed 
splendid  donations  to  the  various  professors  of  learning,  and  assem- 
bled and  reviewed  the  army  in  presence  of  the  vassal  Irish  sove- 
reigns, who  waited  on  their  monarch.  Dermod,  deserted  by  his 
subjects  on  the  approach  of  the  Irish  monarch,  fled  to  his  fastnesses 
in  Wexford,  where  he  strongly  entrenched  himself. 

Before  Roderick  unsheathed  his  sword,  he  remonstrated  with  the 
English  leaders  on  the  injustice  and  cruelty  of  their  invasion  ;  on 
the  shameful  and  odious  connection  they  had  formed  with  an  adul- 
terer, and  traitor  to  his  country  ;  and  that  the  war  they  were  about 
to  wage  with  the  Irish,  was  as  impolitic  as  it  was  unprincipled;  for 
surely,  said  the  monarch  of  Ireland,  Englishmen  cannot  suppose 
that  Ireland  will  surrender  her  rights  to  a  foreign  power,  without  a 
dreadful  and  sanguinary  struggle. 

Fitzstephen,  the  English  general,  refused  to  desert  his  Irish  ally, 
and  determined  to  abide  the  event  of  the  contest.  Roderick  still 
hesitated,  before  he  would  proceed  to  force  ;  and  at  the  moment  he 
could  have  crushed  this  infant  effort  of  the  English,  to  subjugate  his 
country,  he  was  solicited  by  the  clergy  to  enter  into  a  treaty  with 
Dermod ;  the  principal  condition  of  which  was,  that  he  should 
immediately  dismiss  the   British,  with  whom  again  he  was  never  to 


543 

court  an  alliance.  Soon  after  this  treaty,  we  find  the  En'^lish 
general,  Fitzsteplicn,  building  a  fort  at  Carrick,*  remarkahltT  for 
the  natural  strength  of  its  situation.  Dcrmod,  supported  by  his 
English  allies,  proceeded  to  Dublin,  and  laid  waste  the  territories 
surrounding  that  city  with  fire  and  sword.  The  citizens  laid  down 
their  arms,  and  supplicated  mercy  from  the  cruel  and  malignant 
enemy.  It  is  the  duly  of  the  historian  to  record  that  the  inhabitants 
of  this  devoted  city  found  refuge  in  the  mercy  of  the  English 
general,  who  interposed  to  allay  the  fury  of  Dermod's  vengeance. 
Dermod  was  not  inattentive  to  every  opportunity  which  afforded 
him  a  pretext  to  violate  the  treaty,  into  wliich  force  alone  obhged 
him  to  enter  with  tiie  Irish  monarch.  He  defended  the  son-in-law 
of  Donald  O'Brien,  prince  of  'rhomond,  against  the  efforts  of 
Roderick  to  reduce  him  to  obedience,  and  again  solicited  the  aid  of 
his  English  allies,  to  assert  the  rights  of  his  family,  against  the 
ambition  and  pretensions  of  the  Irish  monarch.  The  English 
generals  cheerfully  obeyed  the  invitation  ;  and  Roderick,  alarmed 
by  the  rumours  of  the  formidable  strength  of  the  allied  armies, 
declined,  for  the  present,  to  curb  the  licentiousness  of  the  prince  of 
Thomond,  or  to  dispute  the  rights  of  Dermod  to  the  sovereignty  of 
Leinster. 

The  son  of  Dermod  was  then  in  the  power  of  Roderick,  as  an 
hostage  for  the  allegiance  of  his  father.  He  threatened  Dermod 
with  the  destruction  of  his  child,  if  he  did  not  instantly  return  to 
his  obedience,  dismiss  his  English  allies,  and  cease  to  harass  and 
disturb  his  unoffending  neighbours. 

Dermod  defied  the  power  of  Roderick,  was  careless  of  the  fate  of 
his  son,  and  openly  avowed  his  pretensions  to  the  sovereignty  of 
Ireland.  The  head  of  the  young  Dermod  was  instantly  struck  off 
by  order  of  Roderick.  The  English  continued  to  spread  through 
the  country  the  wide  wasting  calamities  of  a  sangninary  war  ;  their 
thirst  of  blood  seemed  to  increase  with  the  number  of  their  victims, 
and  their  spirit  of  destruction  with  the  bountiful  productions  of 
nature,  which  covered  the  country  around  them.  At  length  the 
jealousy  of  the   British   sovereign  awoke,  and  suspended  the  fate  of 

*  Carrick  castle,  one  of  the  first  fortresses  erected  by  the  Englisli,  is  sealed 
on  a  rock  overhanging  tlie  river  Slaney,  about  two  miles  to  the  nortliwest  of 
Wexford  town.  '•  The  remains,"  says  Brewer,  '•'  at  present,  ciiiedy  consist  of  one 
square  and  lofty  tower,  i'rorn  this  vestige  it  would  ai)|)ear  tliat  the  building  was 
of  a  rugged  character  ;  and  it  would  indeed  be  absurd  to  look  for  other  lineaments 
in  the  structure  erected  at  a  season  so  pregnant  with  danger.  The  loop-holes  of 
this  ancient  tower  are  unusually  small ;  and  the  doorway  so  low  and  narrow  that 
it  cannot  be  entered  without  stooping.  The  bay  is  here  seen  to  great  .-idvantage  ; 
and  in  addition  to  that  lovely  e.\ pause  of  water,  the  prospect  combines  a  tine 
variety  of  craggy  rock,  ascending  woodland,  and  distant  mountain."  Adjoining 
the  luins  of  this  castle,  at  Carrickinenan,  are  the  beautiful  (bimain  and  fine  man- 
sion of  James  Edward  Devereaux,  Esq.,  whose  nncestors  have  resided  here  since 
the  beginning  of  the  thirteenth  century.  Mr.  Devereaux  was  born  in  the  year 
17()(j,  and  was  one  of  the  most  active  and  influential  members  of  the  celebrated 
Catholic  committee,  who  waited,  in  17M3,  on  Georsre  III.,  with  a  petition  from  the 
Catholics  of  Ireland.  Wc  believe  he  is  still  living.  When  (Jeoige  IV.  was 
crowned,  Mr.  Devereaux  asserted,  successfully,  his  claim  of  carrying  the  golden 
rod,  silver  canopy,  and  sceptre  of  ihe  dove,  supported  by  four  lances,  as  his  ances- 
tors did  at  the  coronation  of  Richard  I. 


541 

this  unhappy  people;  and  the  meanest  passion  of  the  human  mind 
prompted  Henry  to  take  those  measures  which  justice  should  have 
dictated. 

Henry  issued  his  edict,  forbidding  any  future  supplies  of  men  or 
of  arms  to  be  sent  to  Ireland,  and  comnianding  all  his  subjects  tliere 
instantly  to  return.  Strongbow  immediately  despatclied  Raymond 
to  his  sovereign,  to  endeavour  to  allay  his  j^lousy,  and  to  impress 
his  sovereign  with  the  conviction,  that  whatever  they  had  conquered 
in  Ireland,  was  conquered  for  Henry,  and  that  be  alone  was  the 
rightful  possessor  of  all  those  territories  wbicb  bad  submitted  to  the 
arms  of  Strongbow.  Raymond  was  received  with  bauglitiiiess  and 
distrust  by  the  English  monarch,  who  refused  to  comitly  with  his 
solicitations.  At  this  ])eriod  Bishop  Becket  was  murdered  ;  a  cir- 
cumstance which  to  Henry  was  a  source  of  bitter  afHiction.  The 
king  of  Leinster  died  amidst  the  triumplis  of  his  allies,  despised  by 
the  English,  who  took  advantage  of  bis  treasoii,  and  execrated  by 
the  Irish  as  an  infamous  and  unprincipled  exile.  The  death  of 
this  prince  was  immediately  followed  by  an  almost  total  defection 
of  the  Irish  from  the  Earl  Strongbow.  The  earl  was  compelled  to 
shut  himself  up :  cut  off  from  supplies,  and  dejected  in  spirits,  he 
was  thus  precipitated  from  the  summit  of  victory,  to  the  lowest 
gradation  of  distress.  This  cheering  fact  flew  through  Ireland  ; 
and  the  Irish  chieftains  crowded  from  all  quarters,  went  from  pro- 
vince to  province,  animating  the  people  to  one  bold  and  general 
effort  against  the  common  enemy  of  Irish  liberty. 

Lawrence,  archbishop  of  Dublin,  distingnisbed  himself  on  this 
occasion,  by  the  zeal  and  vigour  of  bis  patriotism.  The  sanctity  of 
his  character  gave  weight  to  his  representations.  His  appeals  to 
the  insulted  spirit  of  Irish  independence  were  heard  with  rapture  ; 
and  an  army,  composed  of  men  determined  to  assert  the  rights  of 
Ireland,  rose  up  at  his  call.  Dublin  was  surrounded  on  all  sides, 
the  harbour  blocked  up,  and  Strongbow,  with  an  army,  w  Inch  had  a 
few  weeks  back  been  desolating  the  fields  of  Ireland,  was  threatened 
with  annihilation  by  a  powerfid  and  indignant  monarch.  Roderick 
encamped  his  troops  at  Castleknock,*  westward  of  Dublin. 
O'Rourke,  of  Leitrim,  placed  liimself  north  of  tbe  harbour,  near 
Clontarf.  The  lord  of  O'Kinselagh  occupied  the  opposite  side,  while 
the  prince  of  Thomond  advanced  to  Kilmainbam,  within  less  than  a 
mile  from  the  walls  of  the  metropolis.  Even  Lawrence,  the  arch- 
bishop, appeared  in  arms,  animating  his  countrymen  to  the  defence 
of  their  liberties  against  tbe  cruel  and  desolating  invasion  of  foreign 
adventurers.  The  English  army  might  now  have  paid  the  forfeit  of 
the  injustice  and  the  cruelty  which  they  practised  on  the  Irish,  had 
the  latter  been  animated  by  one  spirit,  or  directed  by  one  absolute 
commander.  Strongbow  took  advantage  of  jealousies  and  rival- 
ships  which  existed  in  the  Irish  army,  and,  driven  by  the  desperation 
of  his  circumstances,  boldly  rushed  upon   tbe  besieging  army,  and 

*  Castleknock,  in  the  county  of  Dublin,  is  about  three  Irish  miles  W.  from 
the  city.  In  the  reign  of  Henry  II.,  the  Tyrells  erected  a  fortified  castle  here, 
which  is  now  in  ruins.  There  are  likewise  here  the  remains  of  an  abbey  founded 
by  Richard  Tyrell,  in  the  twelfth  century. 


545 

succeeded  in  dispersinnf  a  force  wliicli  threatened  the  besieged  with 
anniliilation.  So  confident  was  the  Irish  monarch  of  cxpellmfr  from 
his  country  that  proud  and  insolent  force  which  dared  to  invade  its 
shores,  that  lie  rejected  witli  disdain  the  overtures  of  StronL'how, 
wlio  proposed  to  acknowhidge  Roderick  as  his  soverei<rn,  provided 
the  huter  would  raise  the  siej::e.  Notiiing  short  of  Slrf)nnhow's 
departure  from  Ireland,  willi  all  his  forces,  would  appease  the 
insulted  majesty  of  Ireland.  So  huniiliatin<j-  a  condition  served  liut 
to  rouse  from  despair  the  brave  and  intrepid  spirit  of  Stroiijrbow. 
He  made  one  effort  more,  which  succeeded  in  rescuinjr  hinisedf  and 
liis  faithful  followers  from  the  most  distressing;  difhculties.  Strong- 
bow  immediately  proceeded  to  Wexford  and  Waterford,  and  devoted 
some  time,  at  Ferns,  to  the  exercise  of  his  sovereign  authority  as 
undisputed  kin<r  of  Leinster.  Here  he  distributed  rewards  among 
his  friends,  and  inflicted  ])unishments  on  the  disaffected.  Strong- 
bow  was  at  length  summoned  to  appear  before  the  British  monarch, 
who,  having  conquered  all  the  difficulties  with  which  he  liad  to 
combat,  both  from  foreign  and  domestic  enemies,  was  alarmed  at 
the  trium|jlis  of  his  English  subjects  in  Ireland.  The  earl  obeyed. 
He  appeared  before  his  sovereign,  and  justified  liis  conduct  ;  lie 
surrendered  Dublin,  with  all  the  maritime  forts  and  towns,  to  Henry. 
Strongbow  was  suffered  by  the  monarch  to  retain  all  his  Irish 
possessions,  to  be  held  by  the  British  sovereign  and  his  heirs. 
O'Rourke,  of  BrefVeny,  made  a  vigorous  attack  on  Dublin,  which 
was  bravely  defended  by  Milo  de  Cogan,  one  of  the  boldest  and 
the  most  intrepid  of  the  English  adventurers.  O'Rourke  lost  his 
son  in  the  attack  ;  a  source  of  bitter  affliction  to  the  Irisli  army. 
Those  extraordinary  successes,  by  an  army  who  were  reditced  to 
the  greatest  extremity,  im|)ressed  the  jicople  of  Ireland  with  dreadful 
anticipations  of  that  f  )rce,  which  the  English  monarch  had  deter- 
mined to  march  into  their  country.  The  artifices  adopted  by  Henry 
were  not  less  calcidated  to  conciliate,  than  the  fame  of  his  arms  and 
his  talents  were  to  intimidate.  He  affected  to  be  incensed  at  the 
depredations  committed  by  his  English  sul)jects  on  the  unoflending 
people  of  Ireland,  and  promised  this  credulous  nation,  that  he  would 
inflict  on  their  oppressors  the  most  exemplary  punishment.  Such 
professions  induced  numbers  to  proffer  their  submission  to  ITeury, 
and  to  co-operate  with  this  artful  monarch  in  the  conquest  of  their 
native  land.  Not  less  auxiliary  to  the  designs  and  S|)eculations  of 
Henry  were  the  malignant  jealousies  of  the  Irish  chieftains  towards 
each  other.  Each  seemed  to  think  only  for  his  own  ambition,  for 
his  own  aggrandizement  ;  all  sacrificed  their  common  couutr}'  to 
the  miserable  passions  of  envy,  of  jealousy,  or  of  rivalship.  Henry, 
with,  his  accustomed  talent,  seized  the  opportunity  which  Irish  folly 
afforded  him,  and  determined  to  invade  Ireland  with  such  a  force  as 
would  ensure  an  easy  conquest  of  this  beautiful  and  fertile  country. 
He  collected  a  fleet  of  240  ships,  which  conveyed  an  army  consist- 
ing of  400  kniirhts  and  4,000  soldiers,  headed  by  Strongbow." 

Henry,  having  reduced  his  rebellious  French  subjects  to  obedience, 
and    feelimi   jealous  and    alarmed  at  the   success    of  Strongbow  in 
Ireland,  resolved  to  visit  that  country  himself,  as  a  conqueror, — and 
69 


546 

■with  the  view  of  advancing  his  dominion  over  a  people  who  were 
religiously  devoted  to  the  Pope,  he  despatched  his  chaplain,  the 
Rev.  John  Salishury,  to  Adrian,  the  Fourth,  an  English  Pontiff, 
supposed,  hy  all  liistorians,  to  be  his  illegitimate  brother,  to  claim 
from  his  Holiness  a  Bull  to  grant  to  him  the  sovereignty  of  Ireland. 
Adrian,  flattered  at  the  complimentary  letter  and  presents  of  so 
powerful  a  monarch  as  Henry  H.,  his  reputed  paternal  brother, 
speedily  gave  his  chaplain  and  ambassador  the  required  base  and 
false  Bull,  of  which  Dr.  Leland  gives  the  following  translation  : 

«'  Adrian,  bishop,  servant  of  the  servants  of  God,  to  his  dearest 
son  in  Christ,  the  illustrious  king  of  England,  greeting,  and  apostolic 
benediction. 

Full  laudably  and  profitably  hath  your  magnificence  conceived 
the  design  of  propagating  your  glorious  renown  on  earth,  and  com- 
pleting your  reward  of  eternal  hapjjiness  in  heaven  ;  while,  as  a 
Catholic  prince,  you  are  intent  on  enlarging  the  borders  of  the 
church,  teaching  the  truth  of  the  Christian  faith  to  the  ignorant  and 
rude,  exterminating  the  roots  of  vice  from  the  field  of  the  Lord,  and 
for  the  more  convenient  execution  of  this  purpose,  requiring  the 
counsel  and  favour  of  the  apostolic  See.  In  which,  the  maturer 
your  deliberation,  and  the  greater  the  discretion  of  your  procedure, 
by  so  much  the  happier,  we  trust,  will  be  your  progress,  with  the 
assistance  of  the  Lord  ;  as  all  things  are  used  to  come  to  a  pros- 
perous end  and  issue,  which  take  their  beginning  from  the  ardour 
of  faith  and  the  love  of  religion. 

There  is  indeed  no  doubt  but  that  Ireland,  and  all  the  islands  on 
which  Christ,  the  sun  of  righteousness,  hath  shone,  and  which  have 
received  the  doctrines  of  the  Christian  faith,  do  belong  to  the  juris- 
diction of  St.  Peter  and  of  the  holy  Roman  church,  as  your  Excel- 
lency also  doth  acknowledge.  And  therefore  we  are  the  more 
solicitous  to  propagate  the  righteous  plantation  of  faith  in  this  land, 
and  the  branch  acceptable  to  God,  as  we  have  the  secret  conviction 
of  conscience  that  tliis  is  more  especially  our  bounden  duty. 

You,  then,  most  dear  son  in  Christ,  have  signified  to  us  your 
desire  to  enter  into  the  island  of  Ireland,  in  order  to  reduce  the 
people  to  obedience  unto  laws,  and  to  extirpate  the  plants  of  vice  ; 
and  that  you  are  willing  to  pay  from  each  house  a  yearly  pension  of 
one  penny  to  St.  Peter,  and  that  you  will  preserve  the  rights  of  the 
churches  of  this  land  whole  and  inviolate.  We  therefore,  with  that 
grace  and  acceptance  suited  to  your  pious  and  laudable  design,  and 
favouraidy  assenting  to  your  petition,  do  hold  it  good  and  acceptable, 
that,  for  extending  the  borders  of  the  church,  restraining  the  pro- 
gress of  vice,  for  the  correction  of  manners,  the  planting  of  virtue, 
and  the  increase  of  religion,  you  enter  this  island,  and  execute 
therein  whatever  shall  pertain  to  the  honour  of  God  and  welfare  of 
the  land  ;  and  that  the  people  of  this  land  receive  you  honourably, 
and  reverence  you  as  their  lord:  the  rights  of  their  churches  still 
remaining  sacred  and  inviolate  ;  and  saving  to  St.  Peter  the  annual 
pension  of  one  penny  from  every  house. 

If  then  you  be  resolved  to  carry  the  design  you  have  conceived 
into  effectual  execution,  study  to  form  this  nation  to  virtuous  man- 


547 

ners  ;  and  labour  by  yourself,  and  others  whom  you  shall  judge 
meet  for  this  work,  in  faith,  word,  and  life,  that  the  church  may  be 
tliere  adorned,  that  the  rehgion  of  the  Christian  faith  may  be  planted 
and  irrow  up,  and  that  all  things  pertaining  to  the  honour  of  Gud, 
and  tlie  salvation  of  souls,  be  so  ordered,  tliat  you  may  be  entitled 
to  the  fulness  of  eternal  reward  from  (jod,  and  obtain  a  glorious 
renown  on  earth  throughout  all  ages." 

"  The  Bull  thus  framed,"  says  Leiand,  "was  presented  to  King 
Henry,  together  with  a  ring,  the  token  of  his  investiture,  as  rightful 
sovereign  of  Ireland." 

Before  we  shall  narrate,  in  our  own  lansfunge,  the  arrival  of 
Henry  H.,  at  Waterford,'we  will  quote  from  McDerniott  an  account 
of  the  events  occurring  j)rior  to  his  invasion,  and  then  we  will  give 
to  our  readers  a  biographical  memoir  of  that  famous  jjatriot  and 
prelate.  Archbishop  O'Toole. 

"  Wiien  DerinoJ  had  invested  the  city  of  Dublin,  the  inhabitants 
of  which  were  thrown  into  the  utmost  consternation,  he  sent  his 
secretary,  Maurice  Regan,  to  suminon  them  to  surrender  ;  and  to 
demand  thirty  hostages  for  tlie  performance  of  the  articles  he  should 
insist  on.  The  Danish  governor,  unwilling  to  abide  the  issue  of  a 
siege,  readily  complied  with  the  king  of  Leinster's  demand;  but  the 
citizens  not  agreeing  about  the  hostages,  INliles  Cogan,  one  of  the 
English  generals,  who  was  posted  on  the  other  side  of  the  town, 
and  who  was  ignorant  of  the  capitulation,  had  made  such  a  breach 
in  the  walls,  that  his  men  entered  the  town,  and  took  possession 
thereof,  before  the  king  of  Leinster  and  the  governor  were  apprised 
of  their  success.  They  found  a  great  quantity  of  provisions  in  the 
city,  as  well  as  valuable  plunder.  Dermod  now  led  his  troops 
against  O'Rourke,  the  king  of  Brefteny,  whose  wife  he  iiad  carried 
off,  and  destroyed  with  fire  and  sword,  the  territory  of  the  man 
whom  he  had  so  deeply  injured. 

The  monarch  of  Ireland,  and  all  the  other  chiefs,  were  by  this 
time  alarmed  at  the  success  of  the  king  of  Leinster  and  his  English 
subsidies  ;  and  indeed  it  is  a  matter  of  wonder,  that  Roderick  should 
have  given  him  leisure  and  opportunity  to  strengthen  himself  in  this 
manner,  and  that,  at  the  late  peace  he  had  concluded  with  him,  his 
English  subsidies  should  have  been  permitted  to  have  remained  in 
the  island.  Even  now,  before  the  inonarch  would  take  the  field 
against  him,  he  sent  an  officer  to  Dermod,  to  expostulate  with  him 
on  his  perfidy,  assuring  him  that  he  would  scud  him  his  son's  head, 
lay  him  under  a  public  interdict,  and  again  oblige  him  to  leave  the 
kingdom.  Dermod,  whose  aflairs  were  in  such  a  prosperous  condi- 
tion, that  his  ambition  was  in  a  fair  way  to  be  gratified,  returned 
an  answer  to  Roderick  by  retorting  his  threat  upon  him,  that  instead 
of  dismissing  the  English,  he  would  send  into  their  country  for  a 
reinforcement:  that  he  would  not  lay  down  his  arms,  till  he  had 
reduced  the  whole  island  under  his  own  authority:  and  that  if  the 
monarch  struck  oflf  his  son's  head,  or  made  any  of  his  hostages  suffer, 
he  would  revenge  it  by  hostilities,  which  should  terminate  in  the 
destruction  of  Roderick  and  all  his  race. 

Though  the  monarch  of  Ireland  was  both  astonished  and  incensed 


548 

at  this  reply,  yet  upon  mature  deliberation,  he  desisted  from  his 
purpose  of  executing  the  hostage,  apprehensive,  no  doubt,  of  his 
incnpability  of  subduing  his  enemies.  Indeed  the  fatne  of  the  Eng- 
lish generals,  and  the  execution  done  by  the  archers,  as  the  cross- 
bow was  an  instrument  of  war  unknown  to  the  Irish,  had  struck 
such  a  terror  over  the  island,  that  the  monarch  found  his  authority 
had  very  much  declined.  There  seems  to  have  been  considerable 
inattention,  and  want  of  precaution  in  the  government  of  Ireland  at 
this  time  ;  it  is  true,  a  synod  was  held  at  Armagh,  to  inquire  into 
the  cause  of  the  arrival  of  strangers  from  Enghuid  to  invade  their 
country  ;  and  the  result  of  their  deliberations  ended  in  tliis  opinion, 
that  tlie  sins  of  the  people  had  subjected  them  to  the  vengeance  of 
heaven,  especially  the  practice  of  bringing  English  children  and 
making  them  slaves.*  The  author  of  this  revolution,  in  the  midst 
of  his  great  success,  the  very  time  that  the  throne  of  Ireland  was 
almost  within  his  reach,  and  that  he  thought  himself  sure  of  his 
most  sanguine  desires,  was  suddenly  arrested  by  the  hand  of  death, 
which  put  an  immediate  stop  to  his  ambitious  career.t 

Immediately  on  the  death  of  the  king  of  Leinster,  the  earl  of 
Pembroke  assumed  the  government  of  the  province,  in  right  of  his 
wife  ;  or,  to  speak  more  truly,  by  virtue  of  the  formidable  army  of 
which  he  was  now  commander-in-chief.  Taking  advantage  of  the 
terror  which  his  arms  bad  spread  all  over  the  island,  he  marched 
to  Dublin,  to  get  his  right  recognized  in  that  capital  of  his  province, 
and  of  the  kmgdom.  But  Roderick,  perceiving  that  none  of  tlie 
Irish  chiefs  adhered  to  the  earl  of  Pembroke,  after  the  death  of 
Dermod,  except  one  of  his  natural  sons,  and  two  petty  juMuces, 
was  encouraged  to  make  another  attempt  against  the  English. 
Some  writers  attribute  his  patriotic  zeal  to  Archbishop  Lawrence 
O'Toole,  who  took  infinite  pains,  they  say,  to  cement  a  union 
between  the  chieftains  of  Ireland,  and  to  animate  them  to  this 
attempt  in  favour  of  their  country.  Roderick  accordinojy  levied  a 
great  armyt  for  the  purpose  of  besieging  Dublin.  When  the  earl 
of  Pembroke  was  apprised  of  the  monarch's  armament,  he  was 
determined  to  make  every  necessary  preparation  for  his  defence ; 
he  sent  for  a  reinforcement  from  the  garrison  towns,  and  made 
large  promises  to  such  of  the  Irish  as  would  enlist  under  Ids  banner. 

*  Cambiinsis,  bishop  of  St.  David's,  who  gives  this  account,  adds  "  thai  the 
English,  by  a  common  vice  of  their  country,  had  a  custom  to  sell  their  children 
and  kinsfolks  into  Ireland,  although  they  were  neither  in  want  nor  extreme 
poverty." 

t  Dermod  was  certainly  a  prince  of  heroic  bravery,  but  that  bravery  was 
tarnished  by  cruelty,  for  his  willing  sanction  of  the  massacre,  by  Raymond  le' 
Gross,  of  his  prisoners,  must  ever  stamp  infamy  on  his  memory.  Dr.  Leland,  in 
liis  history  of  Ireland,  vi'ritcs  thus  of  the  death  of  Dermod  Macnnirrough  : — "Tlie 
Irish  annalists,  by  their  account  of  this  event,  plainly  shew  their  detestation  of 
the  man  who,  as  they  express  it,  first  shook  the  foundation  of  his  country.  They 
represent  his  death  as  the  miraculous  efi'cct  of  divine  wrath,  poured  upon  his 
guilty  head,  at  the  intercession  of  every  Irish  saint.  His  disease,  they  say,  was 
strange  and  tremendous,  and  rendered  him  an  odious  and  offensive  spectacle  of 
misery  ;  that  he  vi'as  deserted  in  his  extremity  by  every  former  Iriend,  and  expired 
without  any  spiritu;il  comforts,  in  a  state  of  horrid  impenitence." 

t  In  Regan's  account  the  number  is  stated  to  be  GU.OOO,  (which  Dr.  Warner 
observes  must  be  a  mistake  for  6,000.)  and  by  some  English  historians  30,000. 


549 

Fitzstephen,  governor  of  Wexford,  having  detached  a  partv  to  the 
earl's  assistance,  the  inhabitants  thouglit  this  a  favourable  {m|)(>rui- 
iiity  of  revcniring  themselves  on  this  usurper  ;  and  after  a  siicUlen 
and  violent  altaciv,  several  of  his  men  were  killed,  and  the  "^oveinor 
and  five  of  his  othi;ers  were  taken  prisoners. 

The  city  of  Dublin  having  been  environed  with  the  Irish  by  land 
and  sea,  and  the  besieged  not  being  ])rovided  with  ammunition, 
men  or  provision,  in  a  sufticient  quantity,  for  any  long  defence  ; 
the  earl  cahed  a  council  of  war  of  his  principal  olhcers  ;  and,  re|)re- 
senting  to  them  the  great  force  of  the  Irisli,  and  their  own  embar- 
rassed circumstances,  ])roposed  to  ofier  terms  of  ca|)ituiation  to  the 
monarch,  by  tlie  arclil)ishop  of  Dublin,  Lawrence,  to  submit  and 
liold  Leinster  as  a  feudatory  prince  under  Roderick,  if  he  would 
raise  the  siege  and  march  oft"  with  his  army.  The  earl's  proposals 
having  been  agreed  to,  the  archbishop  was  forthwith  employed  to 
treat  with  the  monarch  on  these  terms.  Roderick's  answer,  how- 
ever, was,  that  unless  the  earl  of  Pembroke  would  surrender  to  him 
the  cities  of  Dublin,  Waterford,*  and  Wexford,  with  all  his  forts  and 
castles,  and  on  a  day  agreed  upon,  abandon  the  island  with  all  the 
English,  he  would  instantly  make  the  assault,  and  take  the  place  by 
storm.     It  is  evident  that  Roderick   was  not  destitute  of  spirit  and 

*  Waterford.  The  city  of  Waterford,  which  is  prosperous,  patriotic  and 
pretty,  is  situated  on  the  south  side  of  the  river  Suir,  at  the  distance  of  8  miles 
fron\  the  sea,  and  OG  from  Duhlin.  We  have  before  given  a  historic  sketch  of  the 
founder  of  its  episcopal  see.  The  junction  of  the  rivers  Noie,  Suir  and  liarrow, 
forms  the  fine  and  spacious  harbour  of  Waterford.  TJiis  ancient  and  celebrated 
city,  which  was  first  built  in  the  A'ear  87!),  was  the  landinir  place  of  Menrv  II.,  in 
A.  D.  117!>,— of  Richard  II.,  A.  D.  I3!)9,— and  from  it,  James  II.,  after  "the  dis- 
astrous battle  of  the  Bovne,  sailed  for  France.  There  are  fine  and  sjiacious  archi- 
tectural ornaments  in  VV'aterford,  particularly  the  court-house,  exchange,  cusiom- 
house.  Catholic  and  Protestant  churches,  and  the  theatre.  Tiiere  are  several 
steam  packets  now  (1>^3G)  plyinjr  between  Waterford  and  Liverpool.  In  Water- 
ford are  many  noble  and  affecting  ruins  of  abbeys  and  castles.  Rtc^inald's 
TOW  F.R,  built,  according  to  the  accounts  of  our  annalists,  by  a  Danish  chief,  whose 
name  it  bears,  in  the  tenth  century.  An  Irish  antiquarian  writes  thus  of  Regi- 
nald's tower: — •'  After  the  successful  storming  of  the  town  by  the  English  forces 
of  Earl  Strongbow,  led  on  by  the  redoubtable  Raymond  le'  Gross,  in  1 17],  when 
the  city  was  plundered,  and  all  the  inhabitants  found  in  arms  were  put  to  the  sword, 
another  Rco-inaid,  then  prince  of  the  Danes  of  Waterford,  and  Malacliy  OPhealan, 
prince  of  the  Deasies,  with  several  other  chiefs  who  had  confederated  to  resist 
tiie  invaders,  and  were  made  prisoners  in  the  combat,  were  imprisoned  in  this 
tower,  until  their  ultimate  fate  should  be  determined  upon.  They  were  condemned 
to  death, — but  saved  by  the  intercession  of  King  Dermod  Macmurrough,  who, 
with  Fitzsteplien,  and  many  other  English  and  Welsh  gentlemen,  came  to  \Vater- 
ford  to  be  present  at  tlie  marriage  of  Earl  Strongbow  with  the  Princess  Eva,  the 
king  of  Leinster's  daughter."  There  is  no  quay  in  Ireland  so  magnificent  and 
spacious  as  that  of  Waterford.  It  is  an  English  mile  in  lengtli,  margined  by  a 
marble  promenade,  where  all  the  beauty  and  fashion  of  the  city  can  be  seen  in 
animated  movement.  To  this  quay  vessels  of  800  tons  may  safely  come  up,  as 
the  harbour,  even  at  low  water,  is  always  40  feet  deep.  In  the  year  J7'.i;{,  a  noble 
wooden  bridge  was  thrown  across  the  Suir  here,  by  a  Mr.  Sami  ki.  Cox,  of 
Boston.  On  one  of  the  centre  piers  is  the  following  inscription: — "In  I7i»;},  a 
year  rendered  sarred  to  national  prosperity  by  the  extinction  of  religious  divisions, 
"the  foundation  of  this  bridge  was  laid,  at  the  e.\pense  of  associated  individuals, 
united  by  parliamentary  grants,  by  Sir  John  Nkvvport,  Baronet,  chairman  of 
their  committee.  Mr.  Samuel  Co.x,  a  native  of  the  city  of  Boston,  in  America, 
architect."  Waterford  is  famous  for  the  excellence  of  its  glass  manufacture. 
Boston,  June  30,  1836. 


550 

resolution  ;  and  mindful  of  Dermod's  violation  of  the  treaty  which 
he  Imd  formerly  made,  he  probably  deemed  his  present  enemy 
equally  dishonourable.  At  all  events  he  found  that  the  Enjilish 
were  dismayed  at  the  superior  number  of  his  troops,  and  he  flat- 
tered himself  that  he  should  derive  considerable  advantages  from 
their  fears. 

When  the  archbishop  reported  the  monarch's  conditions  to  the 
Enjflish  council  of  war,  they  who  had  so  lately  been  conquerors, 
and  elated  with  their  triumphs,  became  all  of  a  sudden  humble  and 
dejected  :  they  were  loth  to  submit  to  terms  so  ignominious,  and  yet 
they  entertained  no  hopes  of  success.  Miles  Cogan,  perceiving 
their  despondency,  roused  them  with  this  spirited  address  :  '  Though 
we  are  i'aw  in  number,  we  are  valiant  :  our  best  remedy  is  to  make 
a  sally,  which  is  least  suspected  by  the  enemy  ;  and,  I  hope-  in  the 
goodness  of  God,  that  we  shall  have  the  victory,  or  at  least  die  with 
honour.  My  request  therefore  is,  that  I  may  be  ap|)ointed  the  first 
to  commence  the  attack.'  Encouraged  by  the  intrepidity  of  this 
man,  the  generals  were  directed  to  draw  up  their  men  with  all 
possible  expedition.  The  command  of  the  van-guard  was  assigned 
to  Cogan,  as  he  desired,  the  centre  to  Raymond  le  Gross,  and  the 
rear  to  the  earl  of  Pembroke,  each  body  consisting  only  of  two 
hundred  men  :  for  the  Irish,  of  whose  fidelity  they  had  no  opinion, 
were  left  behind  in  the  garrison.  They  accordingly  directed  their 
march,  and,  as  Regan  states,  they  broke  furiously  into  the  enemy's 
camp,  and  made  such  a  slaughter  that  all  fled  before  them,  one 
hundred  and  fifty*  of  the  Irish  having  been  killed,  and  only  one 
man  on  the  side  of  the  English.  It  appears  that  Roderick's  nume- 
i"ous  forces  were  exceedingly  careless,  and  as, 

'  It  is  the  curse  of  fools  to  be  secure,' 

they  were  obliged  to  abandon  their  camp  with  all  their  baggage  and 
provision. 

The  city  of  Dublin  being  still  in  the  possession  of  the  English, 
the  earl  of  Pembroke  left  it  under  the  care  of  Cogan,  and  marched 
towards  Wexfi)rd,  to  release  his  friend,  Fitzsteplien,  and  the  officers 
who  had  been  taken  prisoners  with  him.  But  the  inhabitants, 
having  been  apprised  of  his  approach,  set  the  town  on  fire,  after 
they  had  taken  away  the  prisoners  and  their  best  eflects ;  and 
removed  to  an  island  in  its  neighbourhood,  where  they  knew  them- 
selves to  be  secure.  Tlius  the  earl's  intention  was  entirely  frus- 
trated ;  and,  during  his  march,  he  was  attacked  by  O'Ryan,  the 
chief  of  a  territory  through  which  he  passed  ;  and  should  probably 
have  been  defeated,  had  not  O'Ryan  been  killed  by  a  monk  in  the 
earl's  army  ;  at  whose  fall  the  Irish  were  so  disconcerted  that  they 
retreated  from  the  field.  Here  the  earl's  only  son,  as  we  are  in- 
formed by  some  ancient  English  writers,  a  youth  of  seventeen  years 
of  age,  was  so  terrified  at  the  numerous  army  of  the  Irish,  that  he 

*  This  inconsiderable  loss  out  of  60,000  men,  .is  stated  by  Regan,  evidently 
proves  his  calculation  to  be  erroneous  :  and  supposing  the  number  to  be  30,000, 
as  stated  by  Hume,  &c.  &c.,  it  is  an  incredible  victory  for  only  six  hundred  men 
to  obtain,  notwithstanding  the  advantage  they  had  in  discipline  and  arms. 


551 

fled  towards  r>ublin  ;  but  on  hearing  of  his  father's  victory,  he 
returned  to  congratuh^te  him  ;  when  the  earl  caused  him  to  be 
immediately  executed  for  his  cowardice,  by  being  cut  in  two  with  a 
sword.  Such  a  savage  act  cannot  be  recorded  of  the  Irish  even  in 
tiieir  most  barbarous  days;  and  far  exceeds  the  unnatural  practice 
belore  mentioned  of  selhng  their  English  chihlren  to  the  Irish  ! 

When  the  extraordinary  success  of  the  English  generals  was 
reported  to  Henry,  the  king  of  Euirlaud  became  exceedingly  alarmed 
and  jealous.  He  imagined  that  they  would  be  able  only  to  recover 
the  king  of  Leinster's  regalities  ;  and,  if  they  attempted  any  thing 
further  upon  that  success,  that  they  would  be  obliged  to  ap[)!y  to 
him  for  assistance,  which  would  furnish  him  with  a  pretence  of 
going  over  to  Ireland  himself,  and  eflecting  a  conquest,  which  he 
had  long  meditated.  When  told  that  Dermod  was  dead — that  the 
earl  of  Pembroke  had  seized  upon  the  province  of  Leinster,  and 
that  he  and  his  generals  daily  achled  to  their  number  of  victories,  he 
began  to  suspect  that  they  would  make  themselves  masters  of  a 
country  which  he  intended  for  himself,  and  he  instantly  prepared 
to  attack  Ireland  in  person.  First  of  all  he  published  a  proclama- 
tion, that  no  ship  or  vessel  sliould  go  to  any  part  uf  Ireland  with 
ammunition  or  provision,  or  to  carry  on  any  commerce  of  any  kind; 
and  at  the  same  time  requiring  all  his  subjects  in  that  kingdom,  of 
whatever  rank  or  degree,  to  return  home  immediately,  upon  the 
penalty  of  forfeiting  all  tlieir  estates  and  eftects  in  England,  and  of 
being  declared  rebels  and  traitors.  This  proclamation,  which  was 
isswed  under  the  pretence,  that  the  adventurers  had  engaged  in  the 
undertaking  without  his  royal  permission,  had  the  desired  elTect  ; 
for  though  the  generals  were  unwilling  to  relinquish  advantaires, 
which  were  far  greater  than  any  they  had  to  expect  in  England  ; 
yet  they  were  afraul  of  exasperating  a  king,  who,  they  well  knew 
had  the  abdily,  and  would  not  want  the  inclination  of  crushing  them 
etiectually.  They  immediately  sent  Raymond  le'  Gross  over  to 
make  their  submission  to  his  majesty,  and  to  assure  him  that  they 
were  so  far  from  having  any  intention  c»f  withdrawing  their  allegiance 
from  him,  that  all  the  conquests  they  had  made  were  eflected  in  his 
majesty's  name,  and  should  all  be  subject  to  his  aiitbority.  But 
this  subn)issiou  did  not  content  King  Henry  ;  and  Raymond  was 
sent  back  with  letters  to  the  earl  of  Pendirokc,  re<]uirinfi  him  to 
repair  to  England  without  delay,  and  give  an  account  of  his  conduct 
in  person  to  his  majesty.  Though  the  progress  of  his  arms  in  Ire- 
land must  have  been  retarded  by  his  absence,  the  earl  durst  not 
disobey  his  majesty's  summons.  When  he  came  into  the  king's 
presence,  he  pleaded  his  permission  to  espouse  the  cause  of  Dermod  ; 
and  after  giving  him  a  full  account  of  allairs  in  Ireland,  he  onV-red 
to  deliver  u|)  to  Henry  the  possession  of  l)id)lin,  ^Vate^for(l,  >N  cx- 
ford,  and  all  the  seaports,  and  other  places  they  had  conquered  ; 
and  to  hold  all  their  acquisitions  in  vassalage  to  his  crown.  Henry 
approved  of  these  conditions,  and  sent  the  earl  back  into  Ireland, 
with  an  assurance  of  following  him  immediately,  to  complete  the 
conquest  of  the  island." 

Lawrence   O'Toole,  then,  A.  D.   1172,  arclibishop   of  Dublin, 


552 


wag,  of  course,  possessed  of  great  influence  in  Ireland,  as  might 
justly  be  expected  frotn  his  high  episcopal  dignity  and  character. 
A  biograpliical  memoir,  therefore,  of  that  illustrious  prelate,  who 
acted  so  prominent  a  part  in  the  transactions  of  this  period,  will, 
we  think,  add  to  the  interest  of  this  history.  St.  Lawrence  O'Toole 
was  the  son  of  Prince  Maurice  O'Toole,  of  Wicklow,  and  was  born 
at  Imaly,  near  Rathdrum,  in  that  county,  about  the  year  1124.  At 
the  age  of  ten,  after  receiving  the  rudiments  of  his  education  from 
the  prior  of  Glendalogh,  his  father  was  constrained  to  surrender 
him  as  an  hostage  to  the  tyrannic  Dermod,  king  of  Leinster.  The 
despotic  and  depraved  king  treated  the  boy  with  relentless  cruelty. 
As  soon  as  his  father  heard  of  Lawrence's  treatment  he  waited  on 
the  bishop  of  Glendalogh,  and  complained,  in  severe  terms  of  re- 
proach, of  the  king's  bnrbarity  to  his  son.  The  pious  bishop  waited 
on  King  Dermod,  and  by  his  feeling  remonstrance  persuaded  the 
oppressor  to  entrust  Lawrence  to  his  care.  Lender  the  instruction 
of  the  pious  and  learned  prelate  of  Glendalogh,  (the  vale  of  the  two 
lakes)  he  became  perfectly  conversant  with  classic  literature  and 
scholastic  theology.  Having  thus  completed  his  education,  he 
returned  to  liis  paternal  home,  accompanied  by  his  episcopal 
preceptor.  The  father,  during  the  visit,  mentioned  to  the  friendly 
bishop  that,  as  Butler  relates,  he  "  intended  to  cast  lots  to  ascertain 
which  of  his  four  sons  he  should  destine  to  the  service  of  the 
church.  Lawrence,  who  was  present,  was  justly  startled  at  such  a 
mad  and  superstitions  project,  but  glad  to  find  so  favourable  an 
overture  to  his  desires,  cried  out  with  great  earnestness,  ^  there  is  no 
need  of  casting  lots, — -fo)-  it  is  mij  most  hearty  desire  to  have  for  my 
inheritance  no  other  portion  than  God  in  the  service  of  the  church.' 
Hereupon,  the  father,  taking  him  by  the  hand,  offered  him  to  God, 
by  delivering  him  to  the  good  bishop,  in  whose  hands  he  left  him, 
having  first  recommended  him  to  St.  Comegen,  or  Kevin,  the 
founder  of  the  great  monastery  there,  and  patron  of  the  diocess 
which  has  been  since  united  to  the  see  of  Dublin." 

The  Rev.  Aluan  Butler,  in  his  Lives  of  the  Saints,  speaks  thus 
of  Archbishop  O'Toole  : — "  Gregory,  the  archbishop  of  Dublin,* 
happening  to  die  about  the  time  that  this  saint  was  thirty  years  of 
age,  he  was  unanimously  chosen  to  fill  that   metropolitical    see,  and 

*  Donat  was  probably  the  first  bishop  of  this  see  after  the  conversion  of  the 
infidels:  he  died  in  1074.  His  successor,  Gilla  Patrick,  was  drowned  at  sea  in 
1084,  and  was  succeeded  by  Dongus  O'llaingly,  who  died  in  1095,  of  a  pestilence 
called  "  Teasach."  His  successor,  Samuel  O'Haingly,  died  in  1121;  and  St. 
Celsus,  bishop  of  Armagh,  was  appointed  guardian  of  the  spiritualities  of  tlie  see 
of  Dublin,  before  the  election  of  Gregory,  who  died  the  8th  of  October,  11  Gl,  and 
was  succeeded  by  St.  Lawrence  O'Toole.  It  was  in  the  year  1152,  nine  years 
before  Gregory's  death,  that  Cardinal  John  Paparo,  legate  of  Pope  Eugenius  IH., 
conferred  on  this  see  the  archiepiscopal  dignity,  having  brought  from  Rome  four 
palls  for  four  metropolitans  in  Ireland,  and  assigned  respective  suffragans  to 


each. 


The  four  metropolitan  sees  arc.  Armagh  in  the  province  of  Ulster,  Dublin  in 
Leinster,  Cashel  in  Munster,  and  Tuam  in  Connaught.  Between  the  two  first  a 
controversy  had  continued  for  a  considerable  time  c<mccrning  precedence  ;  but, 
accoiding  to  Harris,  it  was  at  length  finally  determinod  both  by  papal  and  regal 
authority,  that  the  archbishop  of  Armagh  sliould  be  entitled  "  Primate  of  all  Ire- 
land," and  the  archbishop  of  Dublin  "  Primate  of  Ireland;"  like  Canterbury  and 
York  in  England. 


553 

was  consecrated  in  1162,  by  Gelasius,  archbishop  of  Armagh,  and 
successor  of  St.  INIalachy.  In  this  exalted  station  he  watched' over 
liis  see  and  his  flock  with  fear,  and  with  unwearied  ai)pHcation  to 
every  part  of  his  ofiice,  having  always  before  his  eyes  the  account 
which  lie  was  to  give  to  the  sovereign  pastor  of  souls.  His  first 
care  was  to  reform  the  manners  of  his  clergy,  and  to  furnish  his 
church  with  worthy  ministers.  His  exhortations  to  others  were 
most  powerftd,  because  enforced  with  sweetness  and  vigour,  ani- 
mated with  an  apostolic  spirit,  and  strongly  imjiressed  by  the 
admirable  example  of  his  own  life,  which  every  one  who  had  any 
sj)arks  of  piety  in  his  breast,  was  ashamed  to  see  hinieclf  fall  so 
infinitely  short  of.  About  the  year  1 103,  he  engaged  the  secular 
canons  of  his  cathedral  of  the  Holy  Trinity,*  to  receive  the  rule  of 
the  regular  canons  of  Arouasia,  an  abbey  which  was  founded  in  the 
diocess  of  Arras,  about  fourscore  years  before,  with  such  reputation 
for  sanctity  and  discipline,  that  it  became  the  head  or  mother  house 
of  a  numerous  congregation.  This  saint  took  himself  tlie  religious 
habit,  which  he  always  wore  under  his  pontifical  attire.  He  usually 
eat  with  the  religious  in  the  refectory,  observed  their  hours  of 
silence,  and  always  assisted  with  them  at  the  midnight  ollice  ;  after 
which  he  continued  a  long. time  in  the  church  in  private  prayer 
before  a  crucifix,  and  towards  break  of  day  went  to  the  burial-place 
to  pour  forth  certain  prayers  for  the  souls  of  the  fiiithful  departed. 
He  never  eat  flesh,  and  fasted  all  Fridays  on  bread  and  water,  and 
oftentimes  without  taking  any  sustenance  at  all.  He  wore  a  rough 
hair  shirt,  and  used  frequent  disciplines.  Every  day  he  entertained 
at  table  thirty  poor  persons,  and  often  many  more,  besides  great 
numbers  which  he  maintained  in  private  houses.  All  found  him  a 
father  both  in  their  temporal  and  spiritual  necessities  ;  and  he  was 
most  indellitigable  in  the  sacred  functions  of  his  charge,  especially 
in  announcing  assiduously  to  his  flock  the  word  of  life.  To  watch 
over,  and  examine  more  narrowly  into  his  own  heart  and  conduct, 
and  to  repair  his  interior  spirit,  he  used  often  to  retire  for  some 
days  into  some  close  solitude.  AV'hen  he  was  made  bishop.  King 
Dermod  Mac  Murchad  perferred  to  the  abbey  of  Glcndalogh  one  so 
notoriously  unworthy  of  that  dignity  that  he  was  in  a  short  time 
expelled,  and  Thomas,  a  nephew  of  the  saint,  by  whom  he  had  been 
brought  up,  was  canonically  elected.  By  the  care  of  this  young, 
pious  and  learned  abbot,  discipline  and  piety  again  flourished  in 
that  house.  And  from  tliat  time  St.  Lawrence  frequently  made 
choice  of  Glendalogh,  for  his  retreats  :  but  he  usually  hid  himself 
in  a  solitary  cave,  at  some  distance  from  the  monastery,  between  a 
rock  and  a  deep  lake,  in  which  St.  Coeragen  had  lived.     AVhen  this 

*  This  church  was  built  for  secular  canons,  in  the  centre  oftiie  city,  by  Sitricus, 
kin^  of  the  Ostnicn  in  Dublin,  and  Bisliop  Donat,  in  103.^.  Tlie  chan<rc  made 
by  St.  Lawrence  continued  until  Henry  VIll.,  in  1541,  converted  it  into  a  Dean 
and  Chapter  ;  from  which  time  it  hatli  taken  the  name  of  Christ  Church,  being 
before  called  the  Ciiurch  of  the  Holy  Trinity.  The  principal  cathedral  of  Dublin 
is  dedicated  under  the  invocation  of  St.  Patrick,  and  was  built  in  the  south 
suburbs  of  the  city,  by  Archbishop  Comyn,  in  lliK),  on  the  same  spot  where  an 
old  parochial  church  had  long  stood,  which  was  said  to  have  been  erected  by  St. 
Patrick. 

70 


554 

saint  came  out  of  these  retreats  he  seemed  like  another  Moses 
coming  from  conversing  with  God,  full  of  a  heavenly  fire  and  divine 
light. 

St.  Lawrence  found  the  greatest  part  of  his  flock  so  blinded  with 
the  love  of  the  world,  and  enslaved  to  their  passions,  that  the  zealous 
pains  he  took  seemed  lost  upon  them.  He  threatened  them  with 
the  divine  judgment  in  case  they  did  not  speedily  and  efiectually 
reform  their  manners  by  sincere  repentance  :  but  like  Noah  when  he 
preached  to  a  world  drowned  in  sin,  he  seemed  to  them  to  speak  in 
jest,  until  they  were  overtaken  on  a  sudden  by  those  calamities 
which  he  had  foretold,  which  served  to  purify  the  elect,  and  doubt- 
less brouglit  many  who,  before,  had  been  deaf  to  the  saint's  remon- 
strances, to  a  sense  of  their  spiritual  miseries." 

Before  the  arrival  of  Ring  Henry  H.,  the  archbishop  of  Dublin, 
with  humane,  charitable  and  patriotic  zeal,  endeavoured  to  dissuade 
Roderick,  the  monarch,  from  attacking  the  English  invaders,  and 
promised  to  prevail  on  them  to  return  to  their  own  country. 
The  English  chieftains,  perceiving  what  a  mighty  influence  the 
archbishop  of  Dublin  had  with  his  countrymen,  paid,  through  policy, 
the  most  servile  obedience  to  tliat  prelate.  Strongbow,  Fitzstepheu, 
Miles  Cogan,  Fitzgerald,  Barry  and  .Pepper,  (or  Peppard,  our 
remote  ancestor)  bent  the  knee  of  hypocritical  sycophancy  before 
the  archbishop  of  Dublin,  and  contributed  large  sums  of  money  to 
enlarge  Christ's  Church,  in  Dublin.  But  on  the  arrival  of  Henry 
II.  at  Waterford,  and  on  his  promulgating,  as  the  authority  of  his 
invasion,  the  Bull  of  Adrian  IV.,  the  bishop  of  Dublin  became  justly 
indignant  at  the  falsehoods  put  forth  in  that  document  against  his 
beloved  country. 

"What!"  said  he,  with  anger,  to  Fitzstephen,  "is  it  possible  that 
his  Holiness  should  charge  us,  Irish  Catholics,  with  a  want  of 
religion, — they,  who  have,  from  the  mission  of  St.  Patrick,  down  to 
the  present  day,  been  the  devoted  and  enthusiastic  servants  of  the 
see  of  Rome.  My  Lord  Fitzstephen,  the  love  of  country,  an  abhor- 
rence of  a  calumny  which  is  vilely  libellous  on  our  character, 
emboldens  me  to  say,  that  I  am  ready  to  be  suspended  at  the  will 
of  his  Holiness;  but,  my  lord,  all  the  popes  that  ever  lived,  could 
not  make  me  a  traitor  to  my  loved  country.  And  I  will  shew  that 
neither  King  Henry  nor  Pope  Adrian,  will  be  able  to  shake  my 
resolution, — religion,  it  is  true,  is  dear  to  me — heaven  knows  how 
dear! — but  the  liberty  of  my  own  native  country  is  still  dearer! 
My  lord,  you  are  at  full  liberty  to  communicate  iny  sentiments  to 
the  Sovereign  Pontift",  because,  as  an  ecclesiastic,  he  can  dispose  of 
me  as  he  may  like  ;  but  as  an  Irishman,  whose  heart  treasures  the 
image  of  Ireland,  an  archangel  could  not  estrange  my  aftection  from 
my  own  beloved  Erin."  Fitzstephen,  of  course,  communicated 
the  daring  sayings  of  the  archbishop  to  his  master,  Henry, — and 
there  can  be  no  doubt  but  that  jealous  and  envious  monarch  con- 
veyed them  to  the  Pope.  The  love  of  country  made  this  good  and 
excellent  bishop  brave  and  bold.  Dr.  Leiand,  a  bigoted  Protestant 
historian  of  Ireland,  eulogizes  Archbishop  O'Toole  as  follows  : — 
"  Lawrence,  archbishop  of  Dublin,  whose  erudition  and  sanctity  of 


655 

character  gave  weight  to  his  representations,  flew  from  province  to 
province,  to  every  inferior  district,  and  to  every  cliieftain,  entreating, 
exhorting,  and  commanding  them  to  seize  the  present  opportnnity— 
to  take  arms  against  a  common  enemy,  and  to  exterminate  the 
dangerous  foreigners,  now  worn  out  hy'their  distresses,  and  ready 
to  sink  for  ever  under  the  first  vigorous  assault.  Not  contented 
with  raising  a  s|)irit  of  indignation  and  vah)ur  in  his  countrymen, — 
the  poUtical,  patriotic  and  indefatigable  prelate,  in  conjunction  with 
Roderick,  the  monarch,  despatched  emissaries  to  Gotlircd,  king  of 
the  Isle  of  Man,  as  well  as  to  other  princes  of  the  northern  isles, 
who  made  the  most  affecting  representations  of  the  cruelty  and 
ambition  of  the  Britons,  whom  no  bounds  could  restrain, — entreat- 
ing their  assistance  against  an  enemy  who  would  not  confine  their 
injurious  attempts  to  Ireland,  but  extend  their  usurpations — and  at 
last  fall,  with  their  whole  weight,  on  those  who  now  seemed  most 
remote  from  danger." 

When  Henry  landed  in  Waterford,  and  learned  that  the  arch- 
bishops of  Armagh  and  Cashel,  Gelasius  and  Lawrence,  were,  as 
patriots,  hostile  to  him,  and  justly  incensed  at  the  falselioods  set 
forth  in  Pope  Adrian's  bull,  he  began  to  become  alarmed  for  the 
success  of  his  expedition  to  Ireland.  Our  historians  all  agree  that 
Gelasius,  a  prelate  held  in  great  respect  by  the  Irish,  the  then  pri- 
mate of  Armagh,  refused  to  attend  the  synod  of  the  Irish  clergy  called 
by  Henry,  at  Cashel,  county  of  Tipperary,  over  which  Christian, 
the  then  bishop  of  Lismore,  the  pope's  legate,  presided.  "  The  pre- 
late's of  Ulster  followed,"  writes  Dr.  Leiand,  *' the  example  of  their 
revered  metropolitan.  And  if  the  prelate  of  Tuam,  or  Jiawrence  of 
Dublin,  who  had  so  zealously  contended  against  the  English,  obeyed 
the  summons,  they  might  have  deemed  their  presence  necessary  to 
preserve  the  honour  of  their  church,  to  them  a  point  of  moment, 
from  injurious  representation, — and  by  a  readiness  to  correct  what 
might  really  be  found  amiss  to  deprive  the  invader  of  the  great 
pretence  for  extending  his  hostilities."  In  the  year  1179,  Archbishop 
Lawrence,  in  obedience  to  the  summons  of  Pope  Alexander  III., 
repaired  to  Rome,  where  he  so  ably  and  eloquently  vindicated  the 
religious  character  of  the  Irish  people,  before  the  pontiff  and  court 
of  cardinals,  that  his  Holiness  conferred  on  him  the  exalted  dignity 
of  legate  for  Ireland.  Henry  II.,  who  looked  upon  the  archbishop 
■with  an  eye  of  malignant  jealousy,  felt  grieved  and  mortified  when  he 
heard  of  the  distinguished  honour  with  which  the  pope  dignified  him. 

At  the  earnest  and  especial  request  of  the  pope,  the  archbishop 
of  Dublin  attended  at  the  famous  council  of  Lateran,  held  in  the 
year  1179,  and  had  the  honour  of  preaching  an  eloquent  Latin 
sermon  there,  which,  by  the  brilliancy  of  its  style,  excited  the  admi- 
ration of  the  jjontilf  and  assembled  prelates.  "  As  soon  as  St. 
Lawrence  returned  home  to  his  see,"  writes  the  Rev.  Mr.  Butler, 
in  the  Lives  of  the  Saints,  "  he  began  vigorously  to  execute  his 
legantine  power  by  reforming  the  manners  of  the  clergy,  and  making 
wholesome  regulations.  He  found  the  whole  country  then  (A.  D. 
1179)  afflicted  with  a  terrible  famine,  which  continued  to  prevail 
and  rage  for  three  years.     In  consequence,  this  pious  and   benevo- 


556 

lent  saint  laid  himself  under  an  obligation  of  feeding  every  day 
fifty  strangers,  and  three  hundred  of  poor  persons  of  his  own 
diocess,  besides  many  others  whom  he  furnished  with  clothes, 
victuals,  and  the  other  necessaries  of  life."  The  prelate,  desirous 
of  reconciling  Roderick  and  Henry  to  each  other,  set  out  for  Nor- 
mandy, where  an  insurrection  had  suddenly  called  the  British 
monarch.  Haughty  and  despotic  as  King  Henry  no  doubt  was,  he 
yet  was  induced  to  listen  with  attention  to  the  mediation  and  advice 
of  a  prelate  so  eminent  for  knowledge,  popularity  and  sanctity,  as 
Archbishop  O'Toole,  and  to  enter  into  a  compact  highly  favourable 
and  advantageous  for  Roderick.  On  the  departure  of  the  bishop, 
King  Henry,  as  a  token  of  his  regard,  presented  him  with  a  diamond 
ring  of  great  value. 

Thus  dismissed  by  Henry,  the  archbishop  set  out  on  his  journey, 
but  had  not  proceeded  farther  than  the  abbey  of  Eue,  near  the 
confines  of  Normandy,  when  he  was  seized  with  a  malignant  fever 
which  terminated  his  earthly  career  on  the  14th  of  November,  A. 
D.  1180,  in  the  seventy-third  year  of  his  age.  This  illustrious 
prelate  was  canonized  by  Pope  Honorius,  in  A.  D.  1227,  and  his 
relics  were  enshrined  by  the  archbishop  of  Rouen.  Sir  James 
Ware  says,  "  that  part  of  his  relics  were  translated  to  Christ's 
Church,  in  Dublin." 

"  Henry  proclaimed,"  says  Leland,  "  that  the  professed  design  of 
his  expedition  was  not  to  conquer,  but  to  take  possession  of  a  coun- 
try granted  to  him  by  the  pope,  and  to  exercise  a  sovereignty  which 
he  aflected  to  believe  must  be  acknowledged  and  obeyed  without 
the  least  difiiculty  or  reluctance.* 

Amidst  the  acclamations  of  joy  at  the  arrival  of  this  new  sove- 
reign, Earl  Strongbow  made  a  formal  surrender  of  Waterford,  and 
did  homage  to  Henry  for  the  principality  of  Leinster.  The  men  of 
Wexford  were  at  hand  with  tlieir  prisoner  Fitzstcphen,  v»'hom  they 
presented  to  the  king,  repeating  their  accusations,  and  imploring 
justice  against  their  tyrant  and  oppressor.  Henry  received  them 
with  an  aflected  commiseration  of  their  wrongs,  too  gross  to  impose 
on  any  but  the  rude  and  inexperienced  ;  assured  them  of  his  protec- 
tion, and  sternly  reproaching  Fitzstephen  for  his  presumption, 
remanded  him  to  prison.  The  Irish  were  rejoiced  to  find  that  they 
had  not  only  escaped  the  punishment  due  to  their  boldness  and 
cruelty,  but  that  they  had  involved  their  enemy  in  danger  and  dis- 

*  This  was  the  idea  which  the  Irish  subjects  of  later  times  entertained.  There 
was  a  tradition  in  the  reign  of  Edward,  the  Second,  which  though  not  unexcep- 
tionably  established,  yet  shews  what  were  their  conceptions  at  that  period.  It 
was  said  that  while  Henry's  fleet  was  yet  at  sea,  an  Ostman  lord  of  Waterford, 
who  supposed  that  the  descent  must  be  made  upon  his  lands,  and  was  solicitous 
to  secure  his  property  from  depredation,  drew  some  chains  across  the  harbour,  in 
order  to  divert  the  fleet  to  some  other  quarter  ;  that  as  the  obstacle  was  soon 
overcome,  Henry,  immediately  on  his  landing,  seized  this  lord  and  iiis  accomplices, 
whose  crime  was  that  they  had  presumed  to  treat  him  as  an  invader,  not  as  the 
rightful  sovereign  of  Iiidand ;  that  he  therefore  dealt  with  them  not  as  enemies 
who  had  acted  in  a  fair  course  of  open  war,  but  as  rebellious  subjects  ;  that  they 
were  tiied  in  what  he  called  the  king's  court,  tlie  act  of  rebellion  proved,  and 
sentence  of  high  treason  executed  upon  them.  Placit.  Coronaj  4  Edv.  II.  Turr. 
Bermingh. 


557 

grace ;  and  Fitzstcplien  was  the  less  mortified,  as  lie  well  knew  the 
purchase  of  his  liberty,  and  that  he  must  of  necessity  resi-ni  all  his 
Irish  acquisitions  to  the  king. 

The  fame  of  his  intended  expedition  had  for  sometime  been 
spread  through  Ireland,  and  its  influence  upon  tiie  several  toparcha 
was  soon  discovered.  Uermod  Mac-Arthy,  prince  of  Desmond,  was 
the  first  chieftain  who  submitted  and  acknowledged  the  sovereifrnty 
of  Henry.  On  the  very  day  after  his  arrival,  this  Irish  prince 
attended  at  his  court,  resigned  his  city  of  Cork  to  the  king,  did  him 
homage,  and  stipulated  to  pay  a  tribute  for  the  rest  of  his  territory, 
which  on  these  conditions  he  was  to  enjoy  without  further  molesta- 
tion or  restraint.  An  English  governor  and  garrison  were  imme- 
diately appointed  to  take  possession  of  his  capital,  while  the  kino- 
displayed  his  power  and  magnificence  by  marching  to  Lismore^ 
where  lie  chose  a  situation,  and  gave  the  necessary  orders  and 
directions  for  building  a  fort.  From  thence  proceeding  to  Cashel, 
we  are  told  he  had  an  interview  with  the  archbishop  of  this  see  ; 
and  possibly  might  have  deemed  it  useful  to  possess  this  prelate,  the 
first  of  the  Irish  clergy  who  appeared  before  him,  with  an  opinion 
of  his  gracious  intentions  to  his  country,  and  his  zeal  for  the  regu- 
lations of  its  church.  Nor  were  these  short  excursions  without  their 
influence,  in  striking  the  inhabitants  with  an  awful  and  terrible 
impression  of  his  power.  A  formidable  army  hovering  about  the 
districts  of  each  petty  chieftain,  when  each  was  left  to  his  own 
resources  for  defence,  quickened  their  resolves,  and  conquered 
every  remains  of  pride,  or  reluctance  in  submitting  to  the  invader. 
O'Brien  of  Tiiomond,  thought  it  dangerous  to  delay,  and  meetinof 
Henry  on  the  banks  of  the  Suir,  surrendered  his  city  of  Limerick, 
and  did  homage  for  his  other  territory,  engaging  to  pay  him  tribute. 
Donchad  of  Ossory,  dreading  the  advantages  which  his  rival  might 
acquire  by  this  forward  zeal,  hastened  to  the  king,  and  submitted 
to  become  his  tributary  and  vassal.  O'Phelan  of  the  Decies  followed 
these  examples,  and  all  the  inferior  chiefs  of  Munster  vied  with 
each  other  in  the  alacrity  of  their  submissions.  All  were  received 
Avith  gracious  assurances  of  favour  and  protection,  entertained  with 
magnificence,  loaded  with  presents,  and  dismissed  with  dee])  impres- 
sions of  the  grandeur  and  condescensions  of  this  powerful  monarch. 

He  returned  to  Wexford  ;  and  here,  as  it  was  no  longer  necessary 
to  keep  up  the  appearance  of  resentment  to  Fitzstephen,  his  barons 
were  j)ermitted  to  intercede  for  a  brave  subject,  who  Iiad  not  willingly 
or  intentionally  oil'ended,  for  whose  future  fidelity  they  were  all 
ready  to  become  sureties,  and  who  was  himself  prepared  to  give  the 
best  surety  for  his  allegiance,  by  a  formal  resignation  of  all  his 
Irish  possessions  to  his  sovereign.  Fitzstephen  was  set  at  liberty, 
and  surrendered  Wexford  and  its  territory  to  the  king,  doing 
homage  for  the  rest  of  his  acquisitions,  which  he  was  allowed  to 
retain  from  Ilenry  and  his  heirs. 

And  now,  having  j)rovided  for  the  security  of  Munster,  and 
stationed  his  garrisons  in  the  cities  of  Limerick,  Cork,  Waterford 
and  Wexford,  Henry  determined  to  proceed  to  Dublin,  to  take 
possession  of  this  city  in  due  form,  which  had  been  surrendered  by 


558 

Earl  Richard.  He  led  his  troops  through  Ossory  in  a  slow  and 
stately  progress,  so  as  to  strike  tlie  rude  inhabitants  with  the  splen- 
dour and  magnificence  of  his  royal  army,  and  to  give  their  chieftains 
an  opportunity  of  repairing  to  his  camp,  and  acknowledging  his 
sovereignty.  Their  indillerence  to  the  interests  of  Roderick,  as 
well  as  tlieir  terror  of  the  English  arms,  soon  determined  tliem  to 
make  their  peace  with  Henry.  The  Irish  lords  of  Leinster  deemed 
his  service  more  honourable  than  a  subjection  to  Strongbow,  whose 
severity  had  rendered  him  an  object  of  horror  to  the  Irish,  even 
from  his  first  landing.  As  he  advanced  towards  Dublin,  the  neigh- 
bouring lords  all  appeared  and  submitted  ;  O'Carroll  of  Orgial,  a 
chieftain  of  still  greater  power  and  consequence,  repaired  to  his 
camp,  and  in  due  form  engaged  to  become  his  tributary  ;  and  to 
complete  the  n)ortification  of  Roderick,  his  old  and  intimate  asso- 
ciate, O'Rourke  of  Brefleny,  whose  interests  he  had  supported, 
whose  personal  injuries  he  had  revenged,  whom  he  had  made  lord 
of  a  considerable  part  of  Meath,  so  that  Giraldus  calls  him  king  of 
Meath,  abandoned  his  falling  friend  and  ally,  and  became  the  willing 
vassal  of  this  new  sovereign." 

Roderick,  though  deserted  by  the  greater  number  of  the  provin- 
cial princes,  and  deranged  by  the  dissensions  and  disaffections  of 
some  of  the  members  of  his  own  family,  still  assumed  the  proud 
attitude  and  spirit  becoming  the  monarch  of  Ireland,  and  indignantly 
refused  to  listen  to  any  overtures  of  dependence  which  Henry  had 
made  to  him,  while  his  devoted  soldiers  of  Connaught  remained 
faithful,  and  enabled  him  to  contend  bravely  in  the  battle  field  for 
crown  and  life.  Collecting  all  the  forces  he  could,  he  took  up  his 
position  in  an  entrenched  camp  on  the  banks  of  the  Shannon,  where 
he  determined  to  await  the  approach  of  the  invading  foes.  His 
unflinching  and  spirited  independence  exasperated  King  Henry,  who, 
on  the  return  of  the  messengers  whom  he  sent  to  Roderick,  ordered 
Hugh  de  Lacy  and  Fitzadelm,  two  valiant  English  knights,  to  march 
with  a  formidable  army,  to  reduce  the  obstinate  and  contumacious 
monarch  of  Ireland  to  subjection  and  vassalage.  After  Henry  had 
sojourned  three  months  in  Dublin,  where  he  sumptuously  feasted, 
and  cunningly  cajoled  the  credulous  Irish  princes  who  had  submitted 
to  his  regal  sway,*  he  received  notice  of  the  threatened  insurrection 
of  Henry,  his  eldest  son,  and  of  his  second,  afterwards  Richard  I., — 
the  execrations  that  were  every  where  fulminated  against  him  as  the 
instigator  of  the  murder  of  Archbishop  Becket,  and  the  information 
that  two  cardinals  had  arrived  in  England  to  excommunicate  him  for 

*  "  Henry  left  no  arts  unpractised  to  seduce  the  Irish  chieftains  from  their 
allegiance  due  to  the  monarch,  Roderick.  He  dazzled  the  eyes  of  the  people  by 
the  splendour  of  his  hospitality, — he  deceived  them  by  the  most  conciliating 
expressions  of  kindness — he  intoxicated  the  base  and  degraded  Irishmen  by  the 
magnitude  of  his  professions, — and  consoled  the  afflicted  and  depressed  spirits  of 
a  subjugated  people,  by  a  perpetual  round  of  costly  pleasures,  of  empty,  though 
magnificent  pageantry.  Such,  for  more  than  six  hundred  years,  has  been  the 
insidious  practice  of  England  towards  this  devoted  country, — the  hospitality  of 
the  viceroy's  table  put  into  the  scale  against  the  miserable  consequence  of  a 
narrow  policy,  which  full  of  jealousy  and  terror,  cramps  the  industry,  corrupts  the 
morals,  and  encourages  the  most  vicious  and  unprincipled  propensities  of  our 
nature." — Lawless. 


559 


being  an  accomplice  in  that  cruel  and  atrocious  deed,  wliicli  greatly 
alarmed  him,  and  warned  him  of  the  necessity  of  returning  imme- 
diately to  England,  with  all  possible  expedition. 

He  took  his  departure  from  Dublin  in  the  spring  of  11*3,  embarked 
at  Wexford,  on  the  feast  of  Easter,  in  that  year.  Prior  to  bis  sailing, 
he  appointed  Earl  Strongbow,  in  conjunction  with  Raymond  le' 
Gross,  chief  governors  of  such  of  the  Irish  districts  as  then  recog- 
nized his  authority;  for  over  the  west  of  Ireland,  under  Koderick, 
he  had  no  control, — and  the  gallant  and  patriotic  chieftains  of 
Ulster  presented  a  brave  and  bold  front  to  the  Saxon  invaders. 

To  all  his  principal  olliccrs,  before  embarking,  he  made  large 
grants  of  land — he  invested  De  Lacy  with  the  lordship  of  Meatli, 
and  the  governorship  of  the  city  of  Dublin — to  Maurice  Fit/.gerald, 
the  ancestor  of  the  duke  of  Leinstcr,  he  assigned  domains — and 
bestowed  on  John  de  Courcy  a  deed  of  the  whole  of  the  principality 
of  Ulster,  in  the  event  of  his  being  able  to  possess  himself  of  it  by 
the  power  of  his  arms,  and  the  right  of  conquest.  He  caused  all 
the  territories  under  English  domination,  in  Ireland,  to  be  divided 
into  counties  and  baronial  districts,  and  sheriff's  to  be  appointed  for 
the  shires,  cities  and  towns.  He  recommended  that  several  strong 
castles  and  embanked  forts,  should  be  erected,  not  only  within  the 
walls  of  Dublin,  but  in  every  approach  to  it  from  the  country.  "  Sir 
John  Davies  observed,"  says  Mr.  Lawless,  "  that  Henry  II.  left  not 
one  true  or  faithful  subject  behind  him  in  Ireland,  more  than  he 
found  when  he  first  landed.  A  small  interval  of  time  elapsed,  until 
the  old  animosities  and  jealousies  of  the  Irish  chieftains  broke  out 
with  their  accustomed  fury,  and,  impatient  of  the  yoke  to  which 
they  had  submitted,  manifested  a  disposition  to  rebel  against  the 
authority  to  which  they  had  so  lately  and  so  reluctantly  subjected 
themselves."  The  departure  of  the  king  convinced  the  Englisii 
chieftains  that  to  hold  their  conquests  and  possessions,  they  had 
solely  and  absolutely  to  depend  on  their  own  resources,  resolution, 
and  valour,  and  that  they  had  a  fierce,  brave  and  determined 
enemy  in  those  justly  oficnded  Irish  toparchs  who  were  ejected  by 
force  of  arms,  from  their  lands  and  patrimonies  ;  so  that  they  made 
every  preparation,  and  employed  every  defensive  expedient  which 
they  judged  calculated  to  protect  them  from  a  hostile  attack,  or  a 
sudden  surprise. 

Before  Henry  set  out  for  Windsor,  in  order  to  propitiate  the  just 
wrath  of  Pope  Alexander,  for  the  murder  of  Bishop  Becket,  he 
made,  it  is  said,  a  pilgrimage,  barefooted,  to  the  cathedral  of  St. 
David's,  where,  we  fear,  he  only  aflected  an  expression  of  penitence 
and  humble  devotion,  to  impose  on  the  holy  father,  and  for  the 
purpose  of  reinstating  himself  in  the  good  graces  of  the  court  of 
Rome.  In  England  every  tongue  was  loud,  bitter  and  violent  in 
denouncing  him  as  the  cruel  employer  of  the  assassii;s  of  Arch- 
bishop Becket,*   so  that  with  his  (late  rebel)  son  Henry,  he  set  oflf 

*  As  the  history  of  Henry  II.  unfortunately  is  closely  identified  with  that  of 
Ireland,  we  extract,  in  this  note.  Dr.  Linirard's  luminous  and  inlerestinfr  account 
of  the  assassination  of  the  archbishop  oT  Canterbury.  The  jrood  prelate  boldly 
censured  Henry  for  his  adulterous  intercourse  with  "  the  fair  Rosamond,"  and 
his  cruel  imprisonment  of  his  Queen  Eleanor.     For  doing  this  warranted,  ecclc- 


560 

for  France  to  avoid  the  overwhelming  storm  of  public  indignation 
and  hostile  opinion,  which  impended  over  his  head.  On  his  arrival 
in  Normandy,  he  met  the  cardinals,  whose,  perhaps,  arbitrary 
demands  of  penance  and  submission  to  the  court  of  Rome,  he  at 
first  sternly  and  haughtily  rejected,  "  observing  to  them,"  says  Dr. 
O'Hallorau,  "  when  they  threatened  him  with  excommunication, — 
"  By  the  eyes  of  God  !  (his  common  oath)  I  neither  regard  you  nor 
your  excommunications,  any  more  than  I  do  an  egg  !"  But  in  a 
short  time,  a  regard  for  his  own  interest,  and  a  consideration  of  the 
slippery  and  untenable  grounds  on  which  his  now  tottering  power, 
both  in  England  and  France,  rested,  made  him  change  the  clamor- 
ous notes  of  his  lofty  arrogance  to  the  prayers  of  humility  and  peni- 
tence. He  meekly  signified  to  the  cardinals  his  entire  readiness 
and  ardent  desire  of  submitting  to  any  penance,  no  matter  how 
mortifying,  which  the  pope  might  think  proper  to  impose  upon 
him, — declared  that  he  had  resolved,  if  the  sovereign  pontift"  would 
annul  the  decree  of  excommunication,  and  confirm  to  him  the  grant 
of  Ireland,  made  by  Adrian  IV.,  to  make  a  pilgrimage  to  the  tomb 
of  the  martyred  archbishop,  at  Canterbury,  and  to  conduct  himself 
as  a  religious  and  devoted  son  of  the  church.  By  these  specious 
and  beguiling  assurances,  he  ingratiated  himself  in  the  good  opinion 
of  the  cardinals,  on  whose   favourable   representations   Pope  Alex- 

siastical,  and  highly  moral  duty,  as  a  Christian  prelate,  Henry  marked  him  out 
for  the  object  of  his  vengeance.  "  On  the  following  Tuesday  after  Christmas 
day,  December  23,  1171,  arrived  secretly  in  the  neighbourhood,"  writes  Dr. 
Lingard,  "  four  knights,  Reginald  Fitzure,  William  Tracy,  Hugh  de  Morre- 
ville,  and  Richard  J3rito.  They  had  been  present  in  Normandy  when  the  king, 
irritated  by  the  representations  of  the  three  bishops,  had  exclaimed, — '  of  the 
cowards  who  eat  my  bread,  is  there  not  one  who  will  free  me  from  this  turbu- 
lent priest  ?'  And  mistaking  this  passionate  expression  for  the  royal  license, 
they  bound  themselves  by  oath  to  return  to  England,  and  either  carry  off  or 
murder  the  primate.  Pretending  to  have  received  their  commission  from  Henry, 
ihey  ordered  the  primate,  whose  apartment  they  had  abruptly  entered,  to  absolve 
the  excommunicated  prelates.  Ho  replied  in  the  negative  with  firmness,  and 
occasionally  with  warmth.  »  *  «  When  they  were  gone  liis  attendants  loudly 
expressed  their  alarm  :  he  alone  remained  cool  and  collected,  and  neither  in  his 
tone  nor  gesture  betrayed  the  slightest  symptom  of  apprehension.  In  this 
moment  of  suspense  the  voices  of  the  monks  singing  vespers  in  the  choir,  struck 
his  ears, — and  it  occurred  to  some  one  that  the  church  was  a  place  of  greater 
security  than  the  palace.  The  archbishop  was  borne  along  by  the  pious  impor- 
tunities of  his  friends.  *  *  «  *  Wlien  he  heard  the  gates  close  behind  him, 
he  instantly  ordered  them  to  be  re-opened,  saying,  '  that  the  temple  of  God  was 
not  to  be  fortified  like  a  castle.'  On  passing  through  the  north  transept,  he  was 
overtaken  by  the  knights,  with  twelve  companions,  all  in  complete  armour,  who 
had  burst  into  the  church.  As  it  was  almost  dark,  he  might,  if  he  had  pleased, 
have  concealed  himself  among  the  crypts  ;  but  he  turned  to  meet  them,  followed 
by  Edward  Grim,  his  cross-bearer,  tiie  only  one  of  his  attendants  who  had  not 
fled.  To  the  vociferation  of  one  of  the  assassins,  '  ichcre  is  the  traitor?'  he 
calmly  replied,  '  here  I  am,  the  archbishop,  but  no  traitor.'  When  he  was  rudely 
told  that  he  must  absolve  the  bishops,  he  resolutely  answered — '  Till  they  offer 
satisfaction,  I  will  not.'  'Then  die!'  exclaimed  the  assassin,  aiming  a  blow  at 
his  head.  Grim  interposed  his  arm,  which  was  broken  ;  but  the  force  of  the 
stroke  bore  away  the  primate's  cap,  and  wounded  him  on  tlie  crown.  As  he  felt 
the  blood  trickling  down  his  face,  he  joined  his  hands,  and  bowed  his  head, 
saying, — '  In  the  name  of  Christ,  and  for  the  defence  of  his  church,  I  am  ready  to 
die  !'  In  this  posture,  turned  towards  his  murderers,  without  a  groan,  and  without 
a  motion,  he  awaited  a  second  blow,  which  threw  him  on  his  knees, — the  third 
laid  him  on  the  floor  at  the  foot  of  St.  Bonnet's  altar." 


561 

ander  III.  not  only  confirmed,  by  a  new  bull,  that  of  his  predecessor, 
Adrian,  in  its  fullest  extent,  but  invested  him  with  a  more  exalted 
power  of  dominion  over  Ireland. 

"  Henry  also,"  observes  Dr.  Linffard,  "  obtained  from  the  pontift' 
a  bull  empowering  him  to  enfeoff  any  one  of  his  sons  with  the  lord- 
ship of  Ireland.  In  a  great  council  assembled  at  Oxford,  A.  D. 
1177,  he  conferred  that  dignity  on  Prince  John,  a  boy  only  in  his 
twelfth  year, — and  cancelling  the  grants  be  bad  formerly  made, 
retained  for  himself,  in  demesne,  all  the  seaports  with  the  adjoining 
cantreds,  and  distributed  the  rest  of  the  English  possessions  among 
the  chief  adventurers,  to  be  bolden  by  the  tenure  of  military  service 
of  him  and  his  son  John."  Before  Hugh  de  Lacy  and  Henry 
Fitzadelm  reached  INIeatli,  with  their  main  forces.  King  Roderick 
crossed  the  Shannon,  attacked  the  English  advanced  guards,  de- 
stroyed their  entrenchments,  and  compelled  them  to  fly  back  in 
dismay  to  their  bead  quarters  in  the  county  of  Dublin.  But  De 
Lucy,  urgently  representing  to  the  two  viceroys,  Strongbow  and 
Raymond  le'  Gross,  (the  latter  having  then,  A.  D.  1175,  married 
his  colleague's  sister,  Basilica)  the  danger  of  not  speedily  arresting 
the  progress  of  Roderick,  induced  these  chiefs,  with  a  large  army, 
to  march  with  celerity  to  Meath  ;  but  Roderick,  timely  apprized  of 
their  approach,  repassed  the  Shannon,  beyond  which  the  English 
did  not  venture  to  jjursue  him.  At  this  period,  A.  D.  1175,  the 
success  of  O'Connor  in  the  west,  and  of  O'Brien  in  the  south,  filled 
the  English  with  fears  and  evil  forebodings,  which  were  greatly 
increased  now,  on  the  departure  of  Strongbow  from  Ireland  to  assist 
Henry  in  his  wars  in  France  against  his  rebellious  son,  and  the 
French  and  Scottish  kings,  who  made  common  cause  with  the 
unnatural  and  unfilial  j)rince.  The  fortunate  reconciliation,  how- 
ever, with  the  court  of  Rome,  proved,  in  Normandy,  as  eflectual  as 
a  victory  for  King  Henry. 

It  does  not,  however,  fall  within  the  province  of  an  Irish  histo- 
rian to  record  Henry's  splendid  successes  in  England  and  France, 
which  the  anxious  reader  will  find  eloquently  narrated  in  Dr.  Lin- 
gard's  admirable  history  of  England.  The  departure  of  Strongbow, 
the  chief  proj)  of  English  power,  from  Ireland,  filled  the  discontented 
Irish  chieftains  with  joy,  for  they  regarded  it  as  a  propitious  occasion, 
aftorded  to  them  by  good  fortune,  to  assert  and  recover  their  lost 
rights  and  properties.  Big  with  the  hope  of  success,  they  held 
private  meetings  to  concert  plans  for  the  expulsion  of  the  strangers 
from  their  country,  and  fearlessly  and  spiritedly  proclaimed  their 
deternunation  of  compelling  the  invaders  to  return  to  England.  At 
this  juncture,  too,  the  designs  of  the  Irish  chiefs  bid  fair  to  be 
carried  into  effectual  success  by  the  dissensions  and  jealousies  that 
prevailed  between  the  English  chieftains,  and  the  mutinous  spirit  of 
discontent  that  disordered  and  disaffected  their  soldiers.  These 
soldiers  bad  unlimited  confidence  in  the  courage  and  capacity  of 
their  late  gallant  and  popular  leader,  Strongbow,  while  they  looked 
witli  distrust  and  apprehension  on  their  present  commanders. 

Mr.  Lawless,  in  narrating  the  discords  which  then  threatened  to 
subvert  English  dominion  in  Ireland,  observes  : — "  Such  diflferences 
71 


562 

would  have  been  fatal  to  the  English  interests  in  Ireland,  were  tliey 
not  put  an  end  to  by  the  second  appointment  of  Strongbow  to  the 
vice-regency  of  Ireland.  Tlie  latter,  however  useful  an  auxiliary 
to  Henry  in  his  foreign  wars,  was  again  sent  to  Ireland,  to  pursue 
the  conquests  of  the  British  monarch  in  that  country." 


CHAPTER  LXVIII. 


Death  of  the  Prince  of  Brcffcny. —  Treaty  between  Henry  and  Roderick,  the  monarch. 
Death  of  Stro7igbow. — Raymond  le'  Gross  is  appointed  chief  governor  of  Ireland. 
Displaced  by  order  of  King  Henry. — Fitzadrlm  promoted  in  his  place. — His 
administration — Hugh  de  Lacy  appointed  Lord  Deputy. — De  Courcy's  cruel 
conduct  in  Ulster. 

O'RouRKE,  at  this  period,  A.  D.  1175,  rendered  himself,  by  his 
heroic  valour  and  military  power,  very  formidable  to  the  English 
chieftains,  having  in  all  his  encounters  with  them,  displayed  a  bold- 
ness of  attack,  and  a  skill  of  generalship,  that  excited,  at  once,  their 
astonishment  and  admiration. 

These  despotic  adventurers  "  parcelled  out  lands  to  their  most 
attached  English  friends,  and  drove  the  unoffending  natives  from 
the  inheritance  of  their  forefathers.  Such  measures  roused  the 
indignation  of  Roderick,  the  prince  of  BrefFeny  or  Leitrim.  He 
repaired  to  Dublin,  and  insisted  upon  a  conference  at  Tara.  This 
conference  was  held  ;  but,  as  English  historians  relate,  O'Rourke 
endeavoured,  insidiously,  to  ensnare  the  unwary  English  general, 
who  had  nigh  fallen  a  victim  to  his  confidence  in  his  honour.  Here 
it  may  be  permitted  to  observe,  that  the  situation  of  O'Rourke,  the 
Irish  chieftain,  rendered  him  more  independent  of  the  dishonourable 
artifices  with  which  he  is  charged,  than  that  of  the  English  viceroy, 
De  Lacy.  That  the  cautions  which  historians  put  into  the  mouths 
of  De  Lacy's  friends  not  to  trust  to  the  honour  of  O'Rourke,  were 
only  more  artful  modes  of  concealing  the  stratagem,  which  was 
planned  and  executed  by  the  English,  and  that  an  Irish  chieftain, 
from  his  rank,  situation  and  condition,  would  be  less  likely  to  put 
into  practice  the  low  or  the  mean  artifices  of  cowardly  policy,  than 
those  administrations,  whose  diminished  forces  were  now  confined 
to  a  very  small  portion  of  Irish  territory,  and  who  would  leave  no 
experiment  untried  by  which  their  objects  could  be  obtained,  or 
their  enemy  vanquished.  O'Rourke  fell  a  victim  at  this  conference, 
and  De  Lacy  was  thus  liberated  from  one  of  his  most  formidable 
opponents.  The  Irish  loudly  proclaimed  the  treachery  by  which 
their  favourite  prince  was  sacrificed,  and  vowed  the  most  dreadful 
vengeance  on  his  destroyers." 

The  army  of  Munster,  on  the  departure  of  Raymond  le'  Gross 
for  Wales,  was  entrusted  by  Strongbow  to  Hervey  Mountmorres. 

"  Hervey,"  says  Dr.  Leiand,  "was  but  too  sensible  how  much  his 
own  character  had  been  obscured  by  the  superior  lustre  of  his  rival, 


563 

and  now  determined  to  engage  in  some  brave  enterprize,  wliicli 
might  regain  him  the  affections  of  the  soldiery,  and  emulate  the 
successes  of  Le'  Gross.  He  represented  to  E;irl  Strongbow  the 
necessity  of  speedily  repressing  that  spirit  of  revolt  and  insurrection 
whicii  had  appeared  among  the  Irisli  princes  ;  and  as  the  disposi- 
tions lately  made  in  Meath,  seemed  to  have  established  an  effectual 
barrier  against  the  king  of  Connaught,  he  advised  him  to  bend  his 
whole  force  against  tl-.e  insurgents  of  Munster,  and  by  chastising 
their  revolt,  and  reducing  them  to  due  obedience,  to  strike  terror 
into  those  who  were  equally  disaffected,  but  had  not  yet  dared  to 
commence  hostilities.  The  earl,  whose  genius  was  better  fitted  to 
adopt  and  execute,  than  to  form  a  plan  of  operations,  readily  yielded 
to  these  instances,  and  in  conjunction  with  IMountmorres,  led  a 
considerable  body  of  forces  to  the  city  of  Cashel.  When  their 
troops  had  been  here  reviewed,  and  information  received  of  the 
posture  and  numbers  of  the  enemy,  Hervey  prevailed  upon  him, 
in  order  to  give  their  armament  a  more  brilliant  and  formidable 
appearance,  to  despatch  his  orders  to  Dublin,  that  a  considerable 
party  of  the  garrison,  consisting  of  Ostmen,  who  had  engaged  in  the 
service  of  the  English,  should,  without  delay,  join  their  main  body. 
As  this  detachment  advanced,  the  fame  of  its  motions  spread  through 
the  country,  and  was  conveyed  into  the  quarters  of  the  enemies. 
O'Brien  of  Thomond,  a  valiant  and  sagacious  chieftain,  and  im- 
placably averse  to  the  English  interests,  conceived  the  design  of 
cutting  off  this  body,  as  the  most  effectual  means  of  weakening  and 
dispiriting  the  enemy.  He  suffered  the  Ostmen  to  advance  as  far 
as  Thurles,*  and  there  to  encamp  in  a  state  of  careless  security, 
wlien  falling  suddenly  upon  them,  he  wreaked  his  fury  upon  men 
utterly  unprepared  for  defence.  Four  hundred  of  the  detachment, 
together  with  their  four  principal  commanders,  were  slaughtered 
upon  the  field  ;  and,  to  complete  the  triumph  of  O'Brien,  Earl 
Richard,  on  receiving  the  intelligence  of  this  misfortune,  retired 
with  all  the  precipitation  of  a  routed  general,  and  threw  himself  for 
safety  into  Waterford. 

This  disgrace  of  the  English  arms,  which  was  magnified  by  fame 
into  a  decisive  victory  obtained  over  Strongbow  and  his  united 
powers,  served  as  a  signal  to  the  disaffected  Irish  to  rise  up  in  arms. 
Several  of  the  Leinster  chieftains  who  had  lately  made  their  sub- 
missions, and  bound  themselves  to  the  service  of  King  Henry, 
openly  disclaimed  all  their  engagements.  Even  Donald  Kavenagh, 
son  of  the  late  King  Dermod,  who  had  hitherto  adhered  to  the  Eng- 
lish, even  in  their  utmost  difficulties,  now  declared  against  them, 
and  asserted  a  title  to  the   kingdom   of  Leinster  ;  while  Roderick, 

*  Thurles  is  a  pleasant,  rich  and  populous  town,  situated  on  the  river  Suir, 
barony  of  Eliogurty,  in  the  county  of  Tippcrary,  at  the  distance  of  95  English 
miles  from  Dublin.  From  this  town  the  eldest  son  of  the  Martjuis  of  Ormond, 
takes  the  title  of  Earl.  The  ruins  of  O'Forgarty's  castle,  erected  by  that  chieftain 
in  the  tenth  century,  and  of  the  Carmelite  friary  built  by  the  Butler  family,  on 
the  east  side  of  the  river  Suir,  still  remain  as  monuments  of  the  jrreat  past  in  this 
opulent  and  spirited  town.  The  country  in  which  Thurles  is  embosomed,  is  rich, 
fertile  and  scenic.  The  magnificent  and  reverential  ruins  of  the  famous  abbey  of 
Holy  Cross,  are  within  three  miles  of  Thurles.     Boston,  July  9,  1836. 


564 

on  his  part,  was  active  in  uniting  tlie  princes  of  Ulster,  the  native 
lords  ofMeath,  and  other  cliiefs,  against  their  common  enemy." 

The  triumph  of  O'Brien  over  the  British  arms,  roused  the  fears 
of,  and  suggested  the  necessity  of  caution  to  Strongbow, — who,  for 
security,  retreated  precipitately  to  Waterford.  The  oppressed  Irish 
in  that  city,  were  now  resolved  to  avenge  the  wrongs  and  insults 
offered  to  them  by  the  English  garrison,  but  the  presence  of  Ray- 
mond le'  Gross  and  Strongbow,  with  their  combined  forces,  over- 
awed them,  and  frustrated  their  design.  O'Brien,  prince  of  Thoraond, 
flushed  to  the  highest  enthusiasm  of  ambition  by  his  late  victory, 
possessed  himself  of  the  city  of  Limerick,  drove  out  the  English 
garrison,  and  bade  defiance  to  the  British  invaders.  Strongbow, 
apprehensive  of  the  growing  power  and  continued  conquests  of 
O'Brien  in  the  south  of  Ireland,  despatched  his  brother-in-law,  Ray- 
mond, with  a  force  of  six  hundred  men,  to  attack  O'Brien  in  Lime- 
rick, and  to  redtice  that  garrison. 

Although  O'Brien  made  a  brave  defence,  yet  wlien  Raymond, 
followed  by  his  soldiers,  waded  through  the  Shannon,  at  a  favourable 
moment,  when  the  tide  was  unusually  low,  and  furiously  assaulted 
the  city,  they  succeeded  in  compelling  O'Brien  to  capitulate  and 
agree  to  become  the  vassal  of  Ring  Henry,  by  a  solemn  oath  of 
allegiance,  and  the  delivery  of  hostages. 

"  A  new  scene,"  writes  Lawless,  "  now  opens  to  the  reader  of 
Irish  history,  which  at  once  excites  the  pity  and  contempt  of  every 
independent  mind.  It  may  conciliate  the  tender  and  mild  feelings 
of  humanity,  but  it  must  raise  the  indignation,  and  insult  the  pride 
of  every  independent  Irishman.  The  Irish  monarch,  fatigued  with 
the  repeated  eftorts  which  he  made  to  restore  peace  to  his  country, 
and  depressed  by  the  perfidy  of  his  chieftains,  determined  at  length 
to  submit  to  Henry,  under  whom  he  might  be  able  to  hold  his  sove- 
reignty, and  to  preserve  his  people  against  the  afilicting  calamities 
of  war.  It  is  almost  irni^ossible  to  look  back  to  the  conduct  of  the 
Irish  monarch,  on  this  occasion,  without  partaking  of  that  sensi- 
bility which  seemed  to  animate  his  royal  bosom.  Full  of  ardent 
and  parental  aflection  for  his  subjects,  he  preferred  even  the  mortifi- 
cation of  being  the  royal  vassal  of  Henry,  to  making  an  unprofitable 
eftort  fov  the  assertion  of  his  sovereignty.  He  therefore  determined 
on  treating  with  the  English  monarch  himself,  and  not  through  the 
medium  of  his  generals.  He  sent  forward  his  ambassadors  to  Eng- 
land, Catholicus,  archbishop  of  Tuam,  the  abbot  of  St.  Brandon, 
and  Lawrence,  chancellor  to  Roderick.  The  terms  of  accommoda- 
tion were  agreed  upon  between  the  two  monarchs.  Roderick  bound 
himself  by  treaty  to  pay  an  annual  tribute,  namely,  every  tenth 
merchantable  hide,  and  to  acknowledge  the  king  of  England  as  his 
liege  lord.  The  Irish  monarch  was,  by  the  conditions  of  his  treaty 
with  Henry,  to  enjoy  the  uncontrolled  administration  of  his  king- 
dom ;  his  royal  riglits  were  left  inviolate  ;  the  English  laws  were  to 
be   confined,  as    we    have   said   before,  to  the   English  pale.*     The 

*  The  Pale  was  the  name  given  bj^  King  Jolin,  on  the  occasion  of  his  visit  to 
Ireland,  in  A.  D.  1210,  to  those  districts  subject  to  the  English  power,  which 
comprehended  the  present  counties  of  Dublin,  Meath,  Louth,  Wexford,  Water- 
ford,  Cork,  Kerry,  Limerick  and  Tipporary. 


5C5 

submission   of  Roderick  promised  days  of  peace   to    Iielaiul;  of 
strength  and  of  glory  to  England." 

Roderick  was  secured  and  allowed,  by  this  treaty,  all  bis  regal 
autliority  as  nionarcb  of  Ireland,  over  llie  provincial  princes,  and 
the  terms  of  the  compact  which  was  ceremoniously  ratified  in  a 
great  council  of  prelates  and  j)rinces,  stipulated  that  his  royal  pre- 
rogative should  be  exercised  in  as  full  and  free  a  manner  as  it  was 
before  he  gave  his  adhesion  and  yielded  homage  to  Henry.  But 
several  of  the  Irish  chieftains  paid  little  or  no  deference  to  Rode- 
rick after  this,  as  they  disregarded  his  royal  authority, — because 
they  looked  upon  him  now  as  a  dependent  on  the  will  and  pleasure 
of  a  foreign  king,  and  that  the  monarchical  powers  which  he  assumed 
were  only  nominal.  Consequently  several  of  them,  by  making  a 
conditional  submission  to  Henry,  completely  absolved  them  from 
the  allegiance  in  which  they  had  bound  tliemselves  to  Roderick. 
Henry,  now  certain  that  he  would  soon  possess  full  sovereignty  over 
all  Ireland,  employed  the  ablest  legislators  in  his  realm  to  devise 
and  draw  up  a  code  of  laws  for  the  good  government  of  the  English 
pale,  to  which  laws  the  people  were  obliged  to  swear  they  would,  in 
all  cases,  inviolably  observe.  He  also  ordered  Strongbow  to  sum- 
mon all  the  peers,  prelates  and  abbots,  to  a  parliament  to  be  holden, 
with  all  convenient  speed,  in  Dublin,  which  legislative  convocations 
were  to  confirm  all  the  enactments  that  were  made  at  the  parlia- 
ment of  Lismore,  at  which  he  had  himself  presided,  shortly  after 
his  arrival  in  Ireland,  A.  D.  1172.*  But  as  we  before  observed,  the 
operation  of  the  modes  of  the  laws  were  to  be  confined  exclusively 
to  the  English  pale,  and  on  no  account  to  be  enforced  in  the  do- 
minions of  Roderick. 

The  splendid  successes  of  Raymond  in  Munster,  filled  the  breast 
of  his  implacable  rival,  Hervey  RIountmorres,  with  envy  and  malice  ; 
so  that  he,  writes  Leland,  "  secretly  despatched  emissaries  to  Henry, 
by  whom  he  made  the  most  unfavourable  representations  of  Ray- 
mond's conduct.  They  assured  the  king  that  this  lord  evidently 
aspired  to  an  independent  sovereignty  in  Ireland  ;  that  for  this 
purpose  he  had  practised  all  the  arts  of  factious  popularity,  with 
too  great  success,  and  was  no  longer  solicitous  to  conceal  his  dis- 
loyal schemes  ;  that  he  had  secured  Limerick  to  himself,  and  in 
this  and  other  cities  had  stationed  garrisons  devoted  to  his  service, 
and  sworn  secretly  to  support  his  designs;  that  the  infection  had 
spread  through  the  whole  army,  which  waited  but  the  command  of 
Raymond  to  engage  in  any  enterprize,  however  repugnant  to  the 
interest  and  authority  of  their  prince."  IMeanwhile  Raymond  was 
pursuing  a  most  brilliant  career  of  concpiest  in  Munster,  which 
gained  a  facility  from  the  unfortunate  and  deplorable  feuds  and 
fjuarrels  which  then  estranged  and  divided  the  Irisli  princes.  In 
the  year  IITG,  Cormac,  the  son  of  Dermod  McCarthy  More,  prince 
of  Desmond,  was  so  unfilial  and  unnatural  as  to  rebel  against  liis 
own   father,  to   attack   his   palace,   and  immure  him  in   a  prison. 

*  It  is  mentioned  by  an  Englisii  historian,  tliat  some  of  the  statutes  of  tlie  Par- 
liament of  Lismore,  were  rjiioted  and  adduced  in  an  act  passed  in  the  second  j^ear 
of  the  reiirn  of  Richard  III. 


566 

Dermod  found  means,  however,  to  send  a  trusty  messenger  to  Lime- 
rick to  apprise  Raymond  of  his  situation,  and  to  solicit  his  aid  in 
restoring  him  to  his  hberty  and  principahty,  Raymond,  proud  of 
an  invitation  which  promised  to  increase  his  fame  and  augment  his 
fortune,  quickly  marched  to  the  assistance  of  Dermod,  the  friend 
and  tributary  of  his  royal  master,  attacked  the  rebellious  son,  van- 
quished his  whole  force,  and  made  a  captive  of  himself,  and  then 
delivered  him  into  the  hands  of  his  enraged  father,  who  instantly 
sentenced  him  to  be  put  to  death.  For  this  service,  McCarthy  More 
conferred  on  Raymond  a  large  portion  of  the  county  of  Kerry, 
which  the  latter  assigned  to  his  son  Maurice,  on  his  marriage  with 
Catherine,  the  daughter  of  Milo  de  Cogan,  which  district  is  called 
to  this  day,  Claninaurice.*  Raymond  returned  to  Limerick  with 
rich  spoils  and  an  ample  quantity  of  provisions,  of  which  his  garri- 
son, in  that  city,  stood  in  much  need. 

"  But  now,"  observes  Dr.  Leland,  "  in  the  midst  of  his  success, 
he  receives  the  alarming  intelligence  of  the  death  of  Earl  Strong- 
bow,  who  expired  in  Dublin  after  a  tedious  indisposition,  occasioned 
by  a  mortification  in  his  foot.  The  fickleness  of  the  Irish,  their 
real  abhorrence  of  their  despotic  invaders,  notwithstanding  their 
pretended  submissions,  and  their  perhaps  excusable  precipitation  in 
revolting  and  taking  arms  on  any  extraordinary  emergency,  were 
but  too  well  known,  and  made  it  necessary  for  the  English  govern- 
ment to  keep  this  event  concealed,  till  their  forces  were  collected 
from  the  distant  quarters  of  the  kingdom  ;  and  lest  the  secret  should 
be  discovered  by  any  miscarriage  of  the  letter  which  Basilica  now 
sent  to  her  husband,  it  was  conceived  in  mysterious  terms.  She 
informed  him  that  her  great  tooth,  which  had  ached  so  long,  was  at 
last  fallen  out,  and  therefore  entreated  him  to  return  to  Dublin  with 
all  imaginable  speed. 

Raymond,  who  perfectly  understood  the  meaning  of  this  enig- 
matical expression,  and  the  importance  of  a  cautious  and  judicious 
procedure  on  an  occasion  so  critical,  returned  instantly  to  Limerick, 
and  there  held  a  secret  consultation  with  a  few  selected  friends.  It 
was  readily  agreed  that  the  death  of  the  chief  governor,  at  a  time 
when  the  next  man  in  command  was  summoned  into  England, 
required  an  immediate  attention  to  the  peace  and  security  of  the 
English  province  ;  and  that  no  troops  could  be  spared  from  this 
first  and  necessary  service.  It  had  cost  Raymond  much  pains  and 
labour  to  gaiti  the  city  of  Limerick,  and  it  was  now  peculiarly  mor- 
tifying to  find  himself  obliged  to  abandon  this  hardly  acquired  con- 
quest. But  the  garrison  could  by  no  means  be  left  behind.  He 
therefore  sent  for  Donald  O'Brien  ;  and  with  an  affected  ease  and 
confidence  acquainted  him  that,  by  his  late  submission,  he  was 
become  one  of  the  king's  barons,  and  entitled  to  the  confidence  of 
his  liege  lord  ;  and   therefore,  as  a  mark   of  distinction  due  to  his 

*  Clanmaurice  is  the  name  of  a  barony  in  the  county  of  Kerry,  which  derives 
its  appellation  from  the  circumstance  mentioned  in  the  text ;  its  former  Irish  de- 
signation being  Lixraaw,  or  the  land  of  the  Luxcensis  of  Spain.  Thomas  Fitz- 
maurice,  the  direct  and  legitimate  descendant  of  Maurice,  the  son  of  Raymond, 
was  raised  by  George  I.  to  the  peerage,  in  the  year  1722,  by  the  title  of  Viscount 
Clanmaurice,  and  earl  of  Kerry,  which  dignities  the  family  still  enjoys. 


567 

exalted  rank,  he  entrusted  him  with  the  custody  of  Limerick  which 
might  give  him  an  occasion  of  approving  his  attachment,  and  merit- 
ing additional  honours  and  rewards.  The  Iri.<h  chieftain  received 
this  proposal  with  a  secret  exultation,  concealeil  under  the  appear- 
ance of  the  most  profound  humihty,  and  dutiful  allegiance.  Ray- 
mond and  his  troops  proceeded  to  evacuate  the  town  ;  hut  scarcely 
had  they  passed  over  one  end  of  the  bridge,  when  the  other  was 
broken  down  ;  and  they  had  the  mortification  to  behold  the  city 
wiiich  they  had  taken  such  pains  to  fortify,  and  supply  with  stores 
of  every  kind,  set  on  tire  in  four  different  quarters  by  order  of 
O'Brien,  who  declared  that  Limerick  should  no  longer  be  the  nest 
of  foreigners.  We  are  told  that  when  this  transaction  was  reported 
to  King  Henry,  possibly  in  order  to  possess  him  with  an  unfavour- 
able opinion  of  Raymond,  this  prince,  too  generous  and  too  wise  to 
judge  by  the  event,  observed,  that  the  first  gaining  of  Limerick  was 
a  noble  exploit,  the  recovery  of  it  still  nobler;  but  that  the  only  act 
of  wisdom  was  the  abandoning  their  conquest  in  this  manner." 

Raymond,  unable  to  retake  the  city  which  he  had  entrusted,  in 
the  manner  related,  to  O'Brien,  prince  of  Thomond,  proceeded 
with  all  possible  celerity  to  Dublin,  where,  on  his  arrival,  in  A.  D. 
1177,  a  council  was  convened,  the  members  of  wliich  unanimously 
elected  him  viceroy  of  Ireland,  in  the  room  of  his  brother-in-law, 
Strongbow.  The  new  viceroy  commanded,  as  the  first  act  of  his 
government,  that  his  noble  predecessor's  funeral  should  be  marked 
by  the  splendour,  pomp  and  magnificence  due  to  the  exalted  mili- 
tary character,  and  distinguished  station  of  the  deceased.  The 
gorgeous  procession  was  composed  of  almost  all  the  chiefs  of  the 
pale,  the  garrison  and  clergy  of  Dublin,  and  of  several  Irish 
toparchs.  The  funeral  service,  and  other  religious  ceremonies, 
were  performed  by  Archbishop  O'Toole  of  Dublin.  His  remains 
were  interred  in  a  superb  sepulchral  monument  in  the  cathedral  of 
Christ's  Church.* 

"The  manner  of  Strongbow's  death  is  accurately  described  by 
the  pen  of  superstitious  vengeance  ;  nor  is  it  to  he  wondered  at  by 
the  impartial  reader  of  the  sad  variety  of  suffering  inflicted  upon 
Ireland  by  the  arms  of  England,  that  the  irritated  Irish  annalist 
should  have  given  credit  to  the  rumours  that  devoted  this  renowned 
English  adventurer  to  a  mysterious  and  miserable  termination  of  his 
existence.     The    desolation    and  calamity  with  which  unimppy  Ire- 

*  "  Amongst  the  monuitients  situated  on  or  near  the  southern  wall  of  the  nave 
of  this  ca'hedral,  (Christ  Church)  the  attention  of  the  antiquarian  examiner  is  first 
attracted  by  the  tomb  ascribed  to  Richard,  earl  of  Pembroke,  surnamed  Strong- 
bow.  This  funeral  memorial,  as  far  as  it  is  sui)i)ose(l  to  reirard  the  earl,  consists 
of  the  effigies  of  a  knight,  the  legs  crossed  and  the  hands  folded  ;  the  first  position 
being  probably  intended  to  inform  posterity  that  the  deceased  was  engaged  in  the 
crusades,  either  in  person,  by  proxy,  or  by  vow.  The  knight  is  in  mail ;  and  on 
the  left  arm  is  a  shield,  with  armorial  t)earings.  The  whole,  as  is  usual  with 
cross-legged  figures,  is  rudely  sculptured.  On  a  tablet  over  the  effigies  is  the 
following  inscription  : — '  This  ancyent  monument  of  Rychard  Strangbowe — called 
Comes — Strangvconsis — lord  of  Ciiepsto  and  Ogny — the  first  and  [)rincipal  in- 
vader of  Ireland,  A.  D.  1109.  Qvi.  obit.  1177.  The  monvment  was  broken  by 
the  fall  of  the  roof  and  bodye  of  Chryste's  Chvrch,  in  1002,  and  set  up  agayne  at 
the  charge  of  the  Right  Honourable  Sir  Henri  Sydney,  knight  of  the  noble  order 
of  the  garter,  lord-president  and  depvty  of  Ireland,  ir)70.'  " — Uhewer. 


5G8 

land  was  visited — the  degradation  with  wliich  it  was  threatened, 
and  the  sad  and  affecting  story  which  history  was  doomed  to  record, 
must  have  naturally  called  up  those  honest  feelings  of  resentment 
which  fdl  the  hosoms  of  fallen  pride  and  insulted  honour.  No 
wonder,  then,  that  the  persecuted  Irish  should  look  up  to  heaven 
for  its  vengeance  on  their  cruel  oppressors, — and  that  their  tortured 
fancies  should  anticipate  the  mediation  of  that  God  whose  altars 
were  insulted,  and  whose  temples  were  laid  prostrate."  The  Eng- 
lish historians  endeavoured  to  justify  Stronghow  and  his  rapacious 
followers,  for  plundering  the  churches  and  ahbeys  of  Ireland,  on 
the  assumed  and  specious  ground,  that  the  Irish  chieftains  were,  at 
that  period,  in  the  habit,  when  they  dreaded  the  incursion  of  the 
Saxon  enemy,  to  deposit  their  treasures,  and  other  valuable  effects, 
in  these  sacred  edifices.  But  these  futile  and  flimsy  pretexts  will 
find  no  credit  with  the  inquiring  and  impartial  historian^  and  instead 
of  being  deemed  by  him  an  extenuation  of  the  impious  aggression, 
he  will  calmly  and  deliberately  pronounce  them  an  aggravation  of 
the  despotism  with  which  our  native  country  was  aftlicted. 

When  King  Henry  was  informed  of  the  election,  by  the  council 
in  Dublin,  of  Raymond,  as  lord-viceroy  of  Ireland,  he  became  quite 
indignant  at  their  choice  ;  and  in  the  fury  of  his  anger,  it  is  said, 
that  he  beat  one  or  two  of  his  attendants.  The  false  representations 
made  by  Ilervey  Mountmorres  against  the  bravest  of  his  generals, 
now  perverted  and  influenced  bis  inflamed  mind.  The  king  imme- 
diately issued  out  a  royal  proclamation,  despatched  by  a  special 
envoy,  annulling  the  appointment  by  the  council,  of  Raymond,  as 
lord  deputy.  After  the  envoy  speedily  followed  William  Fitzadelm, 
a  noble  relative  of  the  king,  bearing  a  commission  authorizing  him 
to  act  as  viceroy  of  Ireland.  This  lord  was  joined  in  the  patent  by 
John  de  Courcy,  Robert  Fitzstephen,  Milo  de  Cogan,  and  Cardinal 
Vivian,  the  pope's  legate.  On  their  arrival,  A.  D.  1177,  in  Water- 
ford,  where  Raymond,  like  a  devoted  subject,  repaired  to  surrender 
his  power  to  the  new  viceroy,  the  legate  convened  a  meeting  of  all 
the  clergy  of  Mujister,  at  which  he  read  the  brief  of  Alexander,  and 
the  bidl  of  Adrian  IV.,  declaring  and  confirming  Henry  II.  as  the 
rightful  king  of  Ireland.  The  legate  imposed  it  as  a  sacred  duty 
on  all  the  bishops  and  priests  of  Ireland,  to  promulgate  these  papal 
documents  as  extensively  as  possible.  Raymond,  the  chivalrous 
hero,  whose  magnanimity  of  soul  was  above  envy  or  jealousy,  felt 
mortified  that  his  great  and  unexampled  services  rendered  to  Henry, 
were  so  ungratefully  rewarded,  resigned  his  command  in  the  army, 
and  retired  to  his  castle  at  Tullaroan,*  county  of  Kilkenny,  to  brood 
over  his  unmerited  treatment  and  wrongs. 

*  Tullaroan,  or  Courtstown,  is  situated  witliin  a  few  miles  of  the  city  of  Kil- 
kenny, on  the  northwestern  margin  of  the  county  of  Killienny.  Breaver,  in 
describing  Tullaroan  in  his  "  Beauties  of  Ireland,"  says,  "  Tullaroan  is  part  of 
the  extensive  cantred  of  Grace's  country,  the  whole  of  which,  for  several  centu- 
ries, belonged  to  the  Grace  family  (the  descendants  of  Raymond  le  Gross.)  The 
district  named  after  that  family,  consisted  of  a  vast  tract  of  land,  comprehending, 
it  is  said,  the  whole  barony  of  Cranagh,  and  extending  northwards  by  the  liberties 
of  Kilkenny,  and  the  river  Nore,  to  the  borders  of  the  Queen's  county  ;  and 
thence  southwards,  along  to  the  borders  of  Tipperary,  to  the  liberties  of  Callan; 


569 

Fitzadelm  made  a  pompous,  ostentatious  and  imposing  parade  of 
his  vice-regal  power  while  in  ^^  atorford  ;  and  ihence,  accompanied 
by  his  friends,  Fitzstephcn,  Cogaii  and  Fitzwalter,  (the  latter  the 
ancestor  of  the  present  marquis  of  Orniond,*)  and  a  magnificent 
and  nohle  train  of  knights,  set  out  on  a  tour  of  inspection,  along 
the  coast  of  JMunster.  In  his  stately  progress  he  gave  orders  for 
the  erection  of  new,  and  the  repair  of  old  fortresses.  He  made  a 
triumphal  entry  into  the  city  of  Dublin,  where  he  soon  evinced  the 
most  haughty  arrogance,  and  comported  himself  on  every  public 
occasion,  more  like  a  sovereign  prince  than  the  viceroy  of  Henry 
II.  Tiie  first  blow,  however,  that  prostrated  his  lordly  pride,  was 
the  positive  refusal  of  Archbishop  O'Toole  to  attend  at  his  first 
levee, — that  patriotic  prelate  oll'ering  his  age  and  infirmity  as  his 
plea  of  apology.  Hut  that  was  n.ot  all  the  mortification  which  the 
noble-minded  bishop's  national  spirit  and  obstinacy  inflicted  on  the 
vanity  of  the  viceroy, — for  in  despite  of  the  power  of  the  Vatican, 
and  of  the  legate's  commands,  the  magnanimous  and  high-souled 
prelate  declined  issuing  a  circular  pastoral  letter  to  the  clergy  of  his 
see,  to  publish  and  promulgate  the  bull  of  Pope  Adrian,  or  the  brief 
of  Pope  Alexander.  Fitzadelm  commenced  his  administratic^n  in 
Ireland,  on  the  most  despotic  system,  and  his  measures  "  seemed 
to  be  more  directed  against  his  predecessors  in  power,  than  to  the 
extension  of  his  royal  master's  interests.  Giraldus  Cambrensis 
says,  that  he  was  sensual  and  corrupt,  rapacious  and  avaricious  ; 
and  though  not  formidable  from  the  terror  of  his  arms,  yet  full  of 
craft,  of  fraud  and  dissimulation."     Against  his  heroic  predecessor, 

forming  a  district  between  eleven  and  tvvelve  miles  in  length,  and  betwixt  five 
and  six  in  breadth."  The  Grace  family  forfeited  these  extensive  estates,  in  con- 
sequence of  their  devoted  attachment  to  the  ungratet\il  Stuart  family.  At  the 
battle  of  the  Boyne,  John  Grace,  Lord  Courtstown,  where  he  gallantly  signalized 
his  valour,  commanded  a  regiment  of  foot  which  he  had  raised  to  assist  James  II. 
at  his  own  expense.  Prior  to  the  disastrous  battle  of  the  Boyne,  Lord  Courtstown, 
writes  Brewer,  "  was  solicited  with  very  flattering  promises  of  royal  favour,  to 
throw  the  weight  of  his  influence  into  the  scale  of  King  William's  interest ;  and 
it  is  recorded  t^hat,  in  the  warmth  of  tlic  moment,  he  wrote  on  the  back  of  a  card 
this  indignant  reply  to  the  overture,  conveyed  by  an  emissary  of  Duke  Schom- 
beriT  : — '  Tell  your  master  I  despise  his  offer  ;  tell  liiin  that  honour  and  conscience 
are  dearer  to  a  gentleman  than  all  the  wealth  and  titles  a  prince  can  bestow.' 
This  card  chanced  to  be  the  six  of  hearts,  which  is,  to  this  day,  in  the  county  of 
Kilkenny,  frequently  termed  '  (irace's  card.'  Our  historians  say  that  Raymond 
le'  Gross,  the  very  Marshal  Ni;v  of  Henry's  forces  in  Ireland,  died  at  Courtstown 
castle,  in  the  year  llt:;4.  (iiraldus  Cambrensis  calls  him  the  '  notable  and  chiefest 
pillar  of  Ireland.'  "  "  Without  him,"  says  an  Irish  antiquarian,  "  the  soldiers 
were  nothing,  with  him  they  were  every  thing."  We  have  not  been  able  to 
ascertain  the  place  of  Raymond's  sepulture  ;  but  it  is  probable  his  remains  were 
interred  in  Courtstown  church,  in  ''  Grace's  chapel,"  county  of  Kilkenny. 

*  The  FiTZWAi.TER  family  assumed  the  name  of  Butler,  inconsequence  of  their 
ancestor  being  butler  to  Henry  II.  The  Butlers,  for  ages,  were  the  persecutors 
and  the  patriots  of  Ireland,— they  were  "  the  glory  and  the  shame"  of  the  country. 
In  our  second  volume  wc  must,  of  necessity,  say  much  more  of  the  Butlers.  This 
family  were  devoted  adherents  to  the  house  of  Lancaster,  because  Henry  VI. 
could  not  be  persuaded  by  calumnies  or  entreaties  to  remove  the  Earl  of  Ormond 
from  the  government  of  Ireland  ;  and  "  tins  repeated  favour,"  observes  Leland, 
"  to  the  Karl  of  Ormond,  seems  to  have  laid  the  foundation  of  that  lasting  attacii- 
ment  which  the  family  of  Butler  afterwards  discovered  to  the  house  of  Lancaster 
and  its  interests." 

72 


570 

Raymond  le'  Gross,  he  evinced  the  most  malignant  and  envions 
spirit  of  persecution,  offering  him  every  ijisult  and  indignity.  He 
compelled  him  to  exchange  his  rich  lands  in  Wexford,  for  unculti- 
vated tracts  in  Kilkenny.  The  sons  of  Maurice  Fitzgerald  were 
also  constrained  hy  the  despotism  of  vice-regal  power,  to  give  up  the 
possession  of  tlieir  fertile  domains,  which  "lay  in  a  secure  part  of 
the  country,  for  others  more  exposed  to  the  incursions  of  the  Irish."* 

In  the  latter  end  of  the  year  1177,  Fleming,  the  EngUsh  com- 
mandant of  the  castle  of  »Slane,  "  wantonly  presuming,"  says 
Leiand,  "  on  his  strength,  had  provoked  the  neighhouring  chiefs  by 
his  depredations,  who  in  revenge  fell  suddenly  upon  him  with  their 
united  forces,  slaughtered  his  followers  without  mercy  or  distinction  ; 
and  pursuing  the  remains  of  his  garrison  even  to  the  very  walls  of 
Duhlin,  were  left  at  full  liberty  to  demolish  every  fort  which  the 
English  had  erected  in  their  territory.  But  far  from  repressing  or 
revenging  such  incursions,  Fitzadelm  seems  to  have  had  neither 
dispositions  nor  abilities  suited  to  a  government,  which  was  to  be 
supported  by  a  vigilant  and  a  martial  spirit.  He  came  into  tlie 
island  with  a  jeah)usy  of  the  original  adventurers,  which  possibly 
had  been  infused  into  him  by  Henry,  and  which  he  had  not  temper 
to  conceal.  At  his  very  first  interview  with  Raymond,  he  is  said  to 
have  looked  with  a  malignant  eye  upon  the  numbers  and  gallant 
appearance  of  his  train  ;  and,  turning  to  his  followers,  was  weak 
enough  to  threaten  that  he  should  soon  find  means  to  quell  their 
pride.  The  object  of  his  administration  was  to  enrich  himself,  not 
by  the  force  and  terror  of  his  arms,  but  by  the  less  hazardous  and 
baser  means  of  craft,  fraud,  and  circumvention.  To  preserve  peace 
with  the  Irish  chiefs,  he  had  recourse  to  affected  courtesy  and  flat- 
tery, which  they  had  discernment  enough  to  discover  and  despise; 
and  to  his  own  countrymen,  the  apparent  insincerity  of  his  fairest 
professions,  and  the  designs  he  manifested  against  their  interest 
and  properties,  rendered  him  an  object  of  detestation. 

Walter  Almain,  his  kinsman  and  creature,  was  stationed  in  Wex- 
ford, where  he  endeavoured  to  provide  for  his  security  by  forming  a 
connection  with  the  Irish  chieftain  of  O'Rinsellah,  who  is  said  to 
have  prevailed  on  him  by  the  force  of  bribes  to  demolish  some  con- 
siderable works  lately  erected  for  the  defence  of  the  English  ])lan- 
tatioii.  Thus,  while  all  advantages  were  engrossed  by  the  governor 
and  his  dependants,  the  perilous  and  laborious  duties  of  defence 
were  imposed  on  the  original  adventurers,  a  hardy  race,  untainted 
with  the  luxuries  and  debaucheries  of  Fitzadelm  and  iiis  Normans; 

*  The  Fitzgerald  family  are  descended  from  Gerald,  a  Welsh  baron,  who, 
in  the  reign  of  Henry  I.  married  Anne,  daughter  of  Rees  Gruffydlh,  prince  of 
Wales,  and  widow  of  Robert  Fitzstephcn,  constable  of  the  casiles  of  Abertiny  and 
Pembroke.  Prior  to  the  lady's  marriage  with  Fitzstepjien,  she  was  the  mistress  of 
King  Henry  I.,  by  whom  she  had  a  son,  named  Henry,  after  his  royal  sire,  the 
father  to  Miles  and  Robert  Fitzhenry,  who  were  among  the  first  invaders  of 
Ireland,  as  will  be  seen  in  the  preceding  pages.  After  lier  marriage  with  her 
second  husband,  Gerald,  she  gave  birth  to  two  sons,  Maurice  and  William  Fitz- 
gerald, who  accompanied  their  half  brother,  Fitzstcphen,  into  Ireland.  William 
was  killed  in  battle  in  the  county  of  Cork  ;  but  from  Maurice,  who  married  the 
daughter  of  Milo  dc  Cogan.  is  descended  the  present  Duke  of  Leinster.  Boston, 
July  18,  1836. 


571 

but  proud  and  irritable,  and  justly  impatient  to  see  the  fruits  of 
their  labours  seized  by  these  new  settlers.  The  strong  and  ao-nra- 
vated  representations  of  their  historian  and  panegyrist,  Giraldus, 
plainly  mark  their  discontent  and  indignation  ;  and  this  unhappy 
division  of  the  English,  with  the  mutual  jealousies  and  animosities 
of  contending  parties,  could  not  fail  to  cast  a  shade  of  dishonour 
and  reproach  on  the  administration  of  Fitzadelm.  The  lords  ai'owed 
their  hatred;  the  soldiers  were  unpaid,  and  ill  appointed  ;  of  conse- 
quence mutinous  and  discontented.  The  Irish  native^  crowded 
eagerly  to  a  court  which  received  them  with  the  most  flattering 
attention,  and  which  is  said  not  to  have  been  inaccessible  to  bribes. 
Their  claims  and  complaints  were  heard  with  favour  by  the  chief 
governor,  and  always  decided  against  his  rivals,  which  served  to 
increase  their  confidence,  witliout  lessening  their  disaffection. 

The  English  lords  who  had  all  left  their  native  lands  from  the 
hopes  of  valuable  settlements  and  acquisitions  in  Ireland  ;  and  they 
who  had  not  as  yet  received  their  rewards,  were  particularly  dis- 
pleased with  Fitzadelm,  and  impatient  of  an  administration  un- 
friendly to  the  spirit  of  adventure.  John  de  Courcy  was  the  first  to 
express  his  dissatisfaction.  An  extraordinary  strength  of  body,  and 
vigour  of  constitution,  together  with  a  violent  and  precipitate  valour, 
had  rendered  him  the  admiration  of  his  warlike  and  unpolished 
countrymen.  His  own  utter  insensibility  to  danger  made  him  the 
readier  to  propose  the  most  hazardous  and  desperate  enterprizes  ; 
and  his  manners,  which  were  rather  those  of  a  common  soldier  than 
a  commander,  gave  him  the  easier  access  to  the  passions  and  preju- 
dices of  the  soldiery.  He  laboured  to  inflame  them  against  the 
governor  ;  he  represented  the  distress  to  which  they  were  exposed 
by  his  avarice,  which  deprived  them  of  pay,  and  the  timidity  of  his 
government,  which  precluded  them  from  supplying  their  necessities 
at  the  expense  of  their  enemies;  reminded  them  that  King  Henry 
had  formerly  gianted  him  such  lands  of  Ulster  as  he  should  acquire 
by  the  sword  ;  and  freely  promised  to  share  his  fortune  with  those 
who  preferred  a  gallant  enterprize  to  a  state  of  distressful  indo- 
lence ;  and  thus  prevailed  on  a  small  body  of  the  boldest  and  most 
adventurous,  to  attend  him  into  the  northern  parts  of  Ireland,  where 
the  English  arms  had  not  as  yet  penetrated. 

Armoric  of  St.  Lawrence,  a  valiant  knight,  with  whom  he  had 
been  connected  in  the  strictest  bands  of  friendship,  determined,  on 
this  occasion,  to  share  the  fortune  of  his  old  associate.  Robert  de 
la  Poer,  a  young  soldier  who  had  lately  been  distinguished  in  the 
wars  of  Leinster,  took  the  same  part;  and  such  leaders  gave  both 
strength  and  credit  to  the  enterprize.  The  marriage  of  De  Courcy 
with  the  dauiihter  of  Gothred,  king  of  Man,  freed  him  from  the 
apprehensions  of  any  opposition  from  this  quarter,  where  the  Irish 
had  often  found  an  effectual  resource;  and  his  own  ignorant  super- 
stition served  to  confirm  his  hopes  of  a  permament  and  extensive 
conquest.  He  had  discovered  in  the  prophecies  of  Merlin,  that  the 
acquisition  of  Ulster  was  reserved  for  his  valour  ;  and  his  Irish 
adherents  siijiplied  him  with  another  prophet,  who  declared  that 
Downpatrick  (tlie  immediate  object  of  his  enterprize)  was  to  be  sub- 
dued by  a  stranger  mounted  on  a  white  horse,  with  a  shield  charged 


572 

with  painted  birds.  He  accoutred  liimself  according  to  this  descrip- 
tion, and  marched  to  take  possession  of  his  destined  conquest. 

On  the  fourth  day  of  his  march  he  arrived  at  Downpatrick,  the 
seat  of  Dunleavy,  prince  of  Uladh,  who,  unprovided  for  defence 
against  an  invasion  so  unexpected,  fled  precipitately  at  the  first 
appearance  of  hostilities.  His  people,  thus  exposed  to  the  ravages 
of  an  indigent  and  rapacious  enemy,  uere  reduced  to  a  state  of 
helpless  consternation,  at  the  havoc  of  invaders  whom  they  had  not 
provoked,  and  from  whom  they  thought  themselves  secured  by 
solemn  treaty.  In  this  distress  their  prii.ce  had  recourse  to  the 
interposition  of  Vivian,  the  legate,  who,  in  his  progress  through  the 
island,  now  chanced  to  reside  at  Downpatrick,  and  was  witness  of 
the  present  devastation.  He  instantly  addressed  himself  to  De 
Courcy,  represented  the  injustice  and  cruelly  of  his  present  enter- 
prize,  reminded  liim  of  the  treaty  whicli  the  king  of  England  had 
but  just  now  concluded  with  tlie  whole  body  of  the  Irish,  in  the 
person  of  their  monarch,  declared  that  the  men  of  Ulster  were 
ready  to  pay  their  quota  of  the  stipulated  tribute,  and  entreated  him 
to  spare  a  people  who  had  provoked  no  resentment,  and  who,  in- 
stead of  being  the  object  of  hostilities,  had  a  fair  claim  to  protection. 

Whatever  deference  De  Courcy  might  affect  for  the  person  and 
character  of  Vivian,  it  plainly  appeared  that  he  paid  no  attention  to 
his  remonstrances  ;  for  his  hostilities  were  continued.  He  fortified 
himself  in  Downpatrick,  and  seemed  determined  to  maintain  the 
possession  he  had  acquired.  Tlie  legate  is  said  to  have  been  so 
provoked  at  this  injustice,  and  so  affected  by  the  sufferings  of  an 
unoffending  people,  that  although  the  chief  part  of  his  commission 
was  to  prevail  on  the  Irish  to  acknowledge  the  supremacy  of  King 
Henry,  yet  he  now  boldly  advised  Dunleavy  to  have  recourse  to 
arms,  and  to  exert  himself  as  became  a  brave  prince,  in  order  to 
rescue  his  territories  from  these  rapacious  invaders.  His  forces 
were  collected  ;  the  neighbouring  chiefs  invited  to  his  assistance  ; 
even  Roderick  was  called  upon  to  rise  up  against  this  outrageous 
violation  of  faith  ;  and  the  cause  was  too  important  to  be  entirely 
neglected,  even  amidst  all  those  private  quarrels  which  still  con- 
tinued to  weaken  and  distract  the  Irish  princes.  A  tumultuary  array, 
said  to  consist  of  ten  thousand  men,  was  collected,  and  marched 
under  the  command  of  the  prince  of  Uladh,  to  dispossess  these 
foreigners.  De  Courcy  wisely  determining  not  to  abide  a  siege  in 
a  city  scantily  provided,  and  hastily  fortified,  marched  out  to  meet 
the  enemy  with  an  affected  contempt  of  their  superiority;  at  the 
same  time  choosing  such  a  situation  as  might  render  their  numbers 
less  effectual.  The  charge  was  furious,  and  the  battle  maintained 
for  a  considerable  time  with  equal  bravery  on  both  sides;  till  at 
length,  a  disciplined,  well  armed,  and  well  conducted  body,  proved 
superior  to  irregular,  ill  appointed,  and  undirected  numbers.  De 
Courcy,  by  the  total  overthrow  of  his  opponents,  was  for  the  present 
left  at  fidl  liberty  to  parcel  out  his  lands,  project  and  build  his  forts, 
and  make  all  necessary  provisions  for  the  security  of  his  conquest." 

End  of  Vol.  I. 


INDEX. 


Arrival  of  Partholanus  in  Ireland 
Africans    -         -         -  -         - 

Amhergen,  the  Druid 
Aongus,  the  Monarch 
Armorial  Bearings 
Archers,  Irish        .         -         .         - 
Ancient  Sepulture  of  the  Irish 
Athy,  Count}'  of  Kildare 
Ancient  Literature  of  Ireland  de- 
fended    -       -         -         -         - 
Albanian  Scots       .        .         -         - 
Annals  of  Ireland 
Arrival  of  St.  Patrick 
Armagh  Cathedral         .         .         . 
Arklow,  County  of  VVicklow 
Armagh  See  .         .         -         - 

Ardfert 

Art  of  staining  Glass    - 

Ardagh  See  .         .         -         - 

Achonry  See         .         .         -         - 

Athlone 

Adrian  IV.,  Pope 

Ancient  Irish  Architecture    - 

Armagh  City         .         .         .         - 

Breas  .         .         -         -         - 

Breogon         .         .         -         -         - 
Bantry  Bay,  County  Cork    - 
Boyne  River         .         .         -         - 

BrefFeny 

Brehons  and  Bards 
Bridgid,  the  Saint 
Biography  of  St.  Patrick 
Baptism  of  the  King  of  Munster 
Bishops'  Sees        .        .         -         - 
Barry  Gerald         .         .         -         - 
Breasal  Prince       -         -         -         - 
Bards  pleaded  for  by  St.  Colurab. 
Bishop  Burke        .         .         .         - 
Bangor,  County  of  Down 
Brian  Boroihme 

Caves,  Irish  .         .         -         - 

Cacier 

Colours,  Law  of  .         .         . 

Coined  Money      .         .         .         - 
Clogher,  County  of  Tyrone 


13 

Cobhthaigh 

-     119 

17 

Connor,  King  of  Ulster 

-     140 

48 

Cuchullin     .         -         .         - 

-    139 

78 

"         Death  of 

-    150 

86 

Connal  Carnach 

-     144 

111 

Castleguard,  County  of  Louth 

-     148 

159 

Conn,  Lake  of      -         -         - 

-     152 

211 

Ceat,  the  Champion 

153 

Congabby          -         -         -     - 

-     159 

22G 

Criomthan,  the  Monarch 

-     165 

249 

Carlanstown,  County  of  Meath 

-     171 

262 

Cathoir  More 

-     182 

281 

Con  of  the  Hundred  Battles 

-     190 

290 

Cormac  Cas 

-     196 

333 

Cormac  Mac  Art 

-    200 

392 

Carbre,  the  Monarch     - 

-    221 

397 

Collas            .... 

-    237 

398 

Clare,  County  of 

-    254 

403 

Caledonia      .... 

-    323 

406 

Connaught    -         -         -         - 

-    322 

481 

Clonard         .         .         .         - 

-    342 

503 

Culdees         .         .         .         - 

-    346 

522 

Columba,  the  Saint 

-    350 

525 

Clonmacnois 

-    396 

Cloyne,  See  of      -         -         - 

-    400 

27 

Cathedral  of  St.  Canice 

-    401 

41 

Clonfert  See 

-    404 

45 

Ceallaghan,  King  of  Munster 

-    455 

55 

Cormac,  King  and  Archbishop 

of 

71 

Cashel    -         -         -         - 

-    448 

84 

Clontarf,  Town  of 

-    488 

273 

Battle  of 

-    489 

277 

Clonearl        .         .        -         - 

-    499 

284 

Castle  Connell 

-    505 

295 

Carrick  Castle 

-    543 

327 

Cogan,  Milo 

-    550 

331 

Clanmaurice 

-    566 

338 

342 

Druids           .         .         .         - 

-      25 

416 

Dress  of  the  Ancient  Irish    - 

-      68 

467 

Downpatrick 

-      91 

Dundalk  Sea,  Fight  at 

-    105 

20 

Deirdre         .         .         .         - 

-     142 

61 

Donaghadce  Town 

-    143 

69 

Dal  Riada     -         -         -         - 

-    193 

100 

Dathy,  the  Monarch     - 

-    256 

105 

Doyle,  Bishop 

-    295 

De  Lacy,  Hugh    -        -        -        -  309 

Delvin,  Lord  of    -         -         -         -  309 

Dermod,  the  Monarch           -         -  331 

Dunshaghlin,  County  of  Meath    -  362 

Dublin,  See  of      -         -         -         -  393 

Derry  Cathedral   -         -         -         -  402 

Dromore  See         ...         -  408 

Down  and  Connor  See          -         -  408 

Danes,  their  first  Invasion   -          -  410 

Deasies 465 

Dalgais         -        .-        -         -         -  472 

Dunamase 496 

Dunmanus  Bay     -         .         .         .  512 

Dundrum 520 

Devorghal,  the  Princess        -         -  538 

Dermod,  King  of  Leinster     -         -  537 

Desmond,  Prince  of      -         -         -  557 

Dermod  McCarthy        -         -         -  566 

Eochaidh,  the  King      -        -         -  22 

Eadhna,  the  Monarch            -        -  103 

Emania 112 

"       Palace  of         -         -        -  240 

Eiic,  Law  of         -         -        -         -  181 

Eogan  More          ....  187 

Emly,  County  Tipperary      -         -  392 

Episcopal  Sees      -         -         -         -  393 

Elphin  See            ....  404 

Ennishowen          ....  519 

Firbolgs,  Colony  of       -         -        -  21 

Fileas 52 

Fortifications,  Ancient  Irish          -  95 

Fiacha 129 

Ferns,  County  of  Wexford             -  131 

Fergus,  Prince  of  Ulster        -        -  138 

Fionna  Erion         -         -         -        -  198 

Fingal 199 

Fiacha  II. 237 

France  invaded  by  Nial         -        -  250 

Family  of  O'Neil           -         -         -  255 

Four  Masters,  Annals  of       -        -  257 

Faughard,  County  of  Louth          -  353 

Ferns  See 410 

Flan,  the  Monarch         ...  448 

Fitzstephen            ....  540 

Feathard,  County  of  Wexford       -  541 

Fitzadelm 568 

Gadel  Glas,  the  Prince          -         -  34 

Gadelians 35 

Gollamh,  or  Milesius  -  .  38 
Glanmire,  County  of  Cork  -  101 
Granard,  County  of  Longford  -  112 
Government  of  Ireland  -  -  115 
Gaul  Mac  Morni  -  .  -  187 
Gabhra,  Battle  of  -  -  v  188 
Golden  Collar,  Order  of  -  .  251 
Glendalogh  -  -  -  -  393 
Geography  and  Statistics  of  Ire- 
land         512 

Galway,  Town  of         -         -         .  521 

Gothic  Architecture      -         -         .  523 

Gold  and  Silver  Ornaments          -  534 


Heber 36 

Heremon 48 

Heraldry,  Irish      -         -         -         -  86 

Hugh,  the  Monarch      -         -         -  335 

Harp  of  Brian  Boroihme        -         -  503 

Henry  II. 539 

Ith 41 

Irish  Language     -         -         -         -  41 

Iberians 52 

Irial,  the  Prophet           -         -        -  66 

Irish  Heralds         -         -         -         -  142 

Irish  Militia          -        -        -        -  198 

Irish  Literature     ....  225 

Irish  Genealogy             ...  261 

lona,  Isle  of          ...        -  347 

Inis-Cathy             -         -        -         -  448 

Irrelagh,  County  of  Kerry     -         -  496 

Inchiquin 505 

Irish  Geographical  Position            -  512 

Irish  Character     ...         -  515 

Irish  Lakes  and  Rivers          -         -  514 

Jonoraice,  the  Monarch         -         -  98 

Jughaine,  the  Monarch          -         -  113 

Jurisprudence,  Irish      ...  116 

Jonadhbhar            -         -        -         -  130 

Kells,  County  of  Meath         -         -  89 

Killencoole,  County  of  Louth        -  134 

Knights,  Irish       ....  147 

Kinsellagh  Family         -         -         -  243 

Kildare  Church    -         -         -         -  327 

Kille,  St.  Columb.         -         -         -  330 

Kilmore  See          ....  402 

Kilmacduach  See          ...  405 

Kilfenora  See        -         -         -        -  405 

Killaloe  See           ....  405 

Killala  See 408 

Kildare  and  Leighlin  See     -         -  409 

Kilmainham           ....  474 

Kavenagli,  Donald        ...  563 

Lakes  of  Ireland            -         -         -  13 

Liagh-Fail 24 

Luigha 24 

Ledwich,  Rev.  Dr.        -         -         -  29 

Landing  of  the  Milesians      .         -  44 

Laoghaire,  the  Monarch        -         -  118 

Lismore,  County  of  Waterford      -  159 

Leatli  Mogha-what       ...  187 

Leath  Conn           ....  187 

Lugha.  the  Hero           -        -        -  201 

Lifiey  River           -         -                  -  216 

Dr.  Ledwich         -         -         -         -  223 

Leinster,  Origin  of  its  Name         -  308 

Louth 319 

Learning  and  Arts  in  Ireland  during 

the  iNinth  Century         -         -  422 

Lough  Leana        ....  440 

Leo  X.,  Pope         -         -        -        -  503 

Lough  Dearg        ....  537 


Macpherson,  James 


29 


INDEX. 


Milesians 

Mile  Espaine         .         -         .         . 
Mines  and  Minerals 
Macha,  Queen       .         -         -         . 
Moore's  History  of  Ireland 
Military  Partition  of  Ireland 
Moriat,  the  Princess  of  Munster 
Macon,  Prince  Royal  of  Ireland 
Meath,  County  of  -         -         - 

Meibhe,  Queen  of  Connaught 
Minstrels       .         .         -         -         - 
Mullacrew,  Battle  of    - 
Moran's  Collar      .         -         -         . 
Mac  Carthy  More 
Mac  Conn  .         .         .         . 

Mission  of  St.  Palladius  to  Ireland 
Murtough,  the  Monarch 
McHale,  Archbishop     -         -         - 
Malachy  I.  .... 

Mahon,  King  of  Munster 
Macroom      -        -         .        .         . 
Malachy  II.  -         .         .         . 

Malmaorda,  King  of  Leinster 
Murtough,  the  Monarch 
Mountmorres,  Hervey 

Names  of  Ireland  ... 

Nemedius      ..... 
Neaniul         .         -         .         -         . 
Nobility,  the  Irish 
Navan,  Count}'  of  Meath 
Naval  Architecture  in  Ireland 
Naisi  and  Deirdre 
New  Grange,  County  of  Louth     - 
Nial  of  the  Nine  Hostages     - 
Newry,  Town  of  ... 

Newtownards        .... 

O'Connor,  Charles        ... 
O'Neil,  Dynasty  of       -         -         - 
Ollamh  Fodhla,  the  Great  Monarch 
O'Rourke  of  BrefTeny 
O'Connor  of  Offaly       ... 
Old  Dublin            .... 
Olioll,  King  of  Munster 
Ossian            ..... 
Oscar             ..... 
O'Donnell  Family 
Objections  of  Dr.  Ledwich  respect- 
ing St.  Patrick,  Answered 
Odder  Village       .... 
Orgial            ..... 
O'Connor,  Roderick     -        -        - 
O'Toole,  Archbishop     ... 
O'Brien  of  Tliomond     .         -         - 
O'Rourke     

Phaenius 

Pharaoh,  King  of  Egypt 
Parallel  Account  of  the  Milesian 
Colony  .... 

Partition  of  Ireland 

Picts 

Powers  Court,  County  of  "Wicklow 


31 

Palace  of  Emania  Destroyed 

236 

38 

Pagan  Ireland,  Ciedibility  of  the 

70 

History  of      -         .         -         . 

257 

110 

Palladius,  the  Saint 

270 

113 

Progress  of  Catholicity  in  Ireland 

311 

115 

Paschal  Disputes 

366 

lii-^ 

Princess  Molcha             ... 

438 

120 

Prince  Murrough  O'Brien     - 

492 

135 

Provinces  of  Ireland      ... 

516 

13(^ 
1.55 

Population  of  Ireland    - 

51G 

14'J 

Question  Discussed,  whether  the 

167 

Religion    Established    by    St. 

liJG 

Patrick,  was  the  Roman  Ca- 

200 

tholic  ?            .... 

379 

270 

323 

Religion  of  the  Pagan  Irish 

75 

394 

Rotheacta  II.,  the  Monarch 

96 

440 

Ross  Village,  County  of  Wexford 

100 

467 

Roscommon           .... 

152 

468 

Ratoath,  County  of  Meath    - 

169 

475 

Rathkenny,  County  of  Meath 

182 

486 

Romans    "Defeated    by    the    Irish 

518 

Militia             .... 

200 

562 

Ross-Carberry       .... 

399 

Raphoe  See           .... 

408 

11 

Roscrea 

470 

18 

Rathkeal 

505 

33 

Round  Towers      .... 

529 

81 

Ross  Castle            .... 

531 

102 

Raymond  Le  Gross 

540 

105 

143 

Slaigne 

12 

174 

Stone  of  Destiny            ... 

25 

255 

Skreen,  County  of  Meath      - 

61 

430 

Skerries,  County  of  Dublin 

66 

499 

Scotland 

78 

Swords,  Irish         .... 

98 

28 

Scotia,  Major  and  Minor 

249 

33 

Slane,  Town  of    - 

270 

82 

State  of  Religion  and  Literature  in 

59 

Ireland  in  A.  D.  428       - 

271 

183 

St.  Patrick's  Arrival     - 

281 

188 

Scots 

325 

193 

St.  Columb-Kille 

338 

194 

Sitrick.  the  Dane 

457 

223 

Sea-fight  at  Dundalk 

402 

2;54 

Shillelagh 

485 

Sons  of  Brian  Boroihme 

495 

293 

Stradbally,  Queen's  County 

500 

300 

Strongbow              .... 

541 

466 

518 

Tuatha,  De  Nanaus 

23 

544 

Tailtean  Games 

27 

5(i3 

Tuatha  De  Denaus  defeated  by  the 

562 

Milesians        .... 

44 

Tralee,  County  of  Kerry 

47 

31 

Tara 

GO 

33 

Tighernmas,  the  Monarch     - 

67 

Tallanstown,  County  of  Louth 

107 

52 

Tasuistry 

132 

55 

Tuathal,  the  Monarch 

170 

01 

Tribute  of  Leinster        ... 

178 

iin 

1  Tuathal  II.            .... 

328 

Translation  of  St.  Columb's  Speech 

at  Birr  -         -         -         -  338 

Tirdaglas,  County  of  Tipperary    -  377 

Tuam 393 

Turgesius,  the  Dane     -         -         -  441 

Thomond 466 

Turlogh  O'Connor         -         -         -  508 

Thurles 563 

Tullaroan 568 


Ulster 

Usnach 

Usher,  Archbishop 

Vine,  the  Irish 


141 
139 

298 


Victories   of  King  Criomthan  in 

Scotland         ....  246 

Warner,  Dr.,  the  Historian            -  27 

War  Chariots  of  the  Irish      -         -  79 

Wexford,  Town  of        -         .         -  125 

Wolf-dogs,  Irish             .         -  163 

War  of  Nial  in  Caledonia      -         -  248 

Wall  of  the  Emperor  Adrian          -  268 

Waterford  See      -         -         -         -  397 
Writers,  Irish,  of  the   Ninth  and 

Tenth  Centuries    -         -         -  482 

Waterford  City     -         -         -         -  502 

-  311 


80    Zosimus 


ERRATA 


la  page  71,  for  idle  read  idol, — in  page  139,  for  Deidre  read 
Deirdre, — in  page  377,  for  Firdaglas  read  Tirdaglas.  There  are 
probably  some  more  typographical  errors  that  escaped  my  detection, 
for  which  I  have  to  claim  the  kind  indulgence  of  the  readers  of  this 
History.  Geouge  Pepper. 


DUE  DATE 

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